The San Jose Sharks were shutout by the Boston Bruins 3-0 continuing their road losing streak to 10 games this season.
Fans watching the game might have noticed a different look for the Sharks as this was their first game wearing their home helmets on their away uniforms.
Fabian Zetterlund: Power forward
After the acquisition of Fabian Zetterlund as the most NHL-ready asset from the Timo Meier trade, Zetterlund has grown into a cheaper Timo Meier replacement. As of this moment, Zetterlund has six goals and three assists for nine points while Meier has five goals and six assists for 11 points.
Now I am not saying that Zetterlund is at the same level as Timo Meier but instead saying this is what the salary cap restricted Sharks were looking for.
Zetterlund has similar traits to Meier and appears to be the power forward that Grier was looking for when he took over.
During the game, Brad Marchand decided to drop the gloves with Zetterlund, where Marchand attempted to land some rockets; however, Zetterlund was able to lock him up to end the fight.
Zetterlund didn’t quite throw haymakers back but was able to stand his ground as witnessed in the Twitter video by user @ginohard_.
Brad Marchand takes exception to a hit and clocks Fabian Zetterlund 😳👊 pic.twitter.com/eBYKq804f2
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 1, 2023
Sharks’ home vs road record
The San Jose Sharks have not won a single game on the road this year and at home, are currently 5-1-1 in its last seven home games.
The Sharks did play against Boston who had the best regular season in NHL history last season. That can be used as a reason for the loss, however, the team should put its focus on consistency of quality of play between home and away.
This is a major concern as the team has found a groove at home that is hoping to translate to this upcoming road trip. The Sharks will be away from the Bay for the next five games. If they continue struggling on the road, it can carry over when the team gets back home.
However, the scoreboard doesn’t show the level of play that the Sharks put up against the reigning Presidents Trophy winner. San Jose’s play at even strength was much better than the scoreboard indicated.
Blackwood keeping games close
Blackwood has been nothing short of spectacular for the San Jose Sharks since his 50-save debut against the Colorado Avalanche.
With 34 saves for a .919 save percentage, the effort was there from Blackwood against the dominant Bruins. The Sharks have been notorious for keeping the shots lower than the opponent with Blackwood able to steal wins here and there.
Head Coach David Quinn said he did not want to overwork Blackwood but can you blame him if he did?
The Sharks are playing against the New Jersey Devils to begin the month of December. The Devils selected Blackwood in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft and this is Blackwood’s first game against his former team since the Sharks acquired him. What’s more, this is the team’s first game against Meier since the team traded him in February.
Meier is out with an injury, but it would be interesting to see if Quinn would dare put Blackwood in back to back games.
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