The team as a whole collapsed in the third period following Brandon Saad’s shortie but the top two lines and top defense pair all finished in the black in both chances and possession. They weren’t the problem last night.
I have no idea how you can be on the ice for that many shot attempts against in less than seven minutes of play, especially when you aren’t deployed any more frequently in the defensive zone than the other team’s end and are playing largely against depth players, but it’s inexcusable. Adam Burish doesn’t deserve to be in the lineup and a contract that looked bad the day it was signed has looked progressively worse with each passing game.
While the final score was close, it’s hard to look at these numbers or watch that third period and conclude the game was close. The Sharks were the better team in the first period and it’s impractical to expect them to play as well as they did in the first twenty over an entire game against the Blackhawks, but after the Saad goal, this game was a horror show for San Jose.
Still, it isn’t entirely doom and gloom. The top line appears to have righted the ship at even strength. Now it comes down to turning the power play back around and putting together a bottom six and third defense pair that might actually make positive contributions in some way, shape or form. Both of these problems are eminently fixable which makes it all the more frustrating that they’re still in disarray.
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As many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our