Shark Bit

This season I haven’t talked all that much about the Sharks, despite the fact that I’ve followed them pretty closely all year. Part of it is that they have been oddly inconsistent in some respects. Just when I think they’ve either got it all put together or they seem to have completely fallen apart, they have a game or two that defies the trend. But as the stretch toward the playoffs sets in, it bears examining what they’ve done, what they’re doing and how they might fare in the postseason.

Part of the things I wanted to say are covered by Mark Purdy’s recent Merc column in which he evaluates some of the things the Sharks have been doing lately. He notes that they have been uncomfortably lackluster on home ice, despite being pretty solid on the road. Road wins are good, no doubt, especially since they are unlikely to have home ice advantage come first-round time. But the Tank has typically been the one bright spot for the Sharks even when they are otherwise miserable. And on paper they are anything but miserable this year. But their better record away than at home causes concern because in the playoffs you really have to take advantage of the opportunity that home games represent.

Purdy also mentions how the Sharks potent offense from last year has been less than stellar at times this season. I think it’s a bit unfair to compare the dream stretch that Thornton and Cheechoo had last year with this; as good as both players are, Cheech has always been somewhat streaky and Thornton was hurt early in the year plus he also no longer has the luxury of playing in a conference that isn’t used to seeing him so frequently. Other teams have made appropriate adjustments to both players that has impacted their overall dominance. But it is still hard to ignore that it is no longer reasonable to expect that each shift Thornton steps on the ice will result in at least some sort of offensive opportunity if not a goal.

I do, however, disagree with Purdy’s assessment of Bill Guerin. While unfortunate that he hasn’t contributed tangibly thus far, I think he has provided some interesting sparks to the San Jose offense mostly by putting a welcome end to the pass-and-grind fests that the Sharks fall victim to and just hucking the biscuit at the net when possible. Plus his right-handed orientation has helped noticeably with some of those far side digs along the boards and has helped set up plays that at least give the opponents another look to think about. Assuming he can continue to contribute in ways that may not always show up on the scoresheet, eventually the stats will follow.

But thinking about some of the other changes from last season, I think it is safe to say at this point that adding Mike Grier was about the smartest thing they could have done: The guy is quickly becoming one of my favorites. He reminds me of Mark Smith out there in terms of work ethic only with a lot of talent as well. The only real weakness I see to Grier’s game is his finishing: He gets more breakaways and opportunistic chances than any two other players on the roster but those chances don’t wind up as goals as much as I wish. Maybe Grier’s shot isn’t the best in the world but you have to admire his ability to get into situations where he is testing the opposing goalie.

Another guy I started taking notice of this year is Patrick Rissmiller. He seems to be cut from the same cloth as Smith and Grier (although probably falling more on the Smith end of the spectrum when it comes to raw talent) and it’s fantastic to watch him out there busting his tail on the forecheck, through the neutral zone and all the way back low trying to clear pucks from the defensive end. For all the remarkable talent some of the other guys have out there, it irks me to see guys like Clowe and Pavelski coasting—or worse, standing—around in their own end hoping a puck will fall in front of them.

Which is not to say the Sharks have been slack on defense this year. I’ve been rather impressed all season long with how many pucks aren’t ever even getting to the crease because the whole team seems perfectly willing to block shots coming off of sticks. But where their defensive fortitude has been impressive, their ability to handle the fundamental task of clearing the zone has cost them dozens of points against all year. To some extent I chalk this up to a coaching thing: I think someone has told the forwards to spend too much time swinging sticks into lanes and not enough time telling them to get bodies on dudes. It doesn’t matter how diligently you work to cover passing lanes, if you let the point man stand around up there for thirty seconds without challenging him, eventually he will find a play to make and then you have to start all over again.

I’ve said it about a hundred times but the Sharks have always, always been 200 times better when they play physically than when they try to be cute. I mean, the team was specifically built to be imposing since so many of their players are these massive, yet quick guys but they stand there in the defensive zone and wait for the other team to make a mistake? I don’t get it. When the Sharks have their forecheck down they seem to spend hours in the offensive end because they muscle guys off the puck in the corners and keep it deep where they can use their size to protect until something develops. It stands to reason that if it works on one end of the ice, it ought to at least help on the other end.

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