Brent Burns Cranking Things Back Up For Sharks

Brent Burns has six points over his last three games for the Sharks.

The San Jose Sharks have one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in all the NHL from the blue line in their employ as Brent Burns can make every play out on the ice. While Burns’ offensive exploits are what he’s most known for, he’s turned around his play in his own zone which has been an impressive feat in and of itself.

Follow San Jose’s loss to Winnipeg on Jan. 2, Burns was a minus-15 which ranked as one of the worst marks on the Sharks. However, since that point, Burns has been a plus-11 as his improved defensive play has helped San Jose overcome their early-season inconsistencies.

Now, Burns is still far from a finished product in the defensive zone, but he’s cut way down on his turnovers and mental mistakes that were costing the Sharks.

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The best part for San Jose fans is the better defensive play is starting to fuel his offensive game of late. After going 18 games without a goal from mid-January to mid-February, Burns has been on a tear with five goals in his past eight games, including lighting the lamp in his last three contests.

With his goal in last night’s loss to the Canucks, Burns has set a new career-high with 23 goals, which surpassed his 2013-14 total which came when he was a forward alongside Joe Thornton.

Burns ranks second amongst all defensemen in the league with 57 points, and his 23 goals are four more than any other blue liner. He is a shot-generating machine for San Jose as his 278 shots trail only Alex Ovechkin who has 324.

Peter DeBoer is obviously a big fan of Burns as he leads the Sharks with 26:23 of ice time per game, the most by far of his career. That’s why it’s been so important for Burns to turn around his defensive game.

Everyone knows his offensive talents are extremely potent, but when you’re allowing more goals than you’re creating, it does the team no good.

Burns is playing some of his best hockey of the season as just the right time as he’s playing a more well-rounded game. With three goals and three assists last week, his offensive game is right where it’s been for most of the season.

If he continues to play like this, Burns will make it awfully hard for Team Canada to leave him off their roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Maybe having that carrot as a little extra motivation will pay dividends for the Sharks as they make their push for the postseason?

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Now, Burns has to stay disciplined as the season starts to wind down. If he can maintain that solid play in his own zone, Burns has the ability to lift this Sharks team to new heights this spring.