Max Miller
The San Jose Sharks have a chance to grow closer as a group as they embark on a six-game road trip, starting Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
Captain Macklin Celebrini said after the Sharks’ 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday that the road trip could help after an up-and-down start to the season.
“Road trips are nice. I mean, probably sucks for the guys with families, but just getting together as a team, spending more time together. I feel like it always brings the group tighter,” Celebrini said.
That is exactly what the group could need after a frustrating game on Tuesday.
Here are three points of emphasis before tonight’s game.
1. Growing team identity, especially defensively
As Celebrini said, going on the road can really help a team bond, and for the San Jose Sharks, that could be huge. Although they have a decent number of returnees, the defense was almost completely overhauled.
Jacob Trouba, Michael Kesselring, and Darnell Nurse have all made early impacts individually this season, but now it is time to grow as a unit. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky’s forecheck is easy to identify, and when the Sharks execute it properly, they dominate.
The same isn’t true of the d-zone scheme. Bruins forward Fraser Minten told reporters on Tuesday that the Sharks play a man-on-man style. If done right, that can be good, but executing the “swarms” remains an issue.
“We’re still trying to get to our identity and the way we want to play. I thought we took some steps in the right direction today. Obviously, some things that we got to work on; there’s no doubt about that,” Warsofsky said on Tuesday.
Warsofsky also said the team going on the road was beneficial.
“For sure, I think it’s good to get on the road. It’s just the group. Less distractions,” Warsofsky explained. “You can have your team dinners, and you can be with each other. Our group will grow from it for sure.”
2. Can Nedeljkovic play well again and earn more starts?
For the second time this season, the San Jose Sharks will start Alex Nedeljkovic. Yaroslav Askarov’s numbers don’t suggest he’s played well, but he hasn’t been the problem either. The Sharks hope he can take full control of the No. 1 goalie spot.
In his one start this season, Nedeljkovic backstopped his team to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. That victory came without Celebrini in the lineup. The Sharks struggled early, and the 30-year-old goalie gave his team a chance to win.
Warsofsky told reporters after the first few games of the season that Askarov “earned” more starts, but since then he’s been average.
Nedeljkovic will start at least one more time during the road trip as the Sharks have their first back-to-back scenario this season.
3. If Cagnoni sits, does PP1 continue to stay hot with Orlov?
Luca Cagnoni might be a healthy scratch on Thursday as the San Jose Sharks say Nurse is a game-time decision. If Nurse plays, Nolan Allan will likely enter the lineup in Cagnoni’s place.
The Sharks ran multiple line combinations during the morning skate, according to SJHN, and one of them had Cagnoni out.
While Cagnoni’s game wasn’t great on Tuesday, he’s had a good start to the season. The power play hasn’t completely clicked at the rate the team might want with him at the point, but it hasn’t looked awful either. The 21-year-old is in his first full NHL season and has played just 15 career games.
A healthy scratch for the d-man shouldn’t be seen as a demotion, but as a reset. He was visibly frustrated following Tuesday’s game. While throwing Cagnoni back out there to fix his mistakes isn’t a bad idea, giving the youngster a game to watch from above could help.
Sam Dickinson was a surprising healthy scratch for the first two games of the season, and that seems to have benefited him. Cagnoni might be doing the same.
As for the power play, once the Sharks put Dmitry Orlov at the point, they scored twice. The switch wasn’t the direct cause; execution was. If they keep scoring, they won’t put Cagnoni back until they feel another change is needed.
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