Round 2 Preview: Sharks vs Avs
San Jose pulled off an insane comeback in game 7 against Vegas to get here, and Colorado dismantled a solid Calgary squad in 5. What does that mean? These two teams are both unpredictable. Both are coming off of surprising round 1 victories. I’m going to take the high-road and not discuss what a disaster the refs caused for Vegas in game 7 and how I feel they were completely robbed. I won’t go there about how terrible that call was. I won’t touch on what a disgrace the inconsistency of officiating has been throughout the playoffs.
Anyway….
Colorado’s biggest weak spot was offense entering the playoffs. Sure, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog are one of the best lines in hockey; but who do they have after that? Nieto, Compher, and Wilson each contributed in the first round with two goals each. That’s huge for a team that “struggles” offensively. 17 goals for in the first 5 games against a solid Calgary team is a nice number, especially going into round 2 against San Jose who isn’t particularly known for their defense. Grubauer is killing it between the pipes for them with a .939 sv% and a 1.89 GAA. Calgary struggled offensively vs Colorado in the first round because of Gruby’s efforts in goal. He looks really sharp throughout the playoffs so far. Cale Makar coming over from UMass in game 3 helped in a big way for their blue line too.
San Jose… seemingly the team of destiny now. We have a real Hollywood esque situation with them: down 3-1 in the series, winning game 6 on the road in a dramatic double OT, losing their captain in a random/freak accident, scoring FOUR times on the same major PP, and winning game 7 in OT. Adversity is this team’s middle name. Martin Jones has showed up after being lost in games 1-5. 57 saves in game 6 was pretty much the only reason they were able to win on the road in Vegas. Karlsson and Burns have solidified their defense, while at the same time providing some offensive value. Karlsson has 9 points (all assists), including the primary on the game 7 OT goal. Burns has 1 goal and 3 apples. I’d like to see him contribute a little more considering how often he shoots the puck. What’s up Hertl and Couture? 6 goals each in round 1?!?!?!! That’s more goals than some teams had in the playoffs in round 1. That’s only two players for this dynamic Sharks offense. San Jose totaled 23 in round 1 (Vegas had 25….) so this team can and will score. A lot.
How do they matchup? Considering that both teams have strong offensive numbers, we’ll call it even with the forward groups. San Jose has the edge in defense because Karlsson/Burns. I’ll give Colorado the advantage in goal because who knows which Martin Jones will show up to play. My guess: San Jose in 7 games. I’ll even go as far to say this too: San Jose in game 7 Overtime, with the GWG going to Couture. I’m so bold, I know!
Written by Andrew Silvers
Twitter/Instagram @asilvers55
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