Game 47 – Flames vs Sharks Live Chat

San Jose is a club that should truly scare any Flames fan. They have an abundance of what Calgary lacks – tried and true heavy hitters at even strength. This is because they are exceptional at drafting and developing quality hockey players and their management team is relatively savvy. It’s a bit of a crime that Doug Wilson has yet to bring a cup to Northern California, but one would think it’s only a matter of time.

Oh yeah – they have also handed Calgary some it’s most embarrassing losses over the least few years.

The Sharks control the puck pretty well at ES, but they are also the best team in the league at generating shots on the PP. For the second straight season, the Sharks are leading the league by that measure by a wide margin (69.6 shots/60). Only Vancouver is close and they aren’t really (59.3). The Flames, in contrast, are one of the worst at 44.6. 

San Jose hasn’t scored as much as was expected through the first half, but that’s mostly because their PP is only clicking on about 9% of their shots. The league average is around 12% and the Flames are actually humming along at 14%, which is why their overall success rate isn’t too bad. You can be certain, though, the Sharks won’t be snake-bitten on the man advantage forever. It wouldn’t surprise me if they almost double their PP output from the first half. The Flames, on the other hand, will fall off unless they can start shooting a lot more.