The San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks (4-3) and the Washington Capitals (2-1) on home ice, giving a small but notable two-game winning streak. They start their East Coast road trip against the Boston Bruins on November 30.
Improvements in gameplay
With Mackenzie Blackwood in goal against the Capitals, the goaltender stopped 33 shots. Blackwood earned the third star of the game.
Alternate captain Tomas Hertl missed Monday’s game with a mid-body injury. Hertl has 16 points in 21 games. As of Tuesday, Hertl’s injury is considered day-to-day.
10:23 into the first, winger Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks with assists from Nikita Okhotiuk and Mikael Granlund. Zetterlund has two points in his last two games.
The lone goal from the Caps came at 16:25 into the second from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Trevor van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary assisted.
While the Sharks only have five wins on the season, they have been outshot in every one of their victories.
Their first win of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers saw Team Teal outshot 39-19. Against the Edmonton Oilers, the Sharks logged 18 shots on goal to the Oilers’ 41.
The Sharks multi-goal 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues saw the Sharks outshot 45-35. More recently, against the Canucks the Sharks were outshot 33-22 and against Washington 34-23.
In the third, Luke Kunin scored a power-play goal to secure the lead and eventual win. Ty Emberson logged an assist, five hits, and now has two points in the last two Sharks’ wins.
Justin Bailey earned an assist during his San Jose Sharks debut.
Bailey last played in the NHL in 2022 with the Canucks. His return to the league with the Sharks could bring needed changes in the team’s gameplay. The forward has 11 points in 16 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.
“I had a couple of injuries that set me back,” Bailey said post-game, “You obviously have a lot of time to think about stuff when you’re hurt and can’t do anything. For me, I was focused on coming in here, taking it step-by-step. This is just another step in the right direction.”
Next, the Sharks begin their east coast road trip on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. The Sharks currently have a 5-15-2 record, sitting at eighth in the Pacific division.
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