Even-strength statistics
| Player | TOI | Corsi + | Corsi – | Corsi +/- | Chances + | Chances – | Chances +/- |
| Douglas Murray | 10:44 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| Jason Demers | 11:37 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Brad Stuart | 17:00 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| Joe Pavelski | 10:20 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Martin Havlat | 12:33 | 20 | 15 | +5 | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| Andrew Desjardins | 7:04 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 2 | 2 | +0 |
| Patrick Marleau | 11:04 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| James Sheppard | 10:48 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 3 | 3 | +0 |
| Joe Thornton | 12:08 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Scott Gomez | 9:22 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Michal Handzus | 12:54 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Ryane Clowe | 8:51 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 2 | 2 | +0 |
| Adam Burish | 6:24 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Logan Couture | 11:44 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Marc-Edouard Vlasic | 17:40 | 17 | 24 | -7 | 4 | 6 | -2 |
| Matt Irwin | 11:03 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Tommy Wingels | 11:59 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 5 | 5 | +0 |
| Justin Braun | 12:09 | 19 | 4 | +15 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
| Team totals | 39:54 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 13 | 12 | +1 |
- Opposites attract and Vlasic and Stuart are just too similar to work as a pairing. As efficient as they are at defending behind their own blueline, neither is capable of making a first pass to an onrushing forward in transition or even cleanly exiting the defensive zone on many occasions. The Sharks spend way too much time in their own end when those two are on the ice together, which is especially detrimental because it provides the Thornton line fewer opportunities in the right end of the rink.
- I know many haven’t been pleased with Wingels’ game so far this season and with good reason. But I think there’s some evidence mounting that his poor start to 2013 has mostly to do with being attached at the hip to Handzus. He’s been a plus possession player when separated from Zus all season and was once again impressive last night in his shifts with Couture in Clowe’s absence.
- Two excellent games in a row for Justin Braun.
- I wasn’t at all impressed with Thornton last night, who appeared to be fighting the puck for much of the game, but he looks pretty good by the numbers here so what do I know?
- Ignoring for a second the loss of Boyle for two games and Burns for the entire year thus far, the Sharks’ issues at even strength have really stemmed from the same cause all season: too many minutes are being handed out to shitty players. It seems easy enough to fix which is what makes it that much more curious that it hasn’t been fixed.
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.
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