SAN JOSE -- Ahead of the Sharks’ Tuesday night game against the Minnesota Wild, Logan Couture acknowledged San Jose’s opponent was going to be tough.
“This is probably one of, if not the, best team we’ve played this year so far,” he said.
While the Sharks were victorious that evening, their obstacles aren’t all behind them just yet. Next, they have a Central Division-centered back-to-back on the road before their longest homestand of the season, which is chock-full of steep competition.
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SIGN UP HERE As the season becomes more serious and the stakes become higher, the upcoming stretch of games becomes the Sharks’ most difficult task yet. That task starts with a two-game roadie in Dallas and St. Louis, against two teams at the bottom of their division who have a lot to prove.
Playing on the back-to-back Thursday and Friday, all while factoring in travel, is going to be a test in itself. Sure, every team has quick road trips of this sort and the Sharks have already done plenty of traveling this season. And heck, at least the team won’t be hopping every time zone in the country like they did on their last road trip.
Nevertheless, it’s still a quick turnaround to start off a stint of six games across a 10-game span.
Then, there’s the competition the Sharks will face on the road over the next few days. The Dallas Stars, for starters, have played the Sharks tough for a few seasons now. Plus, Dallas’ goaltending is better than it has been in past seasons – provided Ben Bishop continues to stay healthy. Yes, the same Ben Bishop who shut the Sharks out 6-0 on New Year’s Eve last season.
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All that said, they’ll be hosting San Jose after coming off a six-game road trip where they dropped their final two decisions. Remember what coach Peter DeBoer said last week about the Sharks needing to play up to the opponent’s level of desperation? Thursday’s game in Dallas is looking as though it could be one of those contests.
Friday’s opponent, the Blues, is a slightly different animal. Someone who hasn’t been paying attention to St. Louis may be impressed with how they look on paper, with the fourth-most goals scored per game and the third best power play in the league. Their overall performance, however, has been incredibly lopsided, and has them firmly placed on the bottom rung of the Central Division ladder.
Though the Blues rose to the occasion with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the win came on the heals of a dreadful 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild Saturday that increased rumors coach Mike Yeo’s job is on the line. In short, this is another team that’s going to play the Sharks tough, no question.
The Sharks, for their part, appear to be fixing their early-season kinks. They’re finding depth scoring and figuring out how to mirror their opponents’ energy level on a regular basis. Those keys will have come into play as they face two desperate teams on this two-game road trip.