Despite being shut out, this might have been the Sharks’ most impressive effort of the season so far, at least after they came alive near the end of the first period. Phoenix isn’t exactly L.A. or St. Louis but they’re no weak sister either, so this was a promising glimpse at what the Sharks could potentially accomplish on a regular basis with their full complement of defensemen.
Speaking of defensemen, none of the Sharks’ six were underwater in either possession or chances. The pairings finally looked the way they should with Burns back in the lineup and hopefully his comeback sounded the death knell for the Vlasic/Stuart pairing.
For his first game in ten months, Burns looked terrific. He’s still somewhat of a work in progress with some unsuccessful turns on the breakout and a few less-than-excellent decisions jumping into the play, but overall the Stuart/Burns pairing did a terrific job negating the Coyotes’ top two lines at evens.
It’s a miracle Ryane Clowe didn’t score in this game. He had six even-strength scoring chances (and an additional one on the power play) as the Sharks’ top line was dominant territorially.
Meanwhile, the second line struggled a fair bit despite chance numbers in the black. I’m not at all convinced swapping Clowe and Marleau was a good idea.
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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