San Jose Sharks

Sharks vs. Oilers gm 2: Depth, determination and drama keys to SJ success
April 14, 2017, 11:51 AM ET [6 Comments]
Steve Palumbo
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
I'll admit it - I'm surprised the San Jose Sharks won Game 1 of the best-of-seven series with the exciting Edmonton Oilers. Shocked really.

The way the Sharks sputtered into the playoffs did little to bolster any confidence I may have had tucked deep down inside. Now I'm forced to rethink the series, the Sharks and even the Oilers.

San Jose showed why depth in the playoffs is as important, if not more important, than star players being star players or a hot goalie stealing wins. Success in the NHL comes down to a teams overall depth. The Sharks depth was on full display in their 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win. Depth that should have surprised nobody, especially me.

The Sharks displayed mucho moxie by rallying when down a pair of goals. The Sharks showed guts by completing the comeback in front of the insane orange posse. More over, they showed depth by doing all this without a legend in Joe Thornton and with a less than healthy playoff beast in Logan Couture.

Nevertheless, they did it and they will need more of the same from the Tomas Hertl's, Timo Meier's and Joel Ward's of the world.

If the Sharks have any aspirations of taking both games in Edmonton and not settling for the split - they WILL need more of this tonight...

Tomas Hertl - He led all players on the ice with 11 face-off wins and added seven of SJ's 44 shots.

Timo Meier - The rookie made his presence known with four hits.

Joel Ward - Ward reverted back to his clutch playoff self from last spring. He gave the Sharks life with the Sharks first goal on the power play and he too threw his weight around with four hits. BTW, I expected this from Ward.

Melker Karlsson - OVERTIME GOAL!

Joe Pavelski - The captain was a defensive stalwart with four takeaways, seven face-off wins and an assist on Karlsson’s overtime winner.

Brent Burns - The bearded one had a heavy presence in the game. He was everywhere and had a game-high eight shots and four takeaways.

Logan Couture - Even with a busted up mouth and face, Couture managed to win most of his face-offs and played more than 20 minutes.

Whatever the Sharks did in game one, they will need to do it again and then some. The Oilers won't go quietly. They have their playoff legs underneath them and will be chomping at the bit to give their fans a win on home ice. Connor McDavid was held to a single assists in his playoff debut. It's only a matter of time before he breaks through with a goal or goals of his own.

How important is tonight's game for both teams?

Since the NHL teams that won Game One have gone on to win 68.5% of the seven-game series played. The team that grabs a 2-0 series lead wins the series 86.4% of the time.

Thanks for reading,
Steve