The Sharks have had limited success the past two seasons with defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson both on the same power-play unit, to the point where coach Bob Boughner declared three months ago that the idea had been put to rest.
“The experiment’s over, really,” Boughner said Oct. 15. “It just hasn’t had any success.”
Given the recent struggles of the power-play units of late, though, it appears the Sharks will be giving it another try.
The Sharks in their morning skate Saturday prior to their game with the Pittsburgh Penguins had Burns, Karlsson, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, and Timo Meier on the top power unit, and Ryan Merkley, Nick Bonino, Jonathan Dahlen, Noah Gregor, and Jasper Weatherby all on the second unit.
The Sharks this season have had Karlsson on one unit and Burns on the other, as both players are most comfortable up top just inside the blue line.
The Sharks are just 2-for-24 on the man advantage over the last 11 games, and are now 24th in the NHL at 17.0 percent – down from 13th in the league and 20.0 percent five weeks ago on Dec. 10.
“I think we have to enter and set up. When we do get set up, we get great chances,” Bonino said. “I don’t think that’s the problem. I’ve been on teams where you can get in, you get set up, and then it’s kind of stagnant. I don’t think that’s it here.
“I think it’s everyone working back, not just the drop guys. It’s us who are stretching, being an option, especially for a high-pressure team to give them an out and make them have to cover more guys. So for us, it starts on the dumps. We have to get back into the zone, get set up and take some pride in it.”
Using Burns and Karlsson together at times the past two years, the Sharks were 28th in the NHL at 12.8 percent on the power play last season and 16.4 percent two years ago. Karlsson was usually the one up top, and Burns to the left flank in a one-time position near the faceoff dot.
Having Merkley in the lineup, though, gives Boughner another option as to how he wants to deploy his units. Merkley had been paired with Karlsson on one power-play unit the last two games.
“I think the ability to have Ryan Merkley play on the other unit, I like him up top,” Boughner said. “So that might allow us to have Burns and (Karlsson) on the same unit, which we’ve tried in the past and we’ve had mediocre success with it.
“But at the end of the day, if you get those two out there (with Hertl, Couture, and Meier), you’ve got your five best players on the ice, and it’s up to them, they’ve got to get it done.”
LINEUP NEWS: Goalie James Reimer is coming off of injured reserve but Adin Hill will start Saturday for the Sharks against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
Reimer hasn’t played since Jan. 4, saying earlier this week that he had some health issues “flare-up” over the Christmas break that he could no longer play through. Boughner has said that Reimer was dealing with a lower-body issue, and added Saturday that the veteran goalie’s health has improved and that he could start Monday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Sharks are not making any other lineup changes as forwards Jeffrey Viel and Adam Raska will remain on the fourth line and Lane Pederson will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game since he exited the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. With Merkley and Jaycob Megna in the lineup, Radim Simek and Nicolas Meloche will both be scratched.
The Sharks, per Natural Stat Trick, created 16 high danger chances and allowed just six to the New York Rangers on Thursday, and wanted to give the same lineup a chance to compete against the Penguins.
“Analytically we are good in most departments, obviously, except for finishing,” Boughner said. “Our expected goals (2.72) were good enough to win the game.”
Including Saturday, the Sharks will play six of eight games before the NHL all-star break against teams that are in the top eight in 5-on-5 scoring. The Penguins have 82 goals in 36 games in such situations.
