Were the Golden Knights that good? Or were the Sharks that bad?
It depends who you ask, but the most accurate answer probably is: A little bit of both.
Las Vegas tallied seven goals, from seven different scorers. Marc-Andre Fleury now has three shutouts in these first five playoff games.
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And San Jose just suffered their worst playoff defeat in a shutout, in their 216 games of postseason history.
Ready to move forward?
1: That “laundry list of issues” for Pete DeBoer and the Sharks
It wasn’t like San Jose made one mistake repeatedly, or was deficient in just one area of the game. The Sharks faced a multitude of shortcomings in Game 1: turnovers, speed differential, and taking too many penalties. It makes you wonder: how many they can correct, how many they can improve on, and how many are simply insurmountable based on the difficulty of what Las Vegas brings? This is what we will learn about the Sharks in Game 2, the tactical and personal response they can achieve — based on approximaely 43 hours of stewing in defeat.
San Jose Sharks
2: Did Game 1 cost Evander Kane?
His first cross-check towards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was seemingly excusable, but his second in succession went a little higher on the body. It drew a whistle, a major penalty, and a game misconduct at 3:25 into the third period. Much as the Sharks would have liked to compartmentalize the blowout loss in Game 1, it may now have carry-over ramifications. Nobody ever knows the going rate on supplementary discipline, but we do know the NHL handed out more playoff suspensions in Round 1 of 2018, than all four rounds combined of last year. It’s not to assume Kane will see that fate, only that the status of an important player wearing teal has been left to the hands and minds of the league.
3: The Fleury Factor
Most eyes are drawn towards that seven on the scoreboard. But the other number was equally concerning. Fleury now has thirteen career playoff shutouts, with three occurring in the last five outings. It makes you wonder what his personal forecast is. Still heating up? Due for a cold front? That may not be a fair individual question, because the Las Vegas skaters in front of him were equally imperative in the result on Thursday night. It’s a team effort over there. These Golden Knights allowed only three goals in the entire first round. Much as the Sharks have their own defensive dilemmas, if they can’t solve Fleury, that will also end a series.
4: Can San Jose get faster by tinkering with their lineup?
Jamie Baker and Curtis Brown echoed similar sentiments in our postgame coverage Thursday night: It’s not only about playing faster, it’s also about doing a better job of slowing Las Vegas down in the neutral zone. What’s crazy is the universal observation we all had in watching San Jose sweep Anaheim: The Sharks looked noticeably faster in Round 1, than two seasons ago when they went to the Stanley Cup Final. So how were they made to look suddenly “slow” against Las Vegas? I’m not one to believe singular lineup changes, or line changes, or pair changes are the overall answer to making an entire team faster. I also hesitate to an over-reaction after just one (really bad) loss. But I also think if Game 2 starts to garner negative results, Pete DeBoer and his staff should (and will) already have some alternative options ready for action.
5: Big picture perspectives
Picture this: Game 1 could be the source of an eventual laugh, should the Sharks ultimately advance to Round 3. It could also be our first sign of demise should San Jose not be able to adjust accordingly, and lose the series. In all my years covering this team, the first playoff loss always stings more than most. It’s the first taste of adversity, and even though you know turbulence is part of every playoff ride, the palms get sweaty and the mind wanders. Usually outside of places it should. The Sharks have responded to other really bad defeats (6-0, December 31st in Dallas) in their next games with really good wins (4-1, January 2nd in Montreal). It’s difficult to “let go” of Game 1 for the 99.9 percent of us reading this who had zero percent impact on results. But the players have no choice outside of detaching, and utilizing a short memory. It’s a long way to four victories, and it would be a shame if any one performance was worth two consecutive wins.