New manager, new captain, new net minder, everyone was wondering how the San Jose Sharks would do coming in to this season.
People were looking at Joe Thornton, claiming he was too old.
Lots of people were wondering what would happen, when Raffi Torres was suspended for 41 games.
Well, it appears Peter DeBoer answered a lot of the questions people had prior the first game of the 2015/16 season. Sure, it didn’t start the way he would have wanted, but let’s face it, taking it 5-1 when the one goal you gave up happened within the first two minutes is a pretty strong display.
Sure, when Nick Shore clipped in Dustin Brown’s shot after just 1:49, everyone was thinking the same thing, “That’s the Sharks done for this season.” Chances are, the Kings fans all liked the fact they had just scored against last season’s back up net minder.
Following that one, Martin Jones was solid in the Sharks goal. All of the next 19 shots that made it through the Sharks defence were stopped by Jones.
Joe Pavelski with the “C” on his chest led the team well. The captain spent just over 18 minutes on the ice, bagging himself a power play goal, plus two assists. Pavelski has been with the Sharks ten years now, and said “It’s a huge honour, I’m excited to have an opportunity like this.”
Ex-captain (from the 13/14 season, the Sharks didn’t have a captain last year), Joe Thornton now has an “A” decorating his chest, but not having anything there last season didn’t seem to alter his playing style. Coming in this year, the 36-year old got the second star of the game (Pavelski getting the first), one goal and one assist. The goal was a demonstration of cool, calm focus, smoothly taking the puck from behind his own blue line all the way down the ice and putting it straight past Jonathan Quick in the Kings goal.
D-man Brent Burns, after his 60-point season last year, already has two on the board has he got a goal and an assist, the assist being a huge smash which from a deflection gave Pavelski his first goal.  Burns spent a whopping 24:21 on the ice. It’s got to be warm under that beard, skating for that long.
Tomas Hertl bagged a goal, and while no one is complaining about it, a tip in isn’t as exciting as that goal against Rangers last year. They both count the same though, and it starts his season well.
A new boy had to get in on the action too, and Joonas Donskoi after transferring in from Kärpät (Finland) over the summer, got the fifth for the Sharks. Don’t know if you could call it skill, his backside happened to be in the right place when Pavelski took a shot, and the puck ended up in the net.
Now the questions are going to be, can the Sharks do it again?  Can they do it multiple times? Will they last the season? Will they make the play offs, or miss them again this year?
Holding out 90 seconds where they had two in the sin bin, shows something, but will it be enough? Making the most of two of the eight power plays they received, shows something, but will it enough?
One thing is for sure, the Sharks have come out of the gates with a bang, before making any judgments maybe pundits should see what they do next.
You must be logged in to post a comment.