NHL Playoffs 2018: San Jose Sharks power play peaking at the right time
After struggling to score in the second half of the season, the San Jose Sharks are starting to get results on their power play
Going into the postseason, the San Jose Sharks were struggling to score on their power plays. It wasn’t due to a bad process, as they consistently generated scoring chances and quality shots on goal. Though the loss of Joe Thornton certainly played a role in it, the Sharks in some ways were slightly better at generating scoring chances.
But now, that’s a thing of the past. The Sharks offense has awoken from its slumber. San Jose got a tough draw in the first-round in the Anaheim Ducks, a strong defensive team who have guys who can score. The series was thought to be a coin flip, but so far, the Sharks have won the first three games of the series. And they’ve done it thanks to their power play.
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During the second-half of their season, their usual potent power play, despite creating quality chances, struggled to get the puck in the net. The Sharks created over 114 shot attempts per hour on the man advantage during the second-half.
Of the Western Conference playoff teams, only the Vegas Golden Knights generated more. Despite this, the Sharks converted on merely 16.7 percent of their opportunities, the sixth-lowest rate.
Whatever was ailing the Sharks power play has gone away. And this happened against an excellent Ducks penalty kill. Through the first three games of their first-round series, the Sharks have converted on 35.3 percent of their man advantages, second-highest among Western Conference teams and sixth overall. Their six power play goals rank first among all playoff teams.
Evander Kane has been a stellar addition, with two of his three playoff goals coming on the man advantage. Joe Pavelski is thriving in his net-front role, with four of his points on the power-play. Should they get center Joe Thornton back healthy, that should make them even more deadly.
Next: 3 Reasons Sharks Can Beat Ducks
The Sharks are looking like they did during the 2016 Stanley Cup run. They’re playing great possession hockey and are finally getting rewarded for it. And the Sharks are doing it without Thornton, who is a proven postseason performer. It remains to be seen how soon they’ll get him back. The way the Sharks are playing, getting Thornton in the lineup could be what they need to make it through the Pacific Division portion of the bracket.
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