I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise. Seven of the eighteen skaters weren't around last year. Two of the are rookies. (Benn Ferriero and Jason Demers) Kent Huskins was around after the trade deadline, but was hurt up until the very end of the season. I saw him in warmup once, but he didn't get a game in.
With the preseason so shrunk down, it seems to be more about the games (scrimmages that fans get to pay for in one sense), they don't get to spend a lot of time practicing. So, they haven't worked too much on their systems. All the new faces, we saw players out of position. ("Guarding air" as Drew famously said once.)
I like Ferriero. He seems to have a nose for making things happen. (Only Shark with 2 shots on goal after the first period.) He played his way on to the team, earning this first game. I think he'll get another, and if he keeps it up, a lot more.
Demers gives us a third right hand shot on the blue line. He might get some spot duty on the power play because of that.
Lots to work on. Two days down in LA between the Ducks and Kings games, so they'll get a chance to practice a little there.
Still, why do the Sharks seem to have a knack for making opposing goalies look like Terry Sawchuk? Even with the turn over of lots of the players, they still make the other goalies look good. Tonight, first win for the Avalanche for Anderson. They need to figure that out.
The nice part about the evening was the Avs retiring Joe Sakic's number. Always a classy player, it was nice to see Sakic honored. He was great up in the booth on the Versus broadcast, and seemed to be enjoying the whole experience. In a couple of years, he'll be honored again as he goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
ack.
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