Scoring Chances: Game 31 vs. New York

Complete scoring chance summary

On-ice scoring chances for and against

Team scoring chance totals

Head-to-head scoring chances

• That was a signature performance by what ought to be referred to as the Sharks‘ top line of Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski. Along with the Vlasic/Braun pairing, they were matched up against the Tavares line for nearly 13 of their 16 even-strength minutes and laid waste to the Islanders‘ best forwards in terms of shots and scoring chances. But hockey isn’t fair, and they were burned for two goals against in the third period despite yielding just three chances while on the ice together all night.
• Unbelievable game by Marleau, as he was on the ice for 17 of the Sharks’ 20 even-strength chances and 19 of their 22 chances overall. Hopefully Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman, in attendance following the Board of Governors meeting in Monterrey, was paying attention.
• I’m not sure that Freddie Hamilton is NHL-ready just yet, or at least ready to center a third line flanked by a fellow 21-year-old rookie and another player still in his first full-length season in the big leagues. That third line was the Sharks’ worst as they spent most of the game chasing the puck in their own end and weren’t able to mount much offensively as a result. As great as the Marleau/Couture/Pavelski line was in this game, I don’t think Todd McLellan has much of a choice but to move Pavelski back into a third-line center role in the very near future.
• They gave up too many odd-man rushes, particularly in the second period, and ideally should have closed out a sub-par Eastern Conference team playing its second game in as many nights and going into a third period at the Tank trailing by two but I don’t see a lot of reason for doom and gloom based on this game alone. A few minor lineup tweaks coupled with efforts similar to these past two games should get the Sharks back in the win column.