SAN JOSE – The Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks played a wacky one on Saturday night.
The puck was skipping, the sticks were breaking and it seemed like every time you turned your head another skater in teal was headed for the penalty box -- but we'll break that down later. After a back-and-forth first 45 minutes, San Jose captain Joe Pavelski scored the game-winning goal in the third period to give the Sharks the 3-2 victory.
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SIGN UP HERE Here are three takeaways as the Sharks get back in the win column:
So, about Erik Karlsson’s return …
There’s no way you can break down Saturday’s game without discussing it. Right from his first shift, it was apparent the Sharks knew what they were doing when they kept him out for nine games. Even before he set up Timo Meier’s power-play goal 3:45 into the first period, Karlsson was buzzed up and down the ice and made nifty no-look passes along the way.
He also showed his chops on the defensive side of the puck, helping to break up a couple of Vancouver’s plays. The Sharks may have won six straight games while he was injured, but there’s no denying how much he can contribute – even in his first game back.
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The penalty kill came up big
It had to, because the Sharks headed to the penalty box at times that really could have crushed their momentum. But even though they had racked up five penalties through two periods, the kill continued its streak of dominance by shutting the Canucks power play down.
Martin Jones was a particularly big part of the kill, holding down the net as the Canucks tried to break through. He came up big on Meier’s first penalty in the second stanza, stopping young Vancouver forward Brock Boeser on a breakaway attempt.
Did you check out the shot clock?
For the second straight game, the Sharks were outshot by their opponent. Through the vast majority of the season, they’ve outshot their opponents in wins and losses. Hence, the reason they sit close to the stop of the league in shots per game.
It's no coincidence, then, that Saturday was the second straight game the Sharks were hemmed in their own zone and not as crisp breaking the puck out through the neutral zone, making it difficult to create much offense. While San Jose was able to get ahead and get the win, this is something the team likely wants to change quickly.