Sharks 2021-22 Game 2 Recap: Sharks 5, Canadiens 0 (10/19/21)

 The Sharks begin their first road trip of the new season with their second consecutive win, shutting out the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. This is the first season since 2016-17 that the Sharks began the season 2-0-0 and the Sharks’ tenth-straight win over the Canadiens. 

San Jose took control of this game early on with Jonathan Dahlen’s first two NHL goals. This is the quickest any player has scored his first two NHL goals in Sharks franchise history. Both of Dahlen’s goals came in the first few minutes of the game; the first one was originally credited to Timo Meier, but Timo only made the initial deflection to set up Dahlen. Meier was also credited with the secondary assist on the second Dahlen goal, in which Logan Couture shot the puck and it deflected off Jake Allen, then Dahlen scored off the rebound. Towards the end of the first period, Erik Karlsson potted one in from the point to make it 3-0 at the first intermission. 

Early in the middle frame saw Timo Meier score his first goal of the season on the man advantage, getting assists from Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks got some added insurance in the later half of the final period on another power play opportunity from Kevin Labanc. In addition, Erik Karlsson recorded a total of three points (one goal, two assists), and Brent Burns, Matt Nieto, Mario Ferraro, and William Eklund each recorded an assist against the Canadiens on Tuesday. 

Adin Hill stopped all 21 shots he faced for his fourth career shutout and first shutout as a Shark. Hill has been amazing in Teal in the two games the Sharks have played this season so far. The power play has improved significantly under John MacLean compared to the past two seasons under Rocky Thompson. Montreal simply couldn't get anything going against Team Teal and have now fallen to a league-worst 0-4-0, especially considering they are without Carey Price, Shea Weber, Philip Danault, among others this season. 

In all, the younger players and veteran core have stepped up in a huge way thus far, and I'm confident that they can keep up their current level of success and competitiveness for much of this season. The Sharks' next stop on their current road trip is Ottawa, where they will face the Senators on Thursday at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App