Things started off alright for San Jose in the first 10 minutes or so but they collapsed quickly. The Sharks started giving up chance after chance and the defensive zone coverage was brutal. San Jose was outshot 29-15 through the first two periods of the game and while nobody is saying it’s easy to defend the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the defensive effort just wasn’t there.
Martin Jones had a rough night but the majority of goals scored on him weren’t necessarily bad goals. That said, he really didn’t give the Sharks a save when they needed it.
The Sharks did get some quality chances of their own but anytime you allow seven goals, the game probably isn’t going to go your way. That said, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane and John Leonard were completely invisible and an ytime that many of your top forwards don’t show up to play, it’s going to be hard to win.
It was a pretty terrible game for the Sharks and will certainly be one to forget. But unless they can make lasting changes to become a better team defensively, it’s very possible we see more games like this.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Should the Sharks attempt to make a trade to improve their defense group?