Sharks escape season opener with 2 points in 4-3 shootout win

GLENDALE, Ariz. — 10 months seemed liked an eternity, but hockey is back.

For the San Jose Sharks that's how long it had been since they played its last hockey game. At times, they looked like a team that benefited from having such a long layoff. Other times trying to shake off the rust, looked difficult for Team Teal.

Head coach Bob Boughner's roster has a lot of fresh faces on it for the 56-game 2020-21 season. In a training camp that had to be conducted 721 miles away from San Jose - in Scottsdale, Arizona, due to Santa Clara County's health officials banning contact sports - there were more than a few spots that were open for competition. Some of the players from the minor league Barracuda team jumped on that opportunity. Defensemen Nicholas Meloche and Nikolai Knyzhov were in the starting lineup for opening night. Last year they were competing for time with the Barracuda. That's the reward for having a good camp.

San Jose blew a two-goal lead twice, but still managed to save face by winning 4-3 in a shootout over the Coyotes, who are one of the seven teams in a new Honda NHL West Division that features powerhouses like St. Louis, Colorado, and Vegas.

It's only game one with 55 more to go, but here are some observations from tonight's game.

The Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, John Leonard (one of the new faces on the team) looks like it'll be the number one line for San Jose.

• All three players contributed to the three goals scored, including two by Hertl and the other thanks to a spectacular individual play by Kane.
• This trio's combination of speed, power, and skill will be giving opposing team's defenses nightmares very soon.

Martin Jones was considered the second worst starting goaltender in the NHL last season.

• On this night, he looked stoic, focused, and poised for 65 minutes and in the shootout. Making a point-blank save on Oliver Ekman-Larsson with under 30 seconds left in regulation and then stoning a 2-on-0 chance by Derick Brassard in overtime was just a couple of his highlights during the game.
• He was aggressive and was able to gobble up any type of rebound chance. None of the three goals were his fault as all three were a result of defensive breakdowns.

The Sharks defense seemed to fall asleep out there on the ice, allowing Arizona to easily enter their zone and create numerous scoring chances starting from the second period until the end of overtime.

• Before you start blaming the young guys, I saw on more than one occassion veterans like Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic leave guys unchecked down low near the crease.
• Having two Coyotes players whacking away at the puck in the crease in the final seconds is inexcusable. Maybe it was rust. It's only game one, so we'll find out if this will be a bad trend in 2021.

Speaking of Karlsson, why is he still afraid to shoot the puck?

• He has one of the best - if not the best - wristshots in the NHL, yet he looked very non-chalant, especially on the power play, looking to just skate with the puck or pass it off to a winger.
• That would be a very detrimental trend for the Sharks if it continues for the former Norris Trophy winner.

The Sharks coaching staff and some members of the media were raving about the Sharks third line of Matt Nieto, Noah Gregor, and newly acquired Ryan Donato as the best line in training camp.

• They and the starting number one line of Logan Couture, Timo Meier, and Kevin Lebanc were pretty quiet on the ice.
• The fourth line of Joel Kellman, Marcus Sorensen, and Mr. Shark himself Patrick Marleau looked impressive as they generated some quality scoring chances on their own.

The Sharks better pay attention to Connor Garland on Saturday.

• The sophomore sensation, who is coming off a rookie year where he lead the team in goals with 22, is the Coyotes most dangerous player on the ice. His speed and skill was very problematic for the Sharks defense.

Overall, I would give the Sharks performance a C+ as its goaltender and two of their lines showed up to play. However, failing to protect a two-goal lead with under seven minutes to play is not how you want to start out a season.