Sharks vs. Blues: By the numbers
A look at the numbers behind the Sharks' 4-2 loss to St. Louis.
- That isn't a typo; the Sharks directed 32 more shots at the Blues net than they had directed at their own with Dan Boyle on the ice last night at even-strength. Just for shits and giggles, if Boyle had performed at that pace for an entire 60-minute game, the Sharks would have outshot the Blues 127-26.
- Full disclosure: I didn't have high hopes for The Great Burns Experiment of 2013 at all. I still think he should be moved back to the blue line in the near future (with Murray coming out of the lineup, hopefully) but there's no questioning the impact he had up front last night. It's probably worth noting he played on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Jeff Carter at the 2004 World Juniors; he's had success on the wing with skilled forwards in the past.
- The fourth line couldn't do better than break even playing largely against the likes of Scott Nichol and Ryan Reaves. It's probably a silly thing to complain about at this point given that they're finally playing the minutes that they should (read: not many), but T.J. Galiardi and Tim Kennedy marinating in the press box with Desjardins and Burish in the lineup isn't the greatest of ideas for a team that needs offense any way they can get it.
- Just a bad luck evening for Ryane Clowe and that second line. They dominated possession but the few shots they gave up were almost all chances and/or goals. If they can keep controlling play at that level, though, it's unlikely this type of thing reoccurs.
- The Murray/Stuart pairing looked pretty disastrous on two of the goals against and the numbers here don't exactly acquit their performance. They really have no business staying together./
For more information on what these numbers mean, head here for an in-depth explanation of Corsi and here for more details on scoring chances.