Sharks 9th Straight Loss Sets NHL Record (Ep 222)

In Episode 222 of The Fin Factor, we break down the Sharks’ recent games against the Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings, and Vegas Golden Knights. We discuss Noah Claxton and Kellen Foster’s performances, Thrun dropping the mitts early, and the Ducks’ bold jersey change. The Kings brought back Gretzky-era jerseys and dominated early, but the Sharks showed intense second-period pressure, led by Granlund’s power-play snipe and Eklund’s unmatched work ethic. However, the Sharks set an unfortunate NHL record with their 9th straight loss to start the season, highlighted by a risky play from Vanecek. We also cover Celebrini’s progress and preview upcoming games against Montreal, LA, Chicago, and Vancouver. Tune in for the latest Sharks news, analysis, and fan Q&A!

-- TIMESTAMPS --
00:00 - Livestream Countdown
01:31 - Introduction to Sharks' Struggles
3:34 - Player Performance and Development Focus
9:46 - Team Discipline and Penalties
18:31 - Game Recap: Sharks vs. Ducks
32:05 - Trade Speculations and Player Insights
39:46 - Sharks' Comeback Efforts and Cultural Reflections
49:02 - Fan Reactions and Player Impact
1:02:01 - Power Play Strategy and Upcoming Games
1:05:25 - Sharks' Losing Streak and Future Prospects
1:28:59 - Viewing Party Announcement and Episode Conclusion

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The opinions expressed in this web series are those of hosts and/or guests alone. Any reference to copyrighted materials is for the purpose of commentary and criticism only. The Fin Factor is not affiliated with the San Jose Sharks, National Hockey League, or its subsidiaries.

Hosts: Aaron Sholl, Paul Sunseri
Executive Producer: Jason Sholl
Director: Jason Sholl
VFX Opener: Alan2014/Videohive
GFX Effects: EasyEdit/Videohive
Set Construction: Todd Sholl
Music Theme: Kristian Habenicht

#SanJoseSharks #SJSharks #NHL

[prosperfireson]

Hey Boys,
Apologies but, I had a sometimer's moment...sometimes I remember stuff and sometimes I don't. hehe Paul while I appreciate Aaron and your positivity the only present you will be getting from the Sharks on your birthday is that Mike Grier will acquire Noah Gregor! hahaha

I meant to clarify my question I asked last week about are we expecting too much from this team? What I meant is most of the guys we feature this year if they were on a good team would be 3rd liners at best. If the same forwards were on a great team like Winepeg or Vegas this year they would likely be 4th liners. The same hold true for our blue liners. I think Wallman might be a middle pairing defensemen on a good team but, every other defender we feature based on what we are seeing from them this year so far would be a bottom pairing defender.

Our goalies who I like this year I think are good NHL backups. I don't think either is likely to turn into a full fledged NHL starter but, it could happen. Aiden turned into an NHL starter for Vegas so who knows?

My point was when we put bottom pairing and in many cases 4th line forwards into 3rd and sometimes higher line slots I think we are expecting too much of them. I am guessing the players might like the idea to have a chance to prove that they are more capable by playing top minutes on the top 2 lines or top 4 pairing but, we are seeing consistently that this is not realistically in these players wheelhouse.

I would also point out that Grier said in two weeks we will reevaluate Maclin's situation. Meaning? He is trying to rehab and avoid surgery? It seems clear that the Sharks are being very cautious for Maclin as they should he is the future of our franchise and given where we are there is no reason to jeopardize his future when the team is going nowhere this season. My point is like you guys I was thinking at first that they were just being cautious with Maclin but, then Grier mentioned they were going to reevaluate Maclin in two weeks! At the very least his injury is not responding as well as we might hope would be option 1. Option 2 it is more serious and they are going to carefully monitor him while trying to rehab his injury to see if he can avoid surgery. Option 3 they are just being super cautious and plan to bring him back with a no rush time table to ensure he is good to go when the team is clearly going nowhere. Pick your version obviously we don't know we are not in the loop. Personally, I find this development a little ominous that the injury is more serious than we at first thought.

Lastly, I totally agree with the observation you guys made about getting horribly out-shot in the first period. Paul you are right it is our M.O. but, I think it is the recipe teams are using to beat a fragile Sharks team. Here is what I mean.

All good NHL teams have a 5th gear that they ramp up into during the playoffs and occasionally during the regular season we don't have that 5th gear right now for all the reasons you discussed in the show. Too many new faces to integrate, new systems for every player to learn, little to no continuity in the lines and to a lesser degree in the pairings. Our defensive corp is fairly set in the top 2 pairings but, there has been some shuffling in the 3rd pairing. The guys are still learning their defensive partners tendencies and systemic responsibilities. If you have to think about where you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to do it will take too long to be effective in the NHL.

Because of all the prior mentioned challenges we are unable to play fast. We lack a 5th gear. We just can't play that quickly as a team yet. So if an opposing team has a 5th gear all they need to do is come out in 5th gear and they can overwhelm us with speed and systemic execution trapping us in our defensive zone and creating scoring chances in the first period by the boat load.

In addition to shot differential in the first period this season it would be very telling to know the differential in time of puck possession in the fist period. We know its massive because we are getting trapped in our zone in the first period unable to disrupt the cycle for extended time throughout the first period. When NHL teams get trapped for extended time in their defensive zone nothing good comes of it for that team.

In our case many of our penalties occur when we get trapped in our zone and guys get worn down and can't get off the ice. Pretty soon guys aren't moving and the passes start getting through the slot creating high danger one timers and tip plays. Until we settle the lines, gain systemic awareness so that guys can play fast and not have to think about their responsibilities I think we are going to continue to struggle hard in the first period. Drew said the team that scores the first goal in an NHL game is still something like more than 60% of the time win the game. NHL teams all see our vulnerability right now and until we are able to respond to the pace in the first period and break up fore-checks and move pucks consistently out of our zone other teams will continue to attack us full bore in the first period in an effort to demoralize and put us on our back foot.

I think the observation you guys made about us performing better in the 2nd and 3rd periods is because the other teams down shift and don't push in 5th gear for 3 periods like they would in the playoffs. With us there is no need to do that right now we are incapable of recovering so far in this season from early leads. Teams will continue to try to jump on us early and demoralize us until we prove that teams can't do that to us.

Anyway, that is my observations said the guy who has never played hockey before in his life and never learned to stop properly when he skated! hahaha Thanks for another fun show boys. All the best always.

P.s. I don't know when we will win our first game this season but, I suspect it will come when we least expect it. At least that is what I hope! hahaha

Pete
Clovis, CA

[mattiias]

From what I understood, it is actually possible to still be able to pick #1 overall more than 2 times in a 5 year span, but only of you actually finish last in the overall standings. The rule only limits a team to advance in the draft order by winning the lottery, but it does not effect a teams teams ability to retain its presumptive draft position in any draft lottery, which is exactly what we did this summer.

"The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery marked the third year for the implementation of a limit on how many times a team can win a lottery draw. No single team can advance in the draft order by reason of winning a Lottery Draw more than two times in any five-year period. This limitation will not affect a club’s ability to retain its presumptive draft position in any Draft Lottery, nor would it preclude the possibility of the club moving down in draft order to the extent other clubs advance by reason of winning the Lottery Draws. For purposes of clarity, the limitation would attach to the team, not the specific pick."