SAN JOSE – The Sharks’ bid for a perfect homestand was ruined by the Ducks on Saturday, a 3-2 Anaheim win. Three takeaways from the loss, which prevented San Jose from taking over first place in the Pacific Division…
1 – Disagreement with calls
Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Pete DeBoer all acknowledged after the game how much the Ryan Garbutt goal resembled Pavelski’s overturned score in overtime of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals last season. We mentioned Couture and DeBoer’s comments in the game Rewind, but here was Pavelski’s take:
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"You just look for consistency. That's all. … There's a little push [by Brent Burns],” he said. “Whatever the rule states, they've got to make an attempt to get out of the way. … Puck goes in and sometimes you get those calls, and sometimes you don't. You just got to keep working.”
The other call that didn’t sit well with Justin Braun was an elbowing minor he was assessed on Corey Perry, leading to Ryan Getzlaf’s game-winner.
“I see it as just a battle going into the corner,” Braun said. “Maybe got him more than I thought. That happens a few times a game and it’s not called. You’re just going to battle for the puck. It’s unfortunate it ended up in the back of our net.”
2 – Concern for Vlasic
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks lost yet another body when Marc-Edouard Vlasic left for unspecified reasons. There was no immediate update on his condition. If Vlasic is to miss any time, the Sharks will have lost four players in the span of less than two weeks including Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels.
If Vlasic is hurt, though, at the least the Sharks have Dylan DeMelo around. The defenseman played well filling in for a sick Brenden Dillon, and scored a second period goal.
“He’s played great,” Braun said of DeMelo. “Two games, it’s hard not really knowing if he’s going or not. He’s responded well. True professional. He’s always ready to go, even sitting around for a month. Comes to the rink and works hard every day.”
DeMelo felt more comfortable against the Ducks than on Wednesday against the Blackhawks when he made his season debut and only found out he was playing about 20 minutes before warmups. This time, he had an idea in the morning he might be needed.
“Kind of shook off the nerves in the first game, being out quite a long time,” he said. “Felt really good today again, legs felt great. Happy to contribute today.”
3 – Boedker benched
After expressing support for Mikkel Boedker throughout his rough first six weeks with the Sharks, DeBoer had finally seen enough of the 26-year-old in the third period. Boedker didn’t take a single shift.
It will be interesting to see where Boedker goes from here, especially with Karlsson just about ready to get back into the lineup. Will the winger remain on a scoring line on Tuesday against Arizona, or does Boedker deserve to spend a night in the press box? Perhaps scratching him against his former team will send a message that he’s got to be a little more involved and compete a little harder. So far, he’s been an empty jersey.