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Thud
Sharks goaltending takes opening night off
| 10/4/18 - By Paul Krill -
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The table was set. The Sharks would open at home
Wednesday night in front of an enthusiastic sellout crowd, with new star Erik
Karlsson taking the ice and Joe Thornton returning to action after nine months
off. They would be facing off against the Anaheim Ducks, the same team the
Sharks swept in the playoffs last year, which would play without one of its
stars, Corey Perry.
So, this would be an easy win for the Sharks, no?
Not exactly. It was another case of the Sharks working and working and sweating
to get a whole two goals while the Ducks just had to throw the puck at the net
and it had a good chance of going in.
Two goals on 33 shots for the
Sharks while the Ducks had four goals on a mere 14 shots on Sharks goalie
Martin Jones plus an empty-netter. Even the first shot he faced all night lit
the lamp. The Sharks outplayed the Ducks throughout, but it did no good.
We now have to ponder whether this was simply an off night for Jones
or fear that the Sharks have some serious issues at goaltending. Adding
Karlsson and Evander Kane to the roster and getting Thornton back won't make
much difference if the Sharks' goaltending is like Swiss cheese.
Bad goaltending = no playoffs. Did GM Doug Wilson
perhaps take the goaltending for granted in his pursuit of Karlsson and John
Tavares in the offseason? Jones also didn't look so hot in the exhibition game
I attended a couple weeks ago, either.
I'm a fan of Jones; he's the
only goalie who's ever taken us to the Stanley Cup Final. What I saw on
Wednesday night, though, was discouraging, to say the least.
Contact Paul at at paulkrill@letsgosharks.com
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