Nashville, TN

Reilly Wonders if this is the Year

So far so meh?  Not really, but the Sharks have been inconsistent to say the least.  From a high point of destroying Philly on a recent road trip, to coughing up the lead in two road games they should have won, to winning handily against former nemesis the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose is searching for an identity.

With the dawning of the Erilk Karlsson era, its a pretty exciting time for a Sharks fan.  Never have they had so many weapons at their disposal.  With arguably the top TWO offensive defensemen in Karlsson and Brent Burns, there should be big time scoring from the blue line.  Timo Meier and Kevin LeBanc are a year older and stronger, they have the ‘Don Father’ Joonas Donskoi, some other Finn named Anttii Suomela, a flashy scorer type from the Finnish elite league, and a Swede Marcus Sorenson, arguably their fastest player.

Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Logan Couture?  They were good for about 85 goals last year, and can easily be counted upon to score 100 this year.  I haven’t even mentioned the best defensive D man Marc Eduard Vlasic and the steady hand of Martin Jones in net

So far so good, maybe.  They are 4-3-1 and could be 6-2.  That was before their HUGE comeback win last night over the Nashville Predators.  The game was seesaw, scintillating and a display of skill unmatched by most teams.  Both goalies played great and still gave up 9 goals between them as the Sharks prevailed in a comeback victory 5-4.  It was the Sharks first victory in Nashville in 7 years. Hallelujah!

So now, what next?  Carolina is next for San Jose, providing another good test for playing against a very fast, shot generating machine of a team coached by former NHL star Rod Brind’Amour.  Their record is identical to San Jose’s and they are the surprise of the Metro division, residing in 1st place.

Timo Meier scores the first of 5 goals the Sharks put up on the Preds last night.