What happened…
Nobody guarding Donskoi? That's cool with us. pic.twitter.com/1dCDxvCX38
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 21, 2018
Career goal No. ? for Connor McDavid pic.twitter.com/mqoY9dZqBn
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 21, 2018
Joe Thornton’s 1033th NHL assist goes to Marcus Sorensen#SJSharks lead 2-1 pic.twitter.com/OlPk0VDZ8x
— Sharks Central (@SJSharksNHL) November 21, 2018
We said period two would be better, and just like that it's 2-2 on this shorty from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins!
Stream this one here: https://t.co/7JxOGvGgca pic.twitter.com/4brQPvROuB
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) November 21, 2018
Logan Couture takes Adam Larsson’s jock and throws it straight into the rafters pic.twitter.com/62hH1FErEp
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 21, 2018
All tied up again thanks to THIS ? #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/wbihnLQZ4S
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 21, 2018
There's a reason they call it McDavid-time.
The game winner. pic.twitter.com/xd4W6FV9m8
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) November 21, 2018
By the numbers…
Thoughts…
- What did we notice about the first game in the Hitchcock era? Obviously, it’s going to take time for new systems to settle in and for things to really look different, but I thought the team had a nice jump in the third period which we sometimes wouldn’t see after that late Couture goal in which he walked Adam Larsson. Maybe that’s some of that Hitch motivation we’ve heard about.
- Another noticeable thing was the usage of the bottom-six. Milan Lucic got put on a line with Kyle Brodziak and Zack Kassian, which is something I’ve wanted to see for quite some time. In a perfect world, Lucic is scoring goals, but this isn’t a perfect world, and he can thrive much better on this checking line playing a crash-and-bang role.
- I’m really digging Caggiula as the final piece to the top line. Caggiula has the ability to finish, but, most importantly, he drives and net and skates for free pucks. He’ll dig in the corner, forecheck, and battle in front of the net, which is key for the McDavid and Draisaitl duo who get a lot of pucks in high danger areas.
- It’s wild to me how the refs let everything on McDavid just fly. Joe Pavelski shadowed him all night and relentlessly hooked and slashed him. Look at this play in which Pavelski straight up interferes with McDavid for 150 feet. Same deal with the overtime goal, Pavelski took like three different penalties on that sequence, and thankfully McDavid was still able to create that goal despite it.
- I’m not sure what to make of Koskinen’s game last night. He made a bunch of huge saves in key times, but he also got beat in the same way three times, which is a little worrying. Are teams keying in on the fact he isn’t good with shots up high? Regardless, allowing three or fewer goals tends to be a recipe for success with this team.