The first East Coast trip for the Sharks is underway.
Hello Sharks Nation from Montreal! The San Jose Sharks are in the middle of their annual eastern Canada trip, and I have been following the team through it. At the time of writing, I am on the train to Ottawa.
Quick side note before the weekly recap: take time to check out Montreal. Very beautiful city, but brush up on your French first.
10/15: Nashville Predators // W (SO), 3-2
This is becoming a worrying trend. The Sharks took a two-goal lead halfway into the third period. Mason Marchment and Will Smith scored for San Jose. However, the Sharks let Nashville back in, allowing a power-play goal and a buzzer-beater to tie the game.
After a back-and-forth overtime, the game went to a shootout. Macklin Celebrini had the only goal for either team. Alex Nedeljkovic was lights-out again, and the Sharks took two points in a game that ran a few minutes longer than it should have.
10/17: Detroit Red Wings // L (SO), 4-3
Again, the Sharks had a third-period lead, and again they could not close it out. San Jose gave up the first goal of the game, but they came roaring back. They scored three straight, led by Dmitry Orlov, Celebrini, and Ivar Stenberg. When the Sharks get a lead like that, it seems they take their foot off the gas. They relax a bit too much and allow the other team to gain momentum.
Credit: San Jose Sharks-XPrevent defense prevents wins. Detroit scored twice in the third, including the tying goal with just 1:33 left. Another intense overtime didn’t produce a winner, so the Sharks went to a shootout again. Unfortunately, the Sharks were shut out and dropped a game they should have won before it even got to overtime.
10/19; Toronto Maple Leafs // L, 3-1
The previous two games were frustrating because of lackluster late play. This game was frustrating because of the power play. With all the firepower the Sharks have, the man-advantage should be incredibly dangerous. Instead, it looked pitiful at best. San Jose could not do anything whatsoever on four power-play opportunities. They looked completely discombobulated.
Give credit to Toronto’s penalty kill unit. Coming into the game, they had around a 96% kill rate. That is incredibly high. The main player on every kill, though, is the goalie, and Sergei Bobrovski was brilliant in this game. Sometimes you run into a goalie who stands on his head and wins the game singlehandedly. Other than Marchment’s first-period goal, Bobrovski was lights out. Yaroslav Askarov looked much better too, so that’s a silver lining.
Toronto was great. Think of New York, but in Canada. If you ever find yourself there, stop by the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s just a couple blocks from the Scotiabank Center.
10/20: Montreal Canadiens // W (OT), 4-3
Stop number two on my trip was Montreal. The Canadiens are a year or two ahead of the Sharks in their rebuild. Their stars are more established, and they reached the Eastern Conference Final last season. This would be a tough game.
Celebrini scored first off a Smith forecheck. A loose puck found Celebrini’s stick in front of Jakub Dobes, and the captain tapped it into the back of the net with ease. Montreal came back, though, in a big way, scoring three unanswered. The Sharks just didn’t look ready to compete with the Canadiens yet.
Then the second intermission hit. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky reportedly made a fiery speech to the team. Whatever he said, it worked. The Sharks looked like a different team in the third period. They put heavy pressure on Montreal, and it paid off. Kiefer Sherwood and Michael Misa went on a two-on-one breakaway, and Misa scored to pull the Sharks within one. Halfway into the third, San Jose capitalized on the power play. Tyler Toffoli scored and tied the game. For the first time this season, the Sharks forced overtime after trailing in the third period.
In overtime, the Canadiens kept the puck out of their net. Collin Graf skated in front of Dobes, who interfered with Graf to give the Sharks a power play. A complete gaffe by the Montreal netminder. Celebrini made them pay. After a few passes between Stenberg and Smith, Stenberg found Celebrini, who absolutely roasted the puck past Dobes. The Montreal barn was full of loud Habs fans. The Sharks fans, including myself, were loudest at the end.
Be sure to head down to Old Town Montreal if you ever find yourself there. I have not been to France, but I imagine it looks a lot like this. Also, ride the Ferris Wheel down by the water. Great altitude views up there.
As I said earlier, my group and I are train-bound for the game in Ottawa Thursday night. They just had an emotional game of their own, with Brady Tkachuk back in town Wednesday night.
Hopefully the Sharks can capitalize on the Senators’ emotional hangover.
