Gomez was swapped with Kennedy and Marleau was moved to center but it didn’t change much in terms of the “second” line’s impact; they were phenomenal again with Kennedy probably turning in his best game as a Shark. I was somewhat hesitant about Marleau at center since it gives him fewer opportunities to carry the puck through the neutral zone but his speed through the middle and Pavelski and Kennedy’s terrific play in the corners rendered that trio dominant.
They played the fewest minutes on the blueline and faced the Predators’ worst forwards but Douglas Murray and Justin Braun managed to be on the ice for 4 of Nashville’s 6 even-strength chances. I’d say something about how there’s no sensible reason for Murray to be in the lineup but this is well past broken record territory.
Not a great game for the bottom six by the numbers although, to my eye, those lines looked a bit better after the Havlat injury prompted some shuffling. Adam Burish wasn’t an overt liability for once so that has to be seen as a positive.
Really low-event game for Vlasic and Stuart by the chance count despite that tandem logging the heaviest minutes. That’s probably the best we can hope for with that pairing; they don’t yield much defensively but they’re also incapable of advancing the puck to create offense. For a team that needs the latter, it makes a lot of sense to break those two up./
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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