Joel Ward’s Hat Trick Snaps San Jose Sharks Losing Streak
Well that was a fun game to watch.
The San Jose Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. This resurgence should give the team momentum heading into their three-day break before their next game. The Sharks proved how great of an offseason they had as all three of their key additions played a big role in this win.
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Lets start with the obvious. Congratulations to us here at Blades of Teal for foreshadowing tonight’s game by showcasing an image of Joel Ward. Good to know that we have the fate of the 2015-16 Sharks in our hands.
Might as well get the biggest story out of the way so another congratulations to Ward for scoring a hat-trick tonight. It’s nice to see contributions from many different players with the injuries the Sharks have had this year.
While the spotlight is on Ward, this game might have a different result without Paul Martin in the lineup. If the Sharks are making anything of this season, Martin will play a huge part in their success. With his partner back, Brent Burns looked amazing once again.
Speaking of the defense, I was thinking about writing a hot take on how I haven’t noticed Marc-Edouard Vlasic at all this year. However, he was noticeable tonight and the deflection that led to the Joe Pavelski goal was part of his impact tonight.
That goal was vintage-Pavelski as he followed up on the rebound and crashed the net like he always does. This is how the Sharks won this game as three of their goals were off rebounds. The captain’s decision looks like a solid choice so far.
Another play who had a solid game was Tomas Hertl. Hertl led by example tonight as many Sharks tried to emulate his play. Tommy Wingels gave a beautiful feed to Chris Tierney for a scoring chance but Tierney couldn’t capitalize as he tried to score between-the-legs. Followed up with Ward’s hat-trick in his third home game as a Shark, Hertl had a big impact on tonight’s game.
As for the Hurricanes, I’m surprised Noah Hanifin didn’t score his first NHL goal tonight. Looking at the Sharks’ history in this category, I was convinced he would score tonight. There are times when it seems like everyone scores their first goal against the Sharks.
To recap, this was a great performance put on by the Sharks in front of how many people?
Well that’s depressing. Though I didn’t think the fans were that loud either.
Despite the win, the Sharks were out-shot 34-21 by the visitors tonight. However, thanks to Ward’s two early goals the Sharks were leading the entire game. So maybe the fact the Hurricanes were losing played a part in these shot totals. So the small sample size shouldn’t be a concern for the future.
Moving forward, San Jose got back in the win column and claimed sole possession of first place in the Pacific yet again.
Three Stars
1st Star: Joel Ward
2nd Star: Paul Martin
3rd Star: Brent Burns
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