Sheng Peng
Hope comes in many forms.
For the San Jose Sharks, hope came today in the form of simply being able to go home:
Because Alex Pietrangelo and three Vegas Golden Knights coaches are in the NHL’s COVID protocol, the league has postponed San Jose’s Feb. 1 and 3 games against Vegas, originally scheduled to be played at Gila River Arena. For a road-weary Sharks squad, this will give them the unexpected opportunity to come back to San Jose for a brief respite. For most of the Sharks, this will be the first time that they’ve been at home since Dec. 30. Some have been on the road longer.
There were also — believe it or not — glimmers of offensive hope during last night’s 3-0 shutout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
“Offensively,” Bob Boughner said, “it was one of the worst games of our road trip.”
Bob’s right, but regardless, Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns flashed the offensive potential that could eventually lead to sustainable scoring for the San Jose Sharks.
“Our best players have to be our best players.”
That’s been Doug Wilson and Bob Boughner’s mantra all off-season.
Boughner alluded to this again yesterday: “To beat teams like this, you need your best players to be the best. I thought they were okay. Just okay.”
Of course, after a 3-5-0 start to this season, it’s hard to tell who the San Jose Sharks’ best players are. For my money, it’s still Karlsson and Burns, or at the very least, it has to be. They’re the lone Sharks who have shown elite upside in the recent past: Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, and Timo Meier are still good-to-great players, but they’ve never been franchise stars.
Another way to look at it? Between Karlsson and Burns, they’ve amassed three Norris Trophies and seven Norris finalist nods. Between Couture, Hertl, Kane, and Meier? Their best Trophy vote finish was Couture’s Calder runner-up in 2011. After that was Couture’s fifth-place Lady Byng finish in 2015.
Point is, getting the best out of Karlsson and Burns is San Jose’s best chance of clinching a playoff berth.
So how do the Sharks get the best out of their dynamic duo?
This is what they can still do: Literally create offense out of thin air. Karlsson (65) evades forechecker Brandon Saad (20) and Colorado backs off. Most impressive, however, is Karlsson’s vision and patience on entry — he slows down, then runs a sleight of hand, distracting Bowen Byram (4) and Andre Burakovsky (95) as he waits for Marcus Sorensen (20) to attack the net.
Here’s 200 feet of rambunctious Brent Burns hockey: He escapes the Mikko Rantanen (96) forecheck and free skates by Devon Toews (7). The Avs have four in the box, they’re in good defensive position, right? They are, but Burns still manages to find the lone Shark (Sorensen) in the sea of burgundy.
For what it’s worth, on the backcheck, Burns also has the wherewithal to use his skating and length to prevent Nathan MacKinnon (29) from launching at the opposite blueline, then he takes the puck away from Rantanen on the other side of the ice.
In my opinion, you need to trust Karlsson and Burns’s instincts and let them take chances. Warning: They’re not all going to work out.
Honestly, I love this Karlsson gamble. He ambushes a surprised MacKinnon with his own speed, almost forcing a San Jose 2-on-1 PK chance. It doesn’t work, but it’s not a huge defensive difference — a five-on-four becomes a four-on-three.
And in theory, Boughner is trusting Karlsson and Burns.
Much has been made about the license that Boughner has given his defensemen, not just Karlsson and Burns, to attack below the tops of the circles. Even back last March, he already shared, “The way we’re playing [Burns now], attacking down low below the tops of the circles, that’s an advantage for our D.”
But remember: Karlsson and Burns are live by the sword, die by the sword blueliners. You can’t judge them just by their mistakes — that time Karlsson got overpowered in front of the net, Burns got caught puck-watching — you have to judge them by their overall impact. No matter what, you’re giving up goals because of them: You’re going to die a little. The question is, are they helping you live more than you die? (That sounds like a title for a James Bond movie.)
Karlsson burns two Avalanche forecheckers, Tyson Jost (17) and Kiefer Sherwood (44). Now that’s a one-man breakout machine. On entry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41) and Ryan Graves (27) forces Karlsson to the outside.
Karlsson’s pass into the slot misses Sorensen. It’s a hope pass, not particularly close. But at the time of the turnover, there are four Sharks back to defend against three Avs. Karlsson is trying to create offense — his job — and there are enough Sharks back to cover this almost-successful gambit.
Except there aren’t, as Bellemare enjoys a breakaway and hits the post. But that’s not Karlsson’s fault.
Of course, right now, it’s fair to say that Karlsson and Burns’s overall impact has been disappointing this year. And it’s possible that both have lost something off their fastball — they’ll both have their nights, Karlsson dominating the Blues, Burns highlight-reeling the Wild — but maybe they can’t bring it as often as they used to, be it because of injury (Karlsson) or age (Burns).
I’m not sure yet. But I do know that the best possible San Jose Sharks squad features Karlsson and Burns at their best. And it’s still early enough in the season, you have to let them go and hope they figure it out.
Boughner’s design seems to be to play a tight defensive game, let Karlsson and Burns choose their spots to freelance and conjure up offense, cover for them when they’re trying to make magic. It was a sensible plan three years ago, in their primes — it still appears to be a better plan than whatever else a shallow San Jose squad can offer up.
What’s the alternative?