The San Jose Sharks Can Ruin Patrick Kane's Detroit Debut
The Sharks take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Little Caesar's Arena
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The Sharks have been heating up lately, their massive comeback win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday showed that they have the ability to play spoiler on the road. While they’ve struggled away from the SAP Center for the most part, they’ve gotten their first couple of wins on their current road trip. Tonight will be a big night for their opposition though, as former Chicago Blackhawk and New York Ranger, Patrick Kane will suit up with the winged wheel on his jersey for the first time.
It’s no surprise that Derek Lalonde is reuniting Kane with his former linemate in Chicago, Alex Debrincat who joined the Red Wings during the summer. Debrincat has had a hot start to the season and the second line consisting of him, Kane, and Joe Veleno is going to be difficult to stop. That doesn’t even factor in the fact that Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Robby Fabbri will be playing on the first line. Overall, the Red Wings have a lot of offensive weapons and the Sharks will have to find a way to shut them down in order to walk away with a win tonight.
Luckily for the Sharks, they have a brick wall between the pipes. Mackenzie Blackwood is making the start for the team in teal and he’s going to keep the puck out of the net regardless of what the team in front of him is doing. With that being said, if the Sharks allow 50 shots on goal, some will squeak by. Tonight’s focus needs to be limiting the Red Wings’ opportunities. The Sharks won’t be able to beat them in a barn burner, for the Sharks to have any chance it’ll have to be a low-scoring affair.
Tomas Hertl is also coming off of a dramatic hat trick that helped the Sharks pull off a miraculous comeback against the Islanders in their last outing. His line with Eklund and Barabanov will need to bring some offensive pressure to make Detroit’s stars get stuck in their own end.
The national eye will be on the San Jose Sharks tonight for the first time since they ended their nearly historic losing streak at the beginning of the season, everyone wants to see Patrick Kane dominate in his first appearance on a new team.
Tonight, the Sharks have the opportunity to make an impact and take away the excitement surrounding Detroit’s newest superstar. It’s certainly not going to be easy though, as the Red Wings are eighth in the NHL for a reason. With that being said though, the Sharks have already beaten good teams this season, including the Vancouver Canucks who sit sixth in the league. Most headlines tomorrow morning will be about Patrick Kane one way or another, but San Jose has the rare opportunity to control the narrative and paint themselves in a good light in a season that’s been full of disappointment early on.