Sharks hitting their stride

The Sharks are on a roll leading the Pacific division 11-4-2. Although their 6 game win streak was snapped Thursday night in Detroit, San Jose shows no signs of slowing down. They’ve been approaching each game more aggressively with key players stepping up in times of need.

Ryane Clowe was moved to the top line and immediately you saw a change in his game, blocking shots and breaking up passes. Ryane has registered his first goal of the season and a shoot out winner. Thornton and Heatley continue to be a dominating force as well, coach McLellan calling them his “meat and potatoes line”.

Patrick Marleau has been the most consistent of the bunch leading the team with 22 points (11G 11A). He is the Sharks Foundation “Sharks Player of the Month” for the month of October. He’s showing that he doesn’t’ need a “C” on his chest to show leadership.

Injuries and call-ups have had San Jose without forwards Torrey Mitchell, Joe Pavelski, Ryan Vesce and Devin Setoguchi. The Sharks took another hit when veteran defenseman Rob Blake was injured the other night in Detroit while on the PK.

Reports say that Pavelski may join the team as early as tonight against the Penguins but nothing is set in stone. Setoguchi, Vesce and Mitchell have been skating with the team but their returns are still up in the air. The results from Blake’s MRI aren’t available as of yet.

The boys from Worcester have been a huge help. Joe Callahan was sent back down but Derek Joslin, Logan Couture, and Jamie McGinn will remain with the team. Couture has been moved from line to line. He was paired with Marleau and Malhotra in Detroit where he got his first NHL goal.

When asked about it he said, “It was awesome especially to have my parents there.”

With no timeline of our injured players being back in the line up I expect the San Jose/Worcester shuttle to be in full effect. Tonight the Sharks will face Sidney Crosby and the Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:30pm PST.

Posted by Chelsea Alexander on Nov 7 2009. Filed under Pacific, San Jose Sharks, Uncategorized, Western Conference. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.