San Jose Sharks: Deja vu in Round 2 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs has started exactly the way the first round did for the San Jose Sharks. And if you remember, it had them down 3-1 after four games. Will this series be the same?

After an impressive outing in Game 1 of this best of seven series, the San Jose Sharks came out in Game 2 and once again put on a less than stellar performance. In Round 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Team Teal faced off against the Vegas Golden Knights and in Game 1, they won the game 5-2.

Well in the first game of Round 2, they also won 5-2 except this time it was against the Colorado Avalanche. In both games, the Sharks showed that they have the talent to compete against most teams, but in Sunday night’s Game 2 against the Avs, they showed that they are unable to back it up.

In the first period of the game, the Sharks came out and played well. They started the exact way they were supposed to start but the good play ended there. In the second and third period, the Sharks team was outplayed and had absolutely zero pressure on the Avalanche.

One key that was not met Sunday night was controlling the Colorado top line. The difference between this game and Game 1, was that team defense and limiting that top line. It’s hard to blame Martin Jones for Sunday night’s loss as he made big saves when he needed to and was a reason the Sharks were not down after the second period.

At the end of the day, it was the defense that let the Sharks down and for that reason, they are now tied 1-1 heading to Denver for the first time. One thing that was a problem for the Sharks was the speed of the Avalanche and them being able to win a lot of the loose puck battles.

Some big name players for the Avs had some influential plays in the game that kept Colorado pushing towards the final score. Nathan MacKinnon had one goal and one assist, Gabriel Landeskog also had one goal and one assist, and Mikko Rantanen had one assist.

In total, those three players had five points in Sunday night’s game. In Game 1, those same three players were held to two points and both of those two points were assists. The Sharks need to do a better job controlling that line as it will be deadly if they are not able to.

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We saw what they can do on Sunday night when they get a little bit of space. Especially now when the series switches to Colorado, the Avs will have the crowd helping them and it will come down to how well the Sharks defense plays during the whole 60 minutes of play.

In the playoffs, we have already seen what happens when you do not play a whole 60 minutes. In the first period, the Sharks outshot the Avs 11-6 but in the second they tied with 13 apiece. Finally in the third, the Avalanche outshot the Sharks 13-10 and at the end of the day, that was the difference maker.

Colorado did a great job of getting the puck on net while the Sharks struggled with that for most of the game and especially during the power play. The Sharks were 1-for-3 on the power play and if you watched the last series, you know the Sharks power play has been a major problem for them as in the last series they went 8-for-32, just a measly 23 %.

Before the series started, it was noted that to be successful, you need to be able to score five-on-five but also take advantage of the power play when it is given to you. One reason the Sharks have been slacking on the power play is due to the absence of Joe Pavelski in the series so far.

Team Teal will need to see the play of other players such as Evander Kane and Timo Meier step up on the power play units. The Sharks did very little of either on Sunday night and for that reason, they are tied in the series and have lost home-ice advantage.

We saw the same thing happen in Game 2 of Round 1 as the Sharks went 1-for-8 on the power play and lost that game 5-3. One highlight of Sunday night’s game was Brent Burns and his play. He almost single-handedly brought the Sharks back to tie the game but ran out of time.

Next. San Jose Sharks: Previewing the Colorado Avalanche series. dark

Burns scored two goals in the last five minutes to bring the Sharks within one but was never able to fully complete the comeback. His play in Game 1 was also a big reason the Sharks won that game as he had one goal and three assists during the contest. He has been a huge help for the San Jose Sharks offense and will need to continue to be as this series continues.

The next game of these 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs for these two teams will be on Tuesday, April 30th as the series shifts to the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.

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