BERLIN – David Quinn doesn’t surrender so much – except he’s speaking about how good-looking Derek Lalonde is, or isn’t.
Quinn Can’t Believe Lalonde Ranked Third-Most Handsome Coach in NHL
The new San Jose Sharks head trainer doesn’t even seem to display strains at morning skate. Usually, coaches do this. And hi there, it’s his workforce, extra energy to him. All that implies is we now have to watch what Quinn does in video games much more intently.
Instead of rolling his 4 strains, Quinn has opted to spend extra time at the energy play right through morning skate. As a end result, we most often know who’s going to be at the energy play in a sport, a minimum of.
Now it’s simply preseason, and it’s conceivable that Quinn is solely striking a bit extra emphasis at the energy play in response to a compressed preseason agenda. So possibly we’ll see the ones ever-helpful morning skate strains quickly.
Or possibly this development will proceed into the common season?
So right here’s something that I noticed, or didn’t see, ultimate night time within the Sharks’ 3-1 victory over Eisbaren Berlin at Mercedes-Benz Arena: Not a large number of Erik Karlsson at the penalty kill.
Instead, the San Jose Sharks had been very constant in deploying Marc-Edouard Vlasic-Mario Ferraro as their best PK defensive pairing, adopted by means of Radim Simek-Matt Benning. Karlsson solely got here out close to the tip of PKs, because the play used to be transitioning again to 5-on-5.
Of direction, a few of chances are you’ll say, Erik Karlsson doesn’t play protection!
But then, there’s this stat: Since the Sharks have traded for Karlsson, their penalty killing is second-best within the NHL. And Karlsson has been no small a part of that – solely Brent Burns and Vlasic have performed extra at the PK than Karlsson amongst San Jose rearguards since 2018-19.
So why would you are taking considered one of your higher penalty-killing defensemen off the PK?
Corey Masisak of The Athletic had a idea, and it generally is a sound one, topic to trying out within the common season.
In Vlasic, Ferraro, Simek, and Benning – and most certainly even in Scott Harrington and Jaycob Megna – you could have a wealth of possible defensive PK’ers. However, you solely have one Karlsson for the ability play.
So may just Quinn be saving Karlsson for 5-on-5 and PP? It could be smart: The two-time Norris Trophy is 32, no longer 22, and the San Jose Sharks’ hopes this season leisure so much on his inconstant well being.
On the opposite hand, Karlsson’s utilization in his two different preseason usages counsel the Sharks are going to use him in each and every scenario, and many.
On Sept. 25 as opposed to the Los Angeles Kings, Karlsson led the Sharks with 24:07 performed. He spent 7:13 at the energy play and three:00 at the penalty kill. For what it’s value, in a penalty-filled affair, he used to be the least-used San Jose blueliner short-handed.
On Sept. 30 at Vegas, Karlsson led the Sharks with 24:23 performed. He spent 1:55 at the PP and three:27 at the PK, main San Jose in each classes.
Last night time in Berlin, they didn’t monitor time on ice publicly, however Karlsson and Harrington had been obviously the least-used Sharks defenders at the kill.
Quinn did say that he thinks strains in ultimate night time’s preseason finale must most commonly reflect how San Jose will open the common season towards the Nashville Predators.
Will Karlsson’s penalty-killing utilization apply swimsuit? Might San Jose check out to to find some leisure for EK65 by means of 86’ing his PK utilization?