SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The San Jose Sharks showed a version of themselves Friday that head coach Ryan Warsofsky clearly wants to see more often. They were quicker, tighter and harder to play against in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, their sixth defeat in their last seven games.
“I thought we worked harder. I thought we got above quicker. We reloaded quicker without the puck,” Warsofsky said.
That effort showed up in the forecheck. In one sequence, center Collin Graf, wingers Kiefer Sherwood and Mason Marchment, and defenseman Jacob Trouba were all up on the puck in a 2-1-2 setup. Graf, Sherwood and Marchment were also rotating as the high defensive forward, the F3, while the other two forwards pressured the puck.
That part of the game is not the issue for San Jose. The Sharks are generating turnovers in the offensive zone off the forecheck, and they’ve been doing it all season.
Per Stathletes, San Jose ranks eighth in the NHL with 9.26 OZ Turnovers Forced Per 60. That puts them in the neighborhood of teams that have built their identities around that style.
The Carolina Hurricanes lead the league at 10.98, while the Ottawa Senators are seventh at 9.56. Warsofsky has spoken highly of Ottawa recently, too.
The problem comes after the takeaway.
The Sharks are not turning those turnovers into enough dangerous looks. They sit 23rd in the NHL with 13.82 5-on-5 Scoring Chances Per 60 and 27th with 1.43 High-Danger Scoring Chances Per 60.
That gap is the story. San Jose can force the mistake, but it hasn’t consistently made opponents pay for it.
Carolina, by contrast, is first in 5-on-5 Scoring Chances Per 60 and sixth in High-Danger Scoring Chances. Ottawa is more middle-of-the-pack this season, but last year it was top-10 in both categories. San Jose, for its part, finished 20th in 5-on-5 Scoring Chances Per 60 and 14th in High-Danger last season.
So what closes the loop for the Sharks?
One answer could be as straightforward as getting to the net more often. That might be the simplest way to unlock more 5-on-5 offense, which San Jose badly needs. The Sharks are last in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals.
Still, it’s not just a matter of wanting it more. The question is whether San Jose has enough players willing to live at the top of the crease and absorb the punishment that comes with it. It doesn’t take a full roster of net-crashers, but the Sharks may need a few more of them.
That may end up being something for GM Mike Grier to address down the line.
In Other News...
Sharks Young Scorers Offered Hope Before Another Brutal Late Collapse
The Sharks got exactly the kind of jolt they have been waiting for in Dallas, where Michael Misa, Ivar Stenberg and Will Smith all found the net in a game that briefly looked like it might tilt San Joses way. For a team searching for offense and confidence, the sight of three young scorers contributing in the same night was a welcome change, especially against a Stars club that has usually made life difficult at American Airlines Arena.
But the encouraging start did not survive the finish, and the latest loss fit too neatly into a frustrating pattern for San Jose. The Sharks have now dropped seven of their last eight, and while the goals from Misa, Stenberg and Smith showed there is some promise in the groups emerging talent, the late collapse left the bigger question hanging: how long can those flashes matter if the points keep slipping away? [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Let Another Winnable Game Slip As Familiar Problem Returns
Macklin Celebrini did his part in a game the Sharks badly needed, piling up three points and helping San Jose build an early lead before the night turned into another frustrating chase. Michael Misa got the opening goal with Celebrini on the assist, and for a while it looked like the Sharks might finally turn a strong start into something more lasting against Dallas.
Instead, the Stars leaned on the power play to swing the game back their way, and San Jose spent the rest of the night trying to dig out of the hole. Will Smiths late power-play goal gave the Sharks a chance to steal a point at the end, but the equalizer never came and the 4-3 loss became their fifth straight defeat, another reminder that the margin for error keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Need Alexander Wennberg Back More Than Ever Right Now
Alexander Wennberg is inching closer to a return, and the Sharks could use the help. The center has been on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, but he has been skating with the team and was recently moved from week-to-week to day-to-day, a sign that his comeback is getting closer. For a San Jose group that has struggled without him, his presence would be a welcome boost as the schedule shifts into an important homestand.
The timing matters because the Sharks have been trying to steady themselves without one of their more reliable two-way options in the middle of the ice. Wennbergs return would not solve everything overnight, but it would give the lineup more structure and experience at a time when the team needs both. There is still a little waiting to do before the next update, and the Sharks will be watching closely to see how soon they can get him back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]