Friday Four: Sharks making strong impression in West

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will bring you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays or trends that have caught his eye.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are among the top teams in the Western Conference and Evander Kane is one reason why. We know how great of a fit he is for them, and he's turned up the offense the past month. Kane has points in nine of his past 10 games and has 38 (17 goals, 21 assists) in 49 games this season. He also has 79 penalty minutes and continues to play a physical brand of hockey while contributing offensively.

Erik Karlsson, who is second among NHL defensemen with 40 assists, took a while to get going but now is playing like the Norris Trophy winner that he is. Having him and Brent Burns, who is first among defensemen with 43 assists, part of the same defense corps is a huge advantage for them, offensively and defensively. Combine this with the offense that they have, and they'll be a dangerous team to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if goalie Martin Jones can pick up his game a little bit.

New York Rangers

Congratulations to my former teammate, goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who tied Terry Sawchuk for sixth place on the NHL all-time wins list Thursday with win No. 445. The 36-year-old hasn't slowed down with age and neither has his competitive spirit. It might be tough times in New York right now but Lundqvist wants to win and is on his way to 500 victories soon.

Forward Mats Zuccarello, who could be on the move ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25, has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. Forward Mika Zibanejad also has seven points (three goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak.

Tkachuk brothers

Ottawa Senators rookie forward Brady Tkachuk has tough shoes to fill between his dad, United States Hockey Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk, and his older brother, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk. Brady has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 36 games and has been an impact player when healthy. Ottawa plays the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-CR, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV), and you can see how different the Senators play with him in the lineup than without. The 19-year-old was the No. 4 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft for a reason.
Matthew is a big reason the Flames sit atop the Pacific Division. He has already established an NHL career high with 55 points, and his 24 goals in 48 games match what he scored in 68 games last season. The 21-year-old has 20 power-play points and has given the Flames a scoring option outside of the top-line tandem of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Tkachuk has goals in four straight. He'll have a chance to extend that against the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TVAS, SNW, FS-D+, NHL.TV).

Tyler Bertuzzi

It's been a difficult season for the Red Wings, but one bright spot has been Bertuzzi. He had a hat trick against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 12 in 46 games this season. That's one more point than he had in 48 games last season. He's been very consistent with his effort night in and night out and as a result is earning more ice time; he's averaging 15:33 per game this season, up from 14:24 last season. If he can control some of his emotions and keep from taking bad penalties, he'll be a great help to the Red Wings in the seasons to come.

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Honorable mention

Ottawa Senators forward Matt Duchene hasn't let distractions of a possible new contract and a new baby damper his play. He had two goals and an assist against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, on Wednesday and has goals in four straight games.
Chicago Blackhawks goalie Collin Delia has impressed me with his skill and composure stepping in for the injured Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks haven't had the type of season they've come to expect, but Delia has been performed well when called upon. The 24-year-old is 3-2-0 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in nine games since being recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Dec. 17.