Grading the Positional Units for the San Jose Sharks Through 3 Weeks

The San Jose Sharks are a bit more than three weeks into the 2014-15 NHL season, and they are off to a 7-5-2 start after 14 games.

At this point, we can begin to grade each unit on Team Teal. Which groups are contributing to the team's success, and which units are holding the team back?

Grades are based on a combination of expectations and results. Players who were expected to make major contributions to the team's offense will be judged more harshly for not scoring than a fourth-line, checking forward.

Meanwhile, a stay-at-home defenseman will be judged more harshly for his poor defensive play, while any offense he provides is merely a bonus.

Feel free to comment on any of the grades listed here. As always, please indicate why you feel the way you do.

Forwards

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Logan Couture is one of San Jose's top offensive players.

The Sharks entered Thursday's game against the Vancouver Canucks ranked seventh in the NHL with 3.00 goals scored per game.

Most of the big names up front are producing at or near expectations. 

Patrick Marleau seems to always be criticized, but he's still averaging roughly a point per game and remains a major contributor to the power play.

Logan Couture leads the team with seven goals but is hurting the team with his surprisingly poor performance on faceoffs.

Joe Thornton may not be the captain anymore, but he still has eight assists and 11 points in 13 games, par for the course for the big man.

Joe Pavelski has 12 points through 14 games, also roughly where he was expected to be by most experts before the season started.

Tommy Wingels has been a very pleasant surprise, scoring five goals and nine points while playing on the third line. He's even earned some power-play time as a result of his improved offensive performance.

The biggest disappointment thus far has been Tomas Hertl, who is off to a slow start. Earlier this week, head coach Todd McLellan demoted Hertl off the top line. His biggest problem is a failure to shoot. The second-year winger has only three goals on the season, mostly because he's averaging just a bit more than one shot on goal per game.

The fourth line has struggled offensively, which is not a big surprise, but its defense has been suspect at times as well. The Sharks seem content to rotate younger players between the fourth line and the AHL.

Grade: B+

Defensemen

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Brent Burns is one of the most productive defensemen in the league.

The Sharks were 14th in the league with 2.77 goals allowed per game prior to Thursday night's game against Vancouver.

The club's overall defensive play has been uneven. At times, the defense has looked solid, but at other times, breakdowns have been costly, especially in the third period.

Brent Burns' move back to defense has been successful from an offensive standpoint, but Burns has been shaky at times in his own end as he readjusts to life on the blue line. He should have fewer lapses the more games he plays on defense.

Burns has been at or near the top among defensemen in points scored and leads the team with 13 points in 14 games.

Justin Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have been San Jose's most consistent defensemen. Vlasic is a plus-nine through 14 games, which leads the team, while Braun is a plus-five.

Matt Irwin has struggled defensively and is a minus-six in seven games. Jason Demers has been up and down when he's been in the lineup.

Mirco Mueller has experienced the expected struggles most rookie defensemen face, but he has shown why the Sharks took him in the first round of the draft and should pick up his game as he grows more comfortable playing in the NHL.

Grade: B-

Goalies

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Antti Niemi has established himself as the starter so far.

Prior to the season, McLellan indicated that both Antti Niemi and Alex Stalock would get plenty of starts and that he would ride the hot hand for most of the season. Thus far, it's been Niemi who has received most of the work.

Neither goalie has been overly consistent. In fact, although both goalies have roughly identical GAAs, Stalock has a better save percentage than Niemi. Still, the Sharks seem to be more confident with the veteran Niemi in between the pipes, and he has six of the team's seven wins this season.

Both goalies earned shutouts in their first appearances of the season, but they have had their ups and downs since. With the defense struggling at times, the Sharks need their goalies to steal a few wins. It hasn't happened enough so far this season.

Grade: B-

Overall

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The Sharks should improve their play as the season progresses.

While the Sharks went 4-0-1 over their first five games of the season, they are just 3-5-1 since then.

Inconsistency, especially on defense and in goal, has hurt the Sharks.

Thus far, special teams have mirrored the team's play at even strength. The power play ranks near the top of the league, but the penalty kill has been very average and ranks in the middle of the pack.

On paper, this team is good enough to compete with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks for the top spots in the Pacific Division, but until it plays to its potential on most nights, it will not get there.

After a red-hot start, this team has failed to meet expectations since.

Overall Grade: C+