Mar 2, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Ben Smith (21) celebrates after defenseman Matt Irwin (52, not pictured) scored a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Now these are the San Jose Sharks the entire Bay Area is used to seeing. The Sharks dominated the Eastern Conference’s best team from start-to-finish in a resounding 4-0 over the Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center.
It was a busy lead up to the trade deadline today for the Sharks, which saw them trade away three players from their active roster. In return for Andrew Desjardins, the Sharks received forward Ben Smith from the Chicago Blackhawks and he wasted little time in getting acquainted with the home crowd.
Smith, who would later add an assist and was named second star, opened the scoring for San Jose in the first by deflecting in a shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic. San Jose would continue to test Montreal’s top-ranked defense and star netminder Carey Price all night as the Sharks outshot the Canadiens 37-20.
Joe Pavelski scored his 17th power play goal, and team-leading 32nd goal of the season, and Patrick Marleau added another power play goal, his third straight game with a power play tally. The Sharks went two-for-three on the power play which has started to produce again of late.
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This was exactly the kind of game the Sharks needed as they’ve been surrounded by negativity for the past month. After losing eight-straight home games, it was huge for the Sharks to snap that streak and start the month of March on a high note.
It was a complete game for a Sharks team that needed a confidence boost heading into a huge week for their playoff aspirations.
San Jose now heads north to take on the Vancouver Canucks in a pivotal Pacific Division matchup. If the Sharks can replicate the effort they put forth tonight, it will be real interesting heading down the stretch run to the playoffs.
San Jose now trails Vancouver by five points, although the Canucks have two games in hand. This is obviously a big opportunity for the Sharks to build some momentum and close the gap on one of their most-hated rivals.
It was only one game, but at least San Jose showed that they still have some fight left in them. For Sharks fans everywhere, it couldn’t have come soon enough.