San Jose Sharks Trying To Rediscover Power Play Prowess
The San Jose Sharks have possessed one of the most potent power plays in the NHL for many seasons, ever since Joe Thornton first donned a teal uniform. Of late, the Sharks man advantage play has been rendered power less as San Jose has struggled to capitalize on their opportunities.
One of the few, and I mean very few, bright spots for the Sharks last season was their power play. San Jose finished the year with the league’s sixth-ranked power play at 21.6 percent, led by Joe Pavelski who finished second in the entire NHL with 19 power play goals.
However, the Sharks have gone ice cold with the man advantage in recent games, dropping their 2015-16 power play percentage to 12.5 percent (22nd in the NHL). San Jose has scored on only three of their 24 power play chances, and have yet to score since Logan Couture went down with an injury (0-for-10).
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It’s been an even worse when taking an extended view as the Sharks have scored just one power play goal (1-for-16) since opening night, when San Jose deposited two of their eight chances behind Jonathan Quick in a 5-1 win over Los Angeles.
Now, it’s way too simple to say this is due in large part to the absence of Couture, who’s presence is being missed in all situations. San Jose still possesses plenty of firepower with the aforementioned Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Brent Burns.
The Sharks need the power play to begin to produce once again as it played a factor in last night’s loss to the Kings. After getting a goal from Joel Ward to cut the deficit to 3-1, San Jose had a big opportunity at the end of the second period to breath more life into their team.
The Sharks had a 5-on-3 where they could only generate a couple of scoring chances, but were thwarted each time. The lack of success with the man advantage seemed to take the life out of the building as San Jose would go on to drop their third straight game.
While the Sharks have focused on improving their five-on-five play under Peter DeBoer, San Jose needs to regain their scoring touch on the power play. In their last two games, the Sharks have scored just one goal, so they need production when they get an opportunity.
With San Jose getting some bodies healthier before tomorrow night’s game against Carolina, it’d be a perfect time for the Sharks to snap out of the power play funk.
Next: Sharks Expect To Get Injured Players Back Tomorrow Night