San Jose Sharks Outplayed by Vegas in Second Round Exit
By Andrew Bet
The San Jose Sharks’ season ends in disappointing fashion, as they lose in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the Stanley Cup Finals.
A strong start to game six provided optimism the San Jose Sharks could force a decisive game seven back in Vegas. Post after the post, the Sharks appeared to be knocking at the door to put one past Marc-Andre Fleury finally, but to no avail.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s turnover early in the second period proved costly as Jon Marchessault slipped one past Martin Jones. After the Golden Knights went on top, the Sharks lost all momentum, slowly falling apart.
Vegas completely shut down the Sharks’ offensive attack through clogging the neutral zone and being relentless on the puck. San Jose had zero time to execute clean passes, and the active sticks by Vegas thwarted any attacks.
San Jose Sharks
San Jose efficiently put away a dysfunctional Anaheim Ducks squad in the first round through their speed and controlling play in the neutral zone. As the series dragged on against Vegas, the Golden Knights keened in on the Sharks’ strengths, taking away any threats.
After a stellar performance against Anaheim, Jones did not deliver in net, getting pulled on two occasions. Jones could not be faulted on most of the goals given up but allowed ones he wishes he could have back.
Jones was outdueled by Fleury, who seemed to be riding the Vegas luck, holding the right cards with some fortunate saves. In a series where two goaltenders were on top of their games, Fleury edged out Jones, posting two shutouts in the series.
But Fleury is not the sole reason for Vegas moving on as the Sharks were unable to shut down the top line of the Golden Knights. Vlasic and Justin Braun got tasked to play against the first lines when the playoffs opened. Both did a stable job in shutting out Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in round one.
As for shutting down Vegas, Marchessault, William Karlsson, and James Neal delivered the most significant damage. The top line of Vegas combined for about 25 points against the Sharks throughout the series.
Speed was apparent in game one as the Golden Knights made the opening statement with a resounding 7-0 win over a sluggish Sharks side. Both teams came off first-round sweeps, but the Sharks did not appear ready.
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Joakim Ryan got inserted back into the lineup after the defenseman, Paul Martin, could not keep up with the pace of Golden Knights. Ryan got injured during the season which allowed Martin to get back in the lineup after spending time with the San Jose Barracuda after being placed on waivers.
Ryan did a decent job in the games played which leave a question as to whether Peter DeBoer should have opted with him over Martin to begin the series.
Vegas made a few tweaks, inserting a couple of players who proved to be difference makers in the game. As for the decisive game six, Vegas’ fourth line produced significant offensive zone time over the Sharks’ fourth liners.
Tomas Hertl was San Jose’s best players throughout the playoff run. Finally looking healthy, Hertl used his size and speed to bring pucks into the offensive zone and outmaneuver defenders to get in front of the net to create scoring chances.
Hertl guaranteed a game seven would occur, and while he did his part, his teammates could not solve the Vegas forecheck.
Former Shark, Ryan Carpenter, came back to bite his former club, assisting on the empty-net goal to give Vegas a 3-0 lead. Carpenter was placed on waivers during the season and got claimed by the Golden Knights.
Overall, the Sharks could have been up 3-1 in this series if the bounces were gone their way. Unfortunately, the destiny of winning a Stanley Cup would not occur with everyone wanting Vegas to continue the feel-good story (including the NBCSN announcers).
An intriguing offseason is on hand for Doug Wilson with franchise-altering moves potentially keeping San Jose’s window for a championship open for the years to come. Evander Kane made his case after being acquired and almost seems sure he will not be leaving.
Next: San Jose Sharks Look to Make Golden Knights Fold in Second Round
Once again, the same old story repeats for the San Jose Sharks with another playoff exit after a successful regular season. Time will tell if the Sharks will ever put together the right pieces and finally deliver a championship to the Bay Area. October cannot come soon enough.