San Jose Sharks
Playoff Watch/Lines #43: Sharks Need Finishers
The sixth-seeded San Jose Sharks remain four points out of the fourth-and-final playoff spot in the West, held by the St. Louis Blues. Fifth-place Arizona and St. Louis are both idle tonight.
San Jose Sharks (18-20-4)
Some major projected changes for the #SJSharks today.
Vlasic is back and shake-ups all along the forward lines.Follow—>https://t.co/wmyWBR90aU pic.twitter.com/59Rke2FsK6
— Locked on Karlsson's Apple (@LockedOnSharks) April 16, 2021
Minnesota Wild (25-13-3)
Kirill Kaprizov — Victor Rask — Mats Zuccarello
Kevin Fiala — Ryan Hartman — Marcus Johansson
Jordan Greenway — Joel Eriksson Ek — Marcus Foligno
Zach Parise — Nico Sturm — Nick Bonino
Ryan Suter — Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin — Matt Dumba
Ian Cole — Carson Soucy
Cam Talbot
Where to Watch
Puck drop is 5 PM PT at Xcel Energy Center. Watch it on NBC Sports Bay Area, Bally Sports North, or NHL.tv.
Morning Skate
News flash: The San Jose Sharks need finishers.
I mean, doesn’t everybody?
But maybe they need them just a little bit more: Per Natural Stat Trick, the San Jose Sharks suffer from the second-greatest disparity between their Expected Goals at 5-on-5 Per 60 and their Actual Goals:
Team (5v5) | GF/60 | xGF/60 | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
Carolina Hurricanes | 2.31 | 2.54 | -0.23 |
San Jose Sharks | 2.27 | 2.45 | -0.18 |
Buffalo Sabres | 1.86 | 2.04 | -0.18 |
New Jersey Devils | 2.19 | 2.33 | -0.14 |
Vancouver Canucks | 2.25 | 2.32 | -0.07 |
This means they’re earning their fair share of quality chances, but they’re cashing in at a lower rate than expected.
These analytics are also supported by the micro-stats. SPORTLOGiQ supplies San Jose Hockey Now with 10 team statistics for Creating Scoring Chances Per 60 at Even Strength – the Sharks rank in the top-half or better in the league in 9 of 10 of these categories:
For San Jose, the offensive foundation, set by Bob Boughner and his coaching staff in their first full season behind the bench, appears to be there, but the finish isn’t – the Sharks are 19th in the NHL in Even Strength Goals Per 60.
The San Jose Sharks will have a lot to fix up this off-season – the leaky goaltending, the porous team defense, the eye-sore contracts – but adding another finisher should be on that list too.
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