San Jose Sharks searching for offense vs. St. Louis Blues

The San Jose Sharks are a puck possession team that only gets about one more possession per game than the St. Louis Blues because they have more giveaways (218) than all but three teams. If they can avoid them, their edge in the circle (plus-79 versus minus-15) can put the pressure on their opponents. If not, the third-best shot differential in the NHL (plus-4.4) gives St. Louis and edge over San Jose (plus 1.5 is barely in the top 10).The biggest thing for the Sharks is to keep from going to the penalty box. Even though their penalty kill is fourth-best in the NHL at 88 percent, they are the stingiest even-strength defense and the Blues rely as much on the power play for offense as almost any team in the league. St. Louis does not have to worry about San Jose's power play that has just three goals in 10 games, but trips to the box will stall their attack.Look for this game to be a defensive struggle, and the Sharks are a little more comfortable playing that game right now.The St. Louis Blues have always been defensively responsible and had strong goalie play last season. This season, both have let them down. They give up three goals (24th in the NHL) on a league-low 23.3 shots. Their other numbers are below average, as they rank 19th with 327 blocked shots and 22nd with 131 takeaways.The San Jose Sharks have become an elite defense, holding teams to a third-best 2.14 goals per game despite an average of 29.1 shots (18th). They have done it with exceptional play from goalie Antti Niemi (.935 save percentage and 1.83 goals allowed per game) and by blocking shots—354 only ranks 12th, but they have played fewer games than most teams. Only nine teams have more than their 155 takeaways.That means another edge goes to the team that did not have that edge last season; San Jose is better in its own end.The St. Louis Blues have ridden an elite power play (26.7 percent is second in the NHL) to a ninth-ranked attack overall, generating 2.96 goals per game on just 27.7 shots. They are also ranked second taking care of the puck with 121 giveaways.Always considered a gifted offensive squad, the San Jose Sharks have not scored more than two goals without a shootout for a dozen games—one-fourth of the condensed 2013 NHL season that has seen them drop to 2.14 goals (29th) despite 30.6 shots per game. They have just one such game (a loss) in their last 17, over which they have just 24 goals after scoring 23 in their first five games.With all their talent, it is easy to say the Sharks are due to break out. But after struggling that long, it cannot be considered an anomaly, nor can the defensive-minded Blues for scoring. The better attack easily belongs to the road team.View the list »
Brent Burns will still be out for the San Jose Sharks Saturday against the St. Louis Blues

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The St. Louis Blues come into HP Pavilion for a rare matinee performance Saturday, March 9. For them it is not just a rematch of their 2-1 home loss to the San Jose Sharks—one of two wins for them in February—but a chance to put some distance between them and the five teams chasing them for the final playoff berth they currently hold in the Western Conference according to the NHL.com point percentage ranking.

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San Jose dropped eight of nine to St. Louis last season, including a five-game, first-round defeat. This season they possess the better record, placing fifth in the Western Conference in point percentage. Both teams are 3-3-1 since their last contest, and neither is happy about where they are or how they are playing.

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The Blues will not have Alexander Steen, Andy McDonald or Vladimir Tarasenko. The Sharks are without Brent Burns, Martin Havlat and Thomas Greiss. The Sharks activated Tommy Wingels and reassigned Bracken Kearns to AHL Worcester.

They also recalled Thomas Heemskerk Friday from the local San Francisco Bulls rather than call up a more NHL-ready goalie, indicating they do not expect Greiss to miss extended time with what coach Todd McLellan referred to as a sore neck to CSN Bay Area. Nevertheless Antti Niemi is a good bet to make both starts over the weekend.

A look by the numbers shows how truly close the Sharks and Blues are to one another.

View the list
  • The St. Louis Blues have ridden an elite power play (26.7 percent is second in the NHL) to a ninth-ranked attack overall, generating 2.96 goals per game on just 27.7 shots. They are also ranked second taking care of the puck with 121 giveaways.Always considered a gifted offensive squad, the San Jose Sharks have not scored more than two goals without a shootout for a dozen games—one-fourth of the condensed 2013 NHL season that has seen them drop to 2.14 goals (29th) despite 30.6 shots per game. They have just one such game (a loss) in their last 17, over which they have just 24 goals after scoring 23 in their first five games.With all their talent, it is easy to say the Sharks are due to break out. But after struggling that long, it cannot be considered an anomaly, nor can the defensive-minded Blues for scoring. The better attack easily belongs to the road team.
  • The St. Louis Blues have always been defensively responsible and had strong goalie play last season. This season, both have let them down. They give up three goals (24th in the NHL) on a league-low 23.3 shots. Their other numbers are below average, as they rank 19th with 327 blocked shots and 22nd with 131 takeaways.The San Jose Sharks have become an elite defense, holding teams to a third-best 2.14 goals per game despite an average of 29.1 shots (18th). They have done it with exceptional play from goalie Antti Niemi (.935 save percentage and 1.83 goals allowed per game) and by blocking shots—354 only ranks 12th, but they have played fewer games than most teams. Only nine teams have more than their 155 takeaways.That means another edge goes to the team that did not have that edge last season; San Jose is better in its own end.
  • The San Jose Sharks are a puck possession team that only gets about one more possession per game than the St. Louis Blues because they have more giveaways (218) than all but three teams. If they can avoid them, their edge in the circle (plus-79 versus minus-15) can put the pressure on their opponents. If not, the third-best shot differential in the NHL (plus-4.4) gives St. Louis and edge over San Jose (plus 1.5 is barely in the top 10).The biggest thing for the Sharks is to keep from going to the penalty box. Even though their penalty kill is fourth-best in the NHL at 88 percent, they are the stingiest even-strength defense and the Blues rely as much on the power play for offense as almost any team in the league. St. Louis does not have to worry about San Jose's power play that has just three goals in 10 games, but trips to the box will stall their attack.Look for this game to be a defensive struggle, and the Sharks are a little more comfortable playing that game right now.
View the list

, San Jose Sharks Examiner

Former community leader and featured columnist for the San Jose Sharks on Bleacher Report, MJ Kasprzak has been covering the Bay Area's most successful team for over four years. You may have seen MJ's work featured on Yahoo, CBS Sports and Fox Sports websites as well as numerous other places that...

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