San Jose Sharks Look To Snap Skid Against Los Angeles
The San Jose Sharks return home to the friendly confines of SAP Center where a familiar foe will be rested and waiting for them. Fresh off a 2-2 road trip where the Sharks were decimated by injuries, San Jose has their second big challenge against one of their main division rivals: the Los Angeles Kings.
The Sharks and Kings met back on opening night, and after giving up the first goal on Los Angeles’ first shot of the season just 1:49 into the game, San Jose rattled off five consecutive goals to rout the Kings 5-1 and send a message to their Southern California brethren.
San Jose is expected to ice a much different lineup against Los Angeles in this one as Logan Couture, Paul Martin, Ben Smith and Joonas Donskoi are all out which precipitated the call up Bryan Lerg from the San Jose Barracuda. The first meeting featured plenty of intensity and some questionable hits from Dustin Brown and Milan Lucic, so keep an eye out to see if any of that spills into this one, especially if one team is down big again.
Lineups
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San Jose: Logan Couture (fibula), Paul Martin (lower body), Ben Smith (upper body) and Joonas Donskoi (lower body) are all out with injury, while Raffi Torres is suspended.
Los Angeles: Matt Greene (upper body) and Dwight King (foot) are out for the Kings.
Three Keys To The Game
1. Limit Turnovers
The Sharks were great throughout the first four games of the season in limiting their turnovers and making the easy play. However, in their two losses in New York, the sloppy play and odd-man rushes against absolutely killed San Jose. The Kings have struggled to score this season, ranking 29th in goals scored with only six goals through their first five games. With a team that can’t score, it’s imperative for the Sharks to stay sound defensively and not give Los Angeles any easy looks or goals.
2. Traffic In Front
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If Quick can see the puck, he will most likely stop it. The Sharks did a great job in the first game of getting to the front of the net and making life difficult on Quick who showed his frustration by the end of the game. Four of the five goals in the opener were a direct result of a screen, a tip-in or traffic around the crease as San Jose made a concerted effort to get to the blue paint. With the amount of injuries, the Sharks must be willing to pay the price in front of the net.
3. Special Teams Play
Both teams have struggled on the power-play this year as the Sharks rank 20th in the league, while the Kings are 29th. However, that doesn’t mean both teams aren’t capable of breaking out in this one. Again, Los Angeles has been unproductive offensively in the early going, so don’t give them man advantage situations. Also, San Jose needs to capitalize on their own power play opportunities as the Sharks look to rediscover their own scoring touch. Case in point, San Jose went 2-for-8 on the power play in the opening night win, while Los Angeles went 0-for-6.
This is another big early season game for the Sharks who can re-establish a six-point margin over the Kings. Any time you can bank points early on over your rivals is huge, especially with all the players San Jose has out. The Sharks should put forth a much better effort in this one from last time out, and look for another tight-checking affair as these two teams go at each other yet again.
Next: Pacific Division Stock Report - Week Two