Every NHL game is important at this time of year, whether your team is in the playoff push or not so subtly tanking for the draft lottery, there is always something to cheer for. Some noteworthy lineup changes for this game injected some extra intrigue on top of the obvious Pacific Division playoff race. Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Leon Draisaitl will be out for the rest of the regular season with a lower body injury, and this was the Oilers first game without him. The San Jose Sharks scratched young defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin in favor of the veteran Nick Leddy. This one is sure to be a sore spot for fans, and I’ll get back to this later when I talk about the questionable lineup changes mid match.
Game Overview:
The Sharks struggle with consistency, whether that is from game to game or period to period. Inconsistency leads to losses, and that was the case again last night. The Sharks did score first, with Dmitry Orlov getting his second of the year by crashing the net after Kiefer Sherwood was aggressive in his neutral zone backcheck.
The rest of the first period was not pretty. The Oilers went to score three unanswered goals and take a commanding lead into the break. The Sharks were struggling to keep up with the pace of the veteran back-to-back playoff finalists.
The Sharks must have sniffed some smelling salts after the first because they played a lot more organized in the second period. I thought the college line of Collin Graf, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith was playing well and getting chances before coach Ryan Warsofsky moved the lines around.
Mario Ferraro has been shooting more as of late, and it has been paying off for him. That continued yesterday, with Pavol Regenda tipping his shot from the point to bring the Sharks within one.
Sherwood continued to impact the game last night, cashing in on a breakaway to extend his career high goal count on the season to 21.
Unfortunately, that was the last goal the Sharks would score for the night, and the Oilers put on a masterclass of shutting the game down in the third period. Celebrini took an unfortunate tripping penalty on Conner McDavid less than a minute into the third period, crushing any momentum the Sharks might have brought over from the second period. The Sharks couldn’t get much going on the 6 on 5, and they fall to the Oilers, failing to take advantage of a golden opportunity to tighten the playoff race in the Pacific even more. Their record also falls to 1-13-2 when Macklin Celebrini fails to get on the scoreboard.
Playoff race:
The good news about the playoff race is that the Seattle Kraken and Los Angeles Kings, both of whom the Sharks are fighting for the second wild card spot, failed to gain any ground today. The Kings didn’t play, and the Kraken lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in regulation.
The Sharks sit 1 point out of the playoffs after tonight’s loss and continue their struggle to gain any real ground. While they do have a game in hand on the teams in front and behind them in the standings, it only matters if they can win that game. Tonight’s 4-point swing against the division rival Oilers is something they want to avoid at all costs moving forward.
It is the NHL, and there are no easy nights. The schedule will continue to be tough for the Sharks this week as they face the Sabres again on Thursday after they got outplayed against them about a week ago.
Line juggling:
I probably have a different opinion than a lot of other fans when it comes to the lineup decisions. While I would rather tough it out and have Mukhamadullin play through whatever slump the coaches think he is on, I can understand the reasoning (or lack thereof). The Sharks are in a playoff push, a position they have not been in since 2019. Getting the best chance to win every night is all that Warsofsky is thinking about now. With 16 games left in the regular season and the standings being as close as they are, there is no room for error. Scratching Mukhamadullin is probably Warsofsky trying to get his guys going and have the younger more inexperienced player in Shakir sit for a game in favor of the veteran Nick Leddy.
Yes, Nick Leddy was sent to the Barracuda through waivers this season for his poor play and there is no reason to believe that he has magically reacquired his veteran skills. On the other hand, Shakir has not been able to grasp that final roster spot on Defense while being given the opportunity to do so since the trade deadline. Switching these two for the night is not a death sentence for Shakir, but it is signaling trouble.
Having Misa and Smith move around in the lineup during the game was also puzzling but undoubtedly had similar reasoning behind it as the Shakir scratching. The first period tonight was abysmal. Anything to change the game would be welcomed. Will Smith and Michael Misa are both becoming superstars in the league, and two periods of different line combinations or a temporary benching will not change that. Now if it happens every game for the rest of the season, I will support the ensuing riot. For now, let’s allow the guys who get paid to make lineup decisions do their job. They are the professionals for a reason.
The Sharks are pushing for the playoffs sooner in the rebuild than they thought they would. This means that player development is taking up less of the coaches’ mind than it probably should. Celebrini’s excellent play is masking the desperate need for both a young #1 defenseman and more depth all around the lineup.
I believe a few more high first round picks are necessary for this franchise to become that elite team in a couple seasons time. Whether as development pieces or trade chips, prospects can only help your team.
