GDT: Game 19: Sharks @ Penguins 4:00pm NBCSCA

[BaileyMacTavish]

HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards.com)

#NHL GameScore Impact Card for San Jose Sharks on 2024-11-16: #SJSharks

bsky.app

didn't see it on the twitter side of things. ferraro continues to be concerning.

Posted it on bsky, but I'll just say it here as well. Mario Ferraro is a hockey terrorist. He drags down every pairing he's been on and it's baffling he's still getting almost 20 minutes a night despite being horrendous

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

A little worried that the line will have a very hard time in the defensive zone. Celebrini is responsible but he’s still learning and Smith and Toffoli aren’t exactly the fastest/most defensively responsible.

Assuming Full Health

73-64-20
72-71-2
53-21-23
11-7-91

Top 2 lines are pretty interchangeable but I think this might be the play with what we got

 

[Cas]

Posted it on bsky, but I'll just say it here as well. Mario Ferraro is a hockey terrorist. He drags down every pairing he's been on and it's baffling he's still getting almost 20 minutes a night despite being horrendous

But he's blocks lots of shots! He even gives the puck up so that he can block more shots! What a warrior!

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

But he's blocks lots of shots! He even gives the puck up so that he can block more shots! What a warrior!

Unironically, I think that he has some value as a hardworking shot blocker 5-7D like Kris Russell;. But like Russell, he should be playing like 15 mins a night at most. Playing with Burns practically broke him. I think we just mishandled him from the beginning

 

[Cas]

Unironically, I think that he has some value as a hardworking shot blocker 5-7D like Kris Russell;. But like Russell, he should be playing like 15 mins a night at most. Playing with Burns practically broke him. I think we just mishandled him from the beginning

I don't think playing with Burns broke him so much as simply not having any NHL-level skills did. I'm not sure there is anything he is above-average at, and is awful in enough areas that he's just plain bad.

We thought he would develop and he was a rare bright spot in a tough year, but I think he just fundamentally isn't good enough for the NHL, was never going to be good enough, and we were just desperate for good news.

 

[Star Platinum]

Wow, Walman is so damn good. He's consistently one of the Sharks' best dmen. Could he be worth a 1st rounder if he continues to play well by the trade deadline?

I think there's zero chance the Sharks will be looking to move Walman, who is signed through 2026.

 

[Star Platinum]

A little worried that the line will have a very hard time in the defensive zone. Celebrini is responsible but he’s still learning and Smith and Toffoli aren’t exactly the fastest/most defensively responsible.

One thing the Sharks should not be overthinking is the defensive capabilities of their top two lines. This is a developmental year, not a "try hard to sneak into the playoffs" year. Coach up the young guys all you want to be better on that end, but give the young kids someone better than Goodrow to play with.

 

[coooldude]

A little worried that the line will have a very hard time in the defensive zone. Celebrini is responsible but he’s still learning and Smith and Toffoli aren’t exactly the fastest/most defensively responsible.

Yeah, this is why we won't likely see 73-71-2...
1. Unless we're at home so we can make sure they're not matching against a top line
2. one of them has to play their off wing, more natural to have Eklund join Celebrini and Smith and even then that line relies on Ek and Celebrini to do the dirty work. We are just short a big, skilled winger with at least some jam/grit. We really only have one (Zetts) and he's already 25 and on the right side as well.

Hopefully one of Musty, Chernyshov, Halttunen develops into it, or if we end up with Misa/ Martone, they fit the bill. But also, if this is the future - Smith is Macklin's RW - we are now short a top C organizationally.

 

[Jargon]

Yeah, this is why we won't likely see 73-71-2...
1. Unless we're at home so we can make sure they're not matching against a top line
2. one of them has to play their off wing, more natural to have Eklund join Celebrini and Smith and even then that line relies on Ek and Celebrini to do the dirty work. We are just short a big, skilled winger with at least some jam/grit. We really only have one (Zetts) and he's already 25 and on the right side as well.

Hopefully one of Musty, Chernyshov, Halttunen develops into it, or if we end up with Misa/ Martone, they fit the bill. But also, if this is the future - Smith is Macklin's RW - we are now short a top C organizationally.

I don’t think that the long term-goal is Smith at wing. I think they’re trying to get him some confidence and up to general NHL speed. It’s the Hertl plan for now.

 

[Jargon]

One thing the Sharks should not be overthinking is the defensive capabilities of their top two lines. This is a developmental year, not a "try hard to sneak into the playoffs" year. Coach up the young guys all you want to be better on that end, but give the young kids someone better than Goodrow to play with.

It’s not overthinking defensive capabilities, it’s simply building lines that don’t get hemmed in their zone for 2 minutes. If Celebrini and Smith mess up their coverage or don’t back check properly or whatever, they end up chasing the puck around their zone all shift. The hope is a defensive forward like Goodrow can help that a little.

 

[coooldude]

It’s not overthinking defensive capabilities, it’s simply building lines that don’t get hemmed in their zone for 2 minutes. If Celebrini and Smith mess up their coverage or don’t back check properly or whatever, they end up chasing the puck around their zone all shift. The hope is a defensive forward like Goodrow can help that a little.

Yeah, exactly, and it's not even a "defensive forward" necessarily, It's a forward who can go into a board battle as a favorite. Celebrini has that dawg in him so he'll get better at it, but Smith isn't able to do this - he'll win a few but it's typically an upset. Goodrow is actually pretty big and physical and this is one of his best attributes. The only other top 6 forward who can go into a battle with even or better odds is Zetterlund because he's a fridge. Eklund and Granlund have to battle with smarts and wiles.