San Jose Sharks 2010 Preview & Predictions

San Jose Sharks 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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SAN JOSE SHARKS

2009-10 record: 51-20-11
Shootout Record: 7-6
Division Finish: 1st, Pacific
Conference Finish: 1st, Western
Goals For: 264
Goals Against: 215

San Jose Sharks 2010 Preview

A team that couldn’t seem to find it’s way much beyond mid-April could now be headed for a big date in June.

The Sharks have a great chance to get into the Final in 2011 as they come back from a productive season in which they finished first in the Western Conference with 113 points, zapped both Colorado and their old nemesis Detroit in the playoffs and then lost to the eventual champion Blackhawks.

Optimism is further based on important cogs such as Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski re-signing and the belief a quality netminder will replace Evgeni Nabokov and that general manager Doug Wilson will get some help on the back line for the retiring Rob Blake.

Marleau will celebrate his 13th season in teal and black and was greatly encouraged when jack-of-all trades Pavelski agreed to terms as well.

Pavelski had a fine year, including an Olympic silver medal with Team USA and a team-high 17 playoff points.

Joe Thornton, meanwhile, had 89 regular-season points, making him a top 10 finisher in the League, as well as having the early-round playoff success that had eluded him, ending with 12 points before the Hawks put the silencers on San Jose’s top guns.

Not to be overlooked is the way the Sharks were able to get past Detroit, merely the Cup finalists the previous two years. Doing it in as little as five games was also remarkable as the Wings had not been dominated in a playoff series like that since before 2004-05.

Down two goals in Game 3 at Joe Louis Arena, San Jose came back, forced overtime and won to take a commanding lead in the series.

There was no shortage of scoring chances for the Sharks early in the Chicago series; however, they couldn’t crack the wall.

Dany Heatley labored through the playoffs hindered by a torn groin muscle, which stopped him from getting more than a couple of goals after the Colorado series, that following his 39-goal regular season. Nine of Heatley’s goals were regular-season game-winners, the most in the League, nudging out Daniel Sedin and Patric Hornqvist by one.

It was a very successful second stint behind the bench for Todd McLellan, who finished 8-1-1 in the closing days of the regular season to end with 51 wins, the third-most goals in the conference. San Jose might have challenged the Washington Capitals further for the Presidents’ Trophy had they not dropped 11 games in overtime.

2010 San Jose Sharks Offense:

Pavelski had three game-winners in the playoffs on a team-high 65 shots and presents a difficult problem for teams trying to concentrate their checking on Marleau, Thornton and Heatley. Marleau had a career year, no longer struggling with the extra pressure of the captaincy and blasting 44 goals, fourth in the League. His new deal calls for four more years. Heatley is a sniper in the regular season, but turns into a set-up man in April as his 11 playoff helpers gave him 36 in four playoff trips, compared to just 12 goals. Thornton’s regular-season production began to wane through the playoffs and a minus-11 didn’t help Ryane Clowe and Devin Setoguchi buzzed the 20-goal mark in the regular season, too.

2010 San Jose Sharks Defense:

Ending a busy season, Dan Boyle was another big part of the Sharks and the Canadian Olympic effort scoring 58 points, which was fourth on the club and finished second to Pavelski in the playoffs with 14, getting 12 assists. He was in company with Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith in excess of 26 minutes of ice a night. Blake bowed out with his 13th straight 30-point season and 21 minutes a night, but the team saw this day coming for the future Hall of Famer and added dependable Niclas Wallin from Carolina late in the season to play alongside Sharks’ mainstays Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Douglas Murray. Also bound to get extra ice will be rookie Jason Demers (21 points in 51 games as a rookie) and Kent Huskins.

2010 San Jose Sharks Goaltending:

This will be a real adjustment as Nabokov had been with the organization going back to 1997. He ends his Sharks career with almost 600 games and 293 wins. But letting him go gave Wilson the necessary funds to keep Marleau and Pavelski in house. Antero Niittymaki, trying to recapture his 20-win form from the 2005-06 season, had varying success with the Flyers before leaving altogether last season and getting 21 in Tampa. That was enough to earn a two-year ticket here. Patient German-born backup Thomas Greiss was 7-4-1 last season with a .912 save percentage, while Nabokov has played the bulk of games, including a League high 77 in 2007-08. Someone else who may show up on the radar is Finnish club player Harri Sateri.

San Jose Sharks 2010 Special Teams

The Sharks were the only club to be top five in both power-play and penalty killing statistics. Their superior firepower translated to excellent power-play figures, including the best percentage (21 %) in the West. Heatley wired 18 goals, his first of the year being the 100th of his career, and his totals on the season were the most in the conference. Also demonstrating a fine finishing touch was Marleau with 12. Pavelski had five in the playoffs, Marleau three. San Jose didn’t slacken on the penalty-killing side, a crisp 85% when a man down. Marleau enjoyed four short-handed goals and one more in the playoffs.

San Jose Sharks 2010 Season Predictions

A couple of great names are gone, but new blood is arriving. Despite the surprising rise of Phoenix in the Pacific Division, San Jose still should have enough to get a fourth-straight 100-point season, challenge for first place and perhaps duel the Hawks for the Western crown.

We predict that the San Jose Sharks will finish 1st in the NHL Pacific.

San Jose Sharks Betting

San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup Odds: +900
San Jose Sharks Western Conference Odds: +400

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