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Sharks 3, Hurricanes 4 (SO): Despite strong start, Sharks can’t weather the storm

Posted on by Bryan Del Fava

The Sharks and Hurricanes, two of the top teams in the realm of advanced analytics, went into the first leg of the Battle for the Corsi Cup in Raleigh tonight.

The Sharks got out to a hot start in the first period, with goals from Antti Suomela and Timo Meier, but couldn’t hold off the Canes’ offense for long. Dougie Hamilton got the Canes’ first goal of the game to keep the Canes in it, but Tomas Hertl’s power play goal restored the lead.

However, Brock McGinn and Teuvo Teravainen scored two unanswered goals to tie the game for the Hurricanes midway and late through the second. The game went back and forth into a shootout, where the Hurricanes won on a lone goal from Brock McGinn.

Pregame

The first edition of the Corsi Cup takes place in Raleigh tonight, where the San Jose Sharks will do battle with the Carolina Hurricanes, the first of only two meetings with this Carolina squad.

Both the Sharks and Hurricanes have been impressive in October. Both teams find themselves leading the pack in advanced analytics, hence why this matchup is being referred to as the Corsi Cup.

The ‘Canes have been a lot of fun to watch so far this season. They share the same record as the Sharks (5-3-1), and are currently second in their division, also just like the Sharks. Sebastian Aho has really been vital to this team, currently riding a nine-game point streak. Yes, for those of you keeping track at home, he has recorded a point in every game he has played so far this season. Micheal Ferland is also riding a point streak of his own, albeit smaller, with four consecutive games with points.

The Sharks are picking it up after a sluggish start to the season. They’ve won three straight games, including a wild comeback win in Nashville. They swept the season series against the Hurricanes last year, with a 5-4 overtime win at the Tank and a 3-1 win at Raleigh.

Lines

Petr Mrazek will get the go in net for the Hurricanes, even with the return of Scott Darling to the Canes bench. In five games played this season, Mrazek has a 2.64 GAA and an .888 save percentage.

Their lines, courtesy of the Hurricanes website are projected to look like this:

Forwards

Foegele-Staal-Williams

Ferland-Aho-Teravainen

Martinook-Wallmark-Svechnikov

McGinn-Roy-Zykov

Defense

Slavin-Hamilton

de Haan-Faulk

van Riemsdyk-Pesce

Goalies

Mrazek

Darling

Meanwhile, for the Sharks, Aaron Dell seems to be starting in goal tonight. This will be his third start of the season. Dell currently has a 2.50 GAA with a .910 save percentage.

The Sharks’ lineup won’t be too different from Tuesday night, except for one change on the defense — Erik Karlsson will be paired with… wait for it… Brenden Dillon. Dylan Gambrell will also be slotting in for his first appearance of the 2018-19 season, replacing Rourke Chartier as the 4C.

Puck drops at 4:30 PDT/7:30 EDT tonight from “The Eye.” You can watch on NBC Sports California or listen to the game on 98.5 KFOX or the Sharks app.

See you then!

What’s goin’ on guys? It’s me, it’s me, it’s your boy B.D., your local ‘Cuda boy here with tonight’s liveblog. I’m gonna have to multi-task tonight as the ‘Cuda are also set to take the ice in San Antonio tonight just about an hour from now, so bear with me. Let’s get this game going!

First Period

20:00: DROP THE PUCK!

18:57: The Canes always make black look good.

17:46: Good to see Gambrell out there- he’s certainly deserved an opportunity after tearing it up with the Barracuda.

16:15: Brenden Dillon playing pretty deep again in the offensive zone.

14:12: Burnzie’s been firing on all cylinders this period. Sharp angles or points, he’s getting them on net.

13:43: Wowwwwww, Martinook just missed a pretty open net.

13:23: AND THE SHARKS CAPITALIZE! SHAAAAAAAAARKS GOAL! Antti Suomela scores his first NHL goal with a beautiful toe drag on Petr Mrazek to open the scoring tonight!!

11:44: SHAAAAAAAARKS GOAL! 4:55 PDT is TIMO TIME! Brent Burns fires one at Petr Mrazek and Timo Meier puts home the rebound for a 2-0 lead! On the power play no less!

11:32: Melker’s gonna sit two minutes for slashing.

9:32: Full strength.

8:05: Petr Mrazek catches a hiiiiiiigh pop fly and we’ll head to a TV timeout.

5:57: Canes fans here don’t like an icing call, and to their credit, Andrei Svechnikov was pretty close there.

4:20: Canes really seem to be having trouble getting the puck out of their own end.

2:55: Beautiful shot from Goodrow. Now if only he could get that on net…

2:10: Mrazek just robbed Sorensen. Good rush from Sorensen, nonetheless, splitting between two Canes defenders.

:58.6: Look in my eyes, what do you see…

:48: EK65 just broke up a two-on-one opportunity. Hell of an effort.

END FIRST: Sharks 2, Hurricanes 0

What a start for the guys.

Second Period

18:48: Canes score, it’s Dougie Hamilton. Micheal Ferland with a great pass to Hamilton, putting it past Dell for his first goal of the year.

18:25: Not a good start to the period for the Sharks, nearly letting the Canes tie it. Thanks, Dell.

17:24: Finally a clearance for the Sharks.

16:17: Sharks need to regain momentum here, it’s almost completely transferred to Carolina.

15:32: Sharks will head to the power play after Linus Wallmark sits for slashing.

14:13: SHAAAAAARKS GOAL! Tomas Hertl stuffs home a one-time feed from Logan Couture, and the Sharks restore their two-goal lead!

13:52: And now the Sharks head back to the power play!

12:51: Erik Karlsson stops a Jaccob Slavin breakaway, but will sit two minutes for slashing.

11:55: Seems like the Sharks are only allowed a cap of two power play goals per game. The PP has been sub-optimal these past two chances.

9:53: Hurricanes capitalize with a downed Aaron Dell. Brock McGinn shoots it past a sprawling Dell, and we might just be approaching barnburner status.

8:02: Hertlllll, so close to his second! Just couldn’t pull the trigger.

6:41: McGinn walks in again, but this time an aware Aaron Dell stops him in his tracks.

4:46: Teuvo Teravainen scores for the Canes. That was just not a good pass from Evander Kane, and Teuvo takes advantage. We are tied, 3-3.

3:14: PDB Line Blender may be fully functional here, Dillon is apparently paired with Burns right now.

1:54: My goodness, Justin Faulk just bailed out Mrazek big time. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ice, Dell is ran again.

END SECOND: Sharks 3, Hurricanes 3

That was just not the second period the Sharks needed at all. If there’s one positive, we have 20 more minutes to sort it out.

Third Period

19:20: Looks like Dillon and Karlsson are back together. Couture’s out with Donskoi and Kane. The line blender is back, folks!

17:51: Sorensen on another breakaway, but couldn’t pull the trigger in time.

16:24: Great pass from Karlsson to Meier, but nothing doing there.

15:20: Karlsson and Burns out there now.

14:14: Clearly, Dillon has taken a liking to taking the puck in deep- he’s once again down near the crease during that shift.

14:00: Uh, VLASIC and Burns?

Tomas Hertl may be hurt again. 🙁

12:47: And now Ray Tufts is talking to Couture on the bench. Oh boy.

11:25: Aaron Dell shuts the door on Warren Foegele. Defense was nowhere to be seen there.

9:30: Sharks are finally getting chances. We’re getting a hell of a goaltending showdown right now.

6:25: Backchecking galore.

4:55: This team needs Hertl back, bad.

3:11: It’s officially a hockey game in Raleigh, as the DJ has cued up Sandstorm.

2:56: Still no word on Hertl’s potential ailment.

:30.7: Dad’s commentary: “It looks like we’re killing a penalty.”

:15.7: Sharks apparently called a timeout. Timeout never happened, interestingly.

And this one is going to overtime. Let’s get all three points. Please.

END REGULATION: Sharks 3, Hurricanes 3

Overtime

5:00: Sharks are rolling Meier, Pavelski, and EK65 to start the extra frame.

3:17: Burns just misses.

1:42: EK65 pressures Mrazek and now the Sharks have it in the Canes’ zone.

:44.0: Dell is toppled AGAIN. Foegele got him with a high stick on his drive to the net, and for some reason Hurricanes fans weren’t happy with the immediate stoppage.

:7.9: DELL SAVES THE GAME, AND WE’RE GOING TO A SHOOTOUT!

Shootout

Canes elect to shoot first.

Justin Williams in first, stopped by Dell.

Couture gets off a quick shot, no problem for Mrazek.

Here comes Brock McGinn. Scores.

Pavelski coming in, waits, hits the post.

Aho comes in, and he hits the post as well.

Donskoi is the Sharks’ last chance. He misses, and the Hurricanes win.

FINAL: Sharks 3, Hurricanes 4 (SO)

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