Six questions for Sharks’ six-game homestand: Reimer? Karlsson? Attendance?
NHL: San Jose Sharks start lengthy homestand against Phil Kessel and the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday
The last time the Sharks beat the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice, Barclay Goodrow was taking a pass from Erik Karlsson, stickhandling around Marc-Andre Fleury, and scoring one of the biggest goals in franchise history.
The Sharks have lost seven straight to the Golden Knights at SAP Center since Goodrow’s series-clinching goal in Game 7 of that unforgettable 2019 first-round series. But at least they go into Tuesday’s meeting in San Jose with a bit of momentum.
The Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Sunday to wrap up a 2-2-0 road trip. San Jose now begins a six-game homestand, with three of the final five games after Tuesday against teams that made the playoffs last season.
The Sharks (2-5-0) also host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, and the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 1 and 5. In between those games, they play the Florida Panthers on Nov. 3.
“When you are in the situation we are in and you are 1-6, you need something to build on,” Sharks coach David Quinn said after Sunday’s win. “Obviously, this is a tough trip. But it was a great way for us to finish this trip at .500, get back home and get back into our normal routine.”
Tuesday, Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel is expected to break the NHL’s all-time record for consecutive games played at 990, as he’ll pass now-retired Keith Yandle, who played 989 straight games.
Here are six questions for the Sharks’ six-game homestand.
WILL REIMER EMERGE AS THE NO. 1 GOALIE?: Some might suggest James Reimer has already laid claim to that title, as he’s been everything the Sharks hoped he would be so far this season.
After his 31-save shutout Sunday, Reimer owns a .933 save percentage through five games. Per MoneyPuck, he’s ninth in the NHL in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes at 1.089.
But the Sharks were also encouraged by Kaapo Kahkonen’s start Saturday in New Jersey, where he stopped 34 of 36 shots, and would probably like to get him back in the net soon.
Our best guess? Reimer will start Tuesday against the Golden Knights, who he has a .916 save percentage against in seven career games and Kahkonen will start Thursday against the Maple Leafs, as Reimer’s career numbers against his former team are not strong. After that, Quinn could simply go with his hottest goalie.
WILL THE TOP LINE BREAK OUT?: The Sharks’ top line of Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, and Alexander Barabanov had their best game of the season Sunday since they were reunited prior to Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers.
The trio, per Natural Stat Trick, created 12 scoring chances in 12:46 of 5-on-5 time on ice, with Hertl and Barabanov assisting on Karlsson’s second-period goal after an effective forecheck.
Still, the three players have just one goal between them.
So are they due? Meier still doesn’t have a goal in eight games but found a way Sunday to make an impact beyond the scoresheet, and Barabanov seems to be becoming a bit more comfortable with each game.
“I thought they took a big step forward,” Quinn said of the top line. “To get the goal was huge, but I thought there were a lot more signs of their sustained pressure and the things that allow those guys to be special players. We are going to need that moving forward and something they can build on.”
CAN THE SHARKS GET CLOSER TO .500?: If the Sharks come out of the first three games against Vegas, Toronto and Tampa Bay with three or four points, it’ll set them up well for the back half of the homestand.
Certainly, a good homestand will help the Sharks distance themselves from their 0-5-0 start. A bad or mediocre homestand would put them in a hole they might not be able to escape.
CAN THE POWER PLAY GET GOING?: The Sharks went 0-for-1 on the power play Sunday and are now 2-for-25 on the season.
A lot of times on the road trip, the Sharks just seemed to have trouble setting up in the offensive zone, due to poor entries or other reasons. That might be part of the reason why they managed just 11 shots on net in nine power-play chances in the last four games.
Tuesday could be an opportunity to break out, as the Golden Knights entered Monday 27th in the NHL on the power play, killing just 11 of 16 power plays in their first five games.
IS KARLSSON’S START FOR REAL OR A MIRAGE?: Karlsson leads the Sharks with six points, putting him in a five-way tie for second place among all NHL defensemen before Monday’s games.
Health is always going to be a key issue for Karlsson, who has missed 50 games over the past three seasons for various reasons.
But for now, his offensive zone starts percentage through eight games is 61.8, a slight increase over the last two seasons of 57.3 and 57.6, respectively, and closer to what he had in his remarkable tenure with the Ottawa Senators.
“Obviously,” Quinn said, “he drives our offense every time he’s out there.”
WHAT WILL ATTENDANCE BE LIKE?: The Sharks announced a sellout crowd of 17,562 at SAP Center on opening night on Oct. 14 and 15.219 the next day for Doug Wilson’s appreciation night.
Projected attendance figures could not immediately be ascertained, but taking a look at the number of seats available on Ticketmaster’s website for Tuesday’s and Thursday’s games, it looks like crowds will be closer to what they were on Oct. 15 than opening night. There appear to be fewer seats available for Saturday’s matinee against Tampa Bay, though.
The Sharks on average distributed 12,573 tickets per game last season, the lowest figure at SAP Center in any non-COVID-19 affected season.