The San Jose Sharks opened the season with a shootout win over the Arizona Coyotes last night.
It doesn't look great that the Sharks had a two-goal lead then blew it with only three and a half minutes remaining but at the end of the day, they got the win.
The Sharks’ best forwards were their best forwards in the first game of the year and both Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane had three points, combining for 10 shots. John Leonard also had a strong NHL debut, posting two assists.
San Jose did give up quite a few good chances but Martin Jones came to the rescue. Jones made quite a few key saves on point-blank chances and if it weren’t for him, the Sharks probably wouldn’t have come away with the win. He can’t be faulted for any of the goals and didn’t really have much of a chance on the first two of them. It wasn’t the way we necessarily expected the season to start, but Jones was crucial in San Jose’s win.
Moving forward, however, this can’t be a recurring trend for the Sharks. They gave up far too many high-danger chances and if things continue like this defensively, things aren’t going to go well.
That said, the Sharks are 1-0 to start the year. It wasn’t a perfect game but the Sharks found a way to win.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you think Martin Jones was San Jose's most important player in their win over the Coyotes?
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