It’s not been an easy 48 hours for sharks.
NHL scores 2015: San Jose embraces its inner ‘Left Sharks’, Nash scores twice
Never go full Left Shark.
Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Well, at least the ones on the left. Yes, just as the leftmost shark in the Super Bowl put on a sloppy, lackadaisical performance so, too, did the left-most Sharks in the NHL. (Left as in West. Like on a map. Just play along, okay?)
First, they spent Super Sunday getting trolled on Twitter by a large, smiling fake lion. That's a tough thing to come back from, and it showed in the way they played on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers, one of the worst teams in the NHL.
San Jose was pretty much outplayed for the better half of the contest, as Jordan Eberle made them look silly on more than one occasion. Whether they won or lost the game is irrelevant (they lost for insult to injury): struggling that badly against the Oilers is a pretty clear sign (in a series of signs) that San Jose has embraced its flighty, inconsistent nature that’s grown over the last few years. It’s who they are now.
They are becoming Left Sharks.
Scores
Oilers 5, Sharks 4 (SO)
Three things we learned
1. Rick Nash continued his Hart campaign in earnest. The Rangers haven't exactly been world-beaters this season. When that's the case, it's usually Henrik Lundqvist pulling them out of the fire night after night. But this season, the model of consistent success in New York is Rick Nash. He scored twice in the Rangers' win on Monday, tying Alex Ovechkin for the league lead.
2. Winnipeg is leaking goals at a bad time. Dallas is surging. Calgary keeps finding ways to win. Colorado and Minnesota are turning corners. The Kings are due for their late-season climb up the standings. The Jets simply can't afford to throw away games while the teams behind them are hot on their heels. And yet Winnipeg has now given up 20 goals in four games and given up a lot of ground.
3. San Jose has a problem with lesser teams.
Is there a team in the league driving their fanbase more insane this season than the Sharks? San Jose has shown spurts of excellence this year, but continue to struggle to put away the bottom feeders of the league. Giving up a 3-1 lead to the Oilers on home ice is pretty inexcusable. Especially when you consider Edmonton had gone 5-25-1 this year after giving up the first goal.
Impact Moment
Goals don't come much more pretty than Jordan Eberle's opener for Edmonton in San Jose.
Stat of the Night
Another statistical anomaly… The Ducks aren’t ranked in the NHL top ten for any major team stat. Except, you know, wins and points.
— Jamie Kellner (@jbkellner) February 3, 2015 Post to Post
- Carey Price gets some love in our power rankings this week.
- Aaron Ekblad made a huge rookie mistake.
- Finally, goalies losing pucks in their pants is the best thing ever.
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