In the final years of Detroit’s Western Conference existence, San Jose became a bane to the Winged Wheel. Post season defeats and a heated rivalry made the “shark tank” an unfriendly place to play. Things have changed, and the Wings hope to find some success in this final game of the West Coast swing.
When looking at the season numbers, one area of shocking weakness is goaltending. Neither club has an all star in net, but for San Jose it seems to be the undoing of a team loaded with potential. Martin Jones is 7-7-1 with a 3.27 GAA and a .888 SV%. San Jose has flirted with contention for several years, but their net minder seems to be the most in question position. Evander Kane leads the club with 12 goals in 20 games. However, Hertl has 6 goals in the past 5 contests. This team has all star players that started the season a bit slow, but when they turn it on it can burn you. Karlsson, Burns, Kane, Hertl, Couture. It’s hard to believe all these players won’t be in a much better position after the new year hits.
For Detroit, Jonathan Bernier has been the clear top performer in net. He enters tonight’s tilt with .892 SV% and 3.17 GAA. Anthony Mantha has 11 goals in 21 games and is on pace for a career year. Though quiet in the last game, Athanasiou and Fabbri have both had some good numbers in the past 5. Bertuzzi struck twice against L.A. and the Larkin line is finding it’s stride again. The Wings are knocking on the door of having 2 scoring lines. Out of context, that doesn’t sound like much. During this season, however, it means that guys are figuring it out.
Detroit still ranks last in goals for (2.29) and goals against (3.71). San Jose has a 3.5 goals against (26th) and a 2.9 goals for (17th). This contest could very well be the race to 4. If one team’s goaltender shuts the door, that will be the difference maker. This may be a 5-4 OT contest.
Detroit’s PK has improved to 70.8 and the power play has been more consistent heading to 16.4 for a special teams total of 87.2. San Jose has the best PK in the league at a whopping 90.5% kill rate with a PP clicking at 20.9%. Their total special teams number of 111.4% makes it clear that Detroit needs to try and win this contest 5 on 5. On any given night someone can break through, but San Jose is very good on special teams. Best to stay out of the box.
At worst, if Detroit takes a regulation loss, they will have acquired 3 of 6 possible points. Going .500 on the road is a solid number on most trips. Still, the group wants to win. It’s easy as a pundit to look down the road but for the players, it’s one shift at a time. They will want to contain Kane and Hertl and try to keep Karlsson in his own zone.
For San Jose to move past what they’ve accomplished, they will have to address their goaltending. Martin Jones had some solid looks this past post season, but ultimately was unable to stabilize the team. There’s a Philadelphia flavor to the goaltending issues. Wilson is a smart GM and has continued to bring in good pieces. The net minder just isn’t one of them for now.
This game is a coin toss. Momentum and goaltending will carry this one. If Detroit brings the Boston effort, they could well find a ‘W”. However, a game like they say against the Kings could get ugly very quickly. The sharks aren’t a team that you can allow a wide margin in shots without paying the price. Detroit will need to start on time, get on the board quickly, and play for 60 minutes with few or no penalties taken. It’s a tough task, but not impossible.
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