Does it surprize you to learn the Sharks would be on pace for a 100 point season?

[drunksage]

I don't extrapolate the standings regularly, actually.

Nice.

 

[Juxtaposer]

A lot of coaches open it up at home and shut it down on the road. We'll have to see if TM goes with the pack or understands what is good for the team. We also have to see how he integrates the new faces. How much rope does he give to vets who aren't earning their place in the lineup? Strategy and aristocracy/meritocracy are the two issues.

BTW, the home record is a big pointer to matchups. Not as easy to get matchups on the road. Right now he is using Couture/Marleau as shutdown and it is showing on their offensive side. Pavs is frequently getting second tier, often allowing JT buttersoft qualcomp. Minny tried to two-time it after the Sharks went ahead. Tried to get Suter on both JT and Couture. I would pay attention to matchups as well.

Marleau and Couture are generally getting thrashed. Particularly last night.

 

[Mafoofoo]

Marleau and Couture are generally getting thrashed. Particularly last night.

Yeah wasnt it only when it was a line of Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski that they went around dominating most lines pretty easily?

 

[Brent Burns]

Marleau and Couture are generally getting thrashed. Particularly last night.

Couture and Marleau need to start getting a bit chippy. I was especially surprised at how much Marleau let himself get slapped around. It was almost at pre-Heatley Vlasic levels.

 

[Barrie22]

Marleau and Couture are generally getting thrashed. Particularly last night.

marleau and couture are both smart players who use there IQ to get open and get into the dirty areas where goals are scored.

but neither of them can actually control and hold onto the puck in traffic that good. so that line to be good offensively especially needs a puck carrier.

 

[Herschel]

They aren't really "doing that well"

They're currently still in the lower portion of the league in ROW, I know they're somewhere around 5-10 in points percentage but that's due to a lot of Shootout wins and Shootout losses.

Points are an incredibly flawed number IMO, I think that ROW is the most important statistic here.

While I agree that the current point system is very flawed I am not sold on ROW taken by itself and even more so when trying to predict playoff success. 1/3 of the Sharks games have be "decided" using a format that doesn't existing come playoffs.

If you are going to look at one single stat I think goal differential is the most telling and it shows the Sharks in the second tier of teams which is really how they have been playing this season.

 

[Barrie22]

While I agree that the current point system is very flawed I am not sold on ROW taken by itself and even more so when trying to predict playoff success. 1/3 of the Sharks games have be "decided" using a format that doesn't existing come playoffs.

If you are going to look at one single stat I think goal differential is the most telling and it shows the Sharks in the second tier of teams which is really how they have been playing this season.

that in the past 6 games has went from dismal at like -8 to +4.

and that started at +20 in the 1st 7 games lol.

 

[Mafoofoo]

Couture and Marleau need to start getting a bit chippy. I was especially surprised at how much Marleau let himself get slapped around. It was almost at pre-Heatley Vlasic levels.

Isn't Wingels supposed to be the crash bang guy on that line? Also not worried about Patty. I mean he's no Thornton but he's a big dude who can absorb alot of hits and wont go down easily.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Isn't Wingels supposed to be the crash bang guy on that line? Also not worried about Patty. I mean he's no Thornton but he's a big dude who can absorb alot of hits and wont go down easily.

I'm not at all concerned about Marleau getting hurt, I'm concerned about the whole "Marleau/Couture getting dominated" bit. Yes, Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski was a great line, but it left us with almost no scoring depth. Here's my proposition:

Wingels-Thornton-Burns
Torres-Couture-Havlat
Marleau-Pavelski-Galiardi
Sheppard-Desjardins-Burish

Good balance of forechecking, playmaking, and sniping, every line has two speedy players, each of the 3 scoring lines has two legit top-end top-6 forwards. Torres takes care of Couture. Marleau-Pavelski takes care of opposing top-line forwards and defensive zone draws.

 

[Negatively Positive]

Not sure if I should make a thread about this and not sure where to discuss this but we were talking about the weak 2nd PP unit yesterday in the gdt and I was thinking since we have enough defensemen capable of playing on PP(Boyle, Burns, Demers, Braun, Irwin), do we really need to put Pavs on the point? Why not do

Marleau Thornton Couture/Pavs
Demers Boyle

Gomez Pavs/Couture Havlat
Braun Burns


Or since people see Demers as Boyle-lite and maybe a future PP QB, we could put Burns up front and let Demers try to run 2nd PP unit

Marleau Jumbo Pavs/Couture
Irwin Boyle

Burns Pavs/Couture Havlat
Braun Demers

We do have enough talent and depth but we just need to stop putting Pavs on the point.

 

[llamanby]

100 really isnt that impressive in today's NHL.

The last few years, 100 points in the Western conference would place you:

2012: 7th
2011: 4th
2010: 7th tie
2009: 5th
2008 5th

100 points would have only gotten home ice in 1 of the last 5 years. We are sitting in 5th right now which just about what 100 points would normally get a team, and this is after a 6 game win streak. 9 days ago, we were on pace for a 87 point season which is fugly.

To be fair, this should be the easiest part of the schedule.

12 games remain, 6 against the bottom 4 teams in the west. Only 1 against the top 4 teams in the west. 6 home/6 Away.

 

[lsx]

They really haven't played much with this system on the road though, so i think that's tough to quantify at the moment.

It's hard to understate how dramatic the shift in strategy is. It's the kind o thing you see with a new coach, which really makes me wonder what happened. They went from a conservative, prevent, cycle and grind puck possession strategy to a north-south, transition, score on the rush strategy overnight. It's exactly what they needed to do (and most of us have been saying), but what prompted it? Did Wilson come down and tell Todd to play the other system? Or this new system? Did Todd just have a sudden epiphany? I dunno.

Either way, the Sharks are playing the kind of hockey they started the season with, and the kind of hockey this team is suited for. Sadly, I'm not sure we have the personnel to get it done at this point but my projections are a LOT higher than they were a month ago. The special teams are fantastic, the scoring is where it should be, everyone is producing now as they should... I really don't see anything to complain about.

They finally did what we've been calling for and it's like night and day. Like you said, sure would love to know the behind the scenes info on who or what actually caused the necessary system change.

 

[The Ice Hockey Dude]

This is a good time to look at the stats in that way, to be honest who cares. You need to look at the whole season not just during the current streak.

They need to make the playoffs, then get deep into them.

 

[BadVooDoo]

I'm not at all concerned about Marleau getting hurt, I'm concerned about the whole "Marleau/Couture getting dominated" bit. Yes, Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski was a great line, but it left us with almost no scoring depth. Here's my proposition:

Wingels-Thornton-Burns
Torres-Couture-Havlat
Marleau-Pavelski-Galiardi
Sheppard-Desjardins-Burish

Good balance of forechecking, playmaking, and sniping, every line has two speedy players, each of the 3 scoring lines has two legit top-end top-6 forwards. Torres takes care of Couture. Marleau-Pavelski takes care of opposing top-line forwards and defensive zone draws.

I'd put in Gomez over one of Desjardins or Burish, but other than that those lines look like they'd work pretty well, and if the Sharks need to load up a line for a goal they can just swap Marleau and Wingels and not disrupt the other lines.

 

[PlaywithGutz*]

Couture and Marleau need to start getting a bit chippy. I was especially surprised at how much Marleau let himself get slapped around. It was almost at pre-Heatley Vlasic levels.

it is not in his nature to get angry or display anything other than high speed blinking...very non-confrontational and Cooter is just too small..

 

[hockeyball]

it is not in his nature to get angry or display anything other than high speed blinking...very non-confrontational and Cooter is just too small..

Yah but Boyle is a pro high-speed blinker and he's he's a beast!

 

[PlaywithGutz*]

Yah but Boyle is a pro high-speed blinker and he's he's a beast!

clearly those two are separated in the locker room or else they might hypnotize people..

 

[PlaywithGutz*]

Yah but Boyle is a pro high-speed blinker and he's he's a beast!

i wonder if they freak each other out when talking to each other,,lolo

 

[sharski]

Back in the day before 3-point games, 100 points meant something

 

[Mafoofoo]

it is not in his nature to get angry or display anything other than high speed blinking...very non-confrontational and Cooter is just too small..

I blame his wife.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I'd put in Gomez over one of Desjardins or Burish, but other than that those lines look like they'd work pretty well, and if the Sharks need to load up a line for a goal they can just swap Marleau and Wingels and not disrupt the other lines.

Oops, forgot about Gomez. Put him in, take Burish out, put Desy on wing.

 

[SJGoalie32]

100 really isnt that impressive in today's NHL.

The last few years, 100 points in the Western conference would place you:

2012: 7th
2011: 4th
2010: 7th tie
2009: 5th
2008 5th
2007: 5th
2006: 8th


100 points would have only gotten home ice in 1 of the last 5 years. We are sitting in 5th right now which just about what 100 points would normally get a team, and this is after a 6 game win streak. 9 days ago, we were on pace for a 87 point season which is fugly.

To be fair, this should be the easiest part of the schedule.

12 games remain, 6 against the bottom 4 teams in the west. Only 1 against the top 4 teams in the west. 6 home/6 Away.

+1

The Sharks finished with 96 points last year. That's a measly 4-point change in pace. Turn a pair of regulation losses into shootout wins (or vice versa) and there's your margin for how much "better" this team is than the one that got outright stomped on in the postseason last year.

Up until a week and a half ago, this team had a pitiful 3 non-shootout wins against playoff teams.

Which to me has been the most pleasant surprise of this recent win streak.....5 of 6 in regulation, and all 5 of those against teams in playoff positions.

It's enough to offer a glimmer of hope that maybe this postseason won't be so bad. Maybe even enough to win a round. Still not holding my breath that they get even as far as their peak years (and really, a 1-8 record during a pair of WCF series isn't all much to hang your hat on), but who knows.

 

[DG93]

Not sure where to post this...

random idea...why not run 4 lines that can score when Kennedy comes off IR (and Demers is healthy)

For example:

Marleau-Thornton-Burns (Marleau-Couture aren’t clicking too well on offense, and I think Jumbo/Havlat are a bit redundant)
Torres-Couture-Havlat (good mix of skill, speed, and grit I guess)
Galiardi-Pavelski-Kennedy
Sheppard-Gomez-Wingels (I remember they clicked well earlier)

Vlasic-Demers (heavy defensive work…they’re good at that stuff)
Stuart-Braun
Irwin-Boyle (lighter minutes will also help keep Boyle rested/healthy for the PP and the playoffs)

Nemo

Thoughts?

 

[BadVooDoo]

+1

The Sharks finished with 96 points last year. That's a measly 4-point change in pace. Turn a pair of regulation losses into shootout wins (or vice versa) and there's your margin for how much "better" this team is than the one that got outright stomped on in the postseason last year.

Up until a week and a half ago, this team had a pitiful 3 non-shootout wins against playoff teams.

Which to me has been the most pleasant surprise of this recent win streak.....5 of 6 in regulation, and all 5 of those against teams in playoff positions.

It's enough to offer a glimmer of hope that maybe this postseason won't be so bad. Maybe even enough to win a round. Still not holding my breath that they get even as far as their peak years (and really, a 1-8 record during a pair of WCF series isn't all much to hang your hat on), but who knows.

SJ is icing a solid lineup now and once Torres and Demers draw in it'll be even better. There really are no glaring weaknesses in the roster, no 4th line that can lose a game with 5 minutes of icetime or a d-pair that can't move the puck to save their life.

With a bit of luck on their side I think SJ can go far, and they're due for some good luck still after that series against the Ducks.

 

[Hatrick Marleau]

Not sure where to post this...

random idea...why not run 4 lines that can score when Kennedy comes off IR (and Demers is healthy)

For example:

Marleau-Thornton-Burns (Marleau-Couture aren’t clicking too well on offense, and I think Jumbo/Havlat are a bit redundant)
Torres-Couture-Havlat (good mix of skill, speed, and grit I guess)
Galiardi-Pavelski-Kennedy
Sheppard-Gomez-Wingels (I remember they clicked well earlier)

Vlasic-Demers (heavy defensive work…they’re good at that stuff)
Stuart-Braun
Irwin-Boyle (lighter minutes will also help keep Boyle rested/healthy for the PP and the playoffs)

Nemo

Thoughts?

No Kennedy sucks. Keep the lines the way they are and put Torres with Pavs. We are rolling right now, no need to change anything.