The San Jose Sharks can point to their record and feel good about the results so far. But the deeper problem staring them down is the kind that doesn’t go away just because the standings look friendly: their 5-on-5 play has been a mess, and the wins they’ve banked have leaned heavily on special teams.
That’s the danger here. Power play and penalty kill matter, sure.
But most of a hockey game is still played at even strength, and that’s where San Jose has been getting exposed. Through the season’s first 12 games, the Sharks are tied for the sixth-fewest goals scored at 5-on-5, and they’ve also given up the sixth-most in those situations.
They’ve managed only 16 even-strength goals, while scoring 20 goals in all other situations. That split is doing a lot of work for them right now, and it’s not the kind of production that holds up over an 84-game season.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky laid out what he wanted to see before the Sharks headed out on their recently completed six-game road trip. “Just building our chemistry and how we want to break up pucks,” he said.
“[We need to] play with neutral zone transition speed and putting support on the puck more often than not. So [there are] some areas of improvement that we’ve got to get to really quickly.”
There were stretches on that trip where San Jose looked better at even strength, but the problem never really went away. The improvement was scattered, not sustained, and that’s been the theme.
The numbers make the issue hard to ignore across the lineup. Macklin Celebrini leads the Sharks in even-strength points, but he has just six through the first 12 games.
Tyler Toffoli, Michael Misa, and Jacob Trouba each have five. At the other end of the roster, the current fourth-line mix of Barclay Goodrow, Zack Ostapchuk, Ty Dellandrea, and Adam Gaudette - with Gaudette getting the benefit of the doubt after playing only one game - has not produced a 5-on-5 goal.
Three of those four players have actually picked up more shorthanded points than even-strength points.
The season is still young, with San Jose already 14% of the way through the 2026-27 schedule, but the lack of progress at 5-on-5 has been hard to miss. If this team ends up hanging around long enough to reach the playoffs while playing this way, the same issue would follow them there.
At that point, the Sharks likely wouldn’t have the even-strength game to survive it. Warsofsky has already identified the problem and spelled out what needs to change, but six games later, there hasn’t been a meaningful step forward.
In Other News...
Sharks Shuffle Lines Again After Another Defensive Letdown
The Sharks spent their first home practice after a six-game road trip sorting through the fallout from another defensive letdown, and Ryan Warsofsky wasted little time shuffling the board. San Jose altered both its defensive pairs and forward combinations as the club looked to reset after a rough loss to the Boston Bruins, with players and the coach acknowledging the need for cleaner work in its own end.
Among the changes, the staff mixed up the blue line and gave Ivar Stenberg a new look in the forward group, a sign the Sharks are still searching for the right fit after a stretch of uneven play. The moves were part of a broader attempt to stabilize a team that has not found much rhythm defensively, and the next test will show whether the reshuffled group can turn practice adjustments into something more reliable on game night. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Suddenly Have A Goalie Decision That Could Shape This Season
Yaroslav Askarovs early stretch in 2026-27 has given the Sharks something to think about in goal, and not just because he is still learning on the job. The young netminder has had uneven results so far, while veteran Alex Nedeljkovic has offered a steadier presence behind a team that is still trying to find its footing. For a club that needs competent goaltending every night, the way this rotation settles in could matter as much as anything else on the roster.
Nedeljkovics performance has naturally opened the door to a bigger role, at least for the time being, and San Jose appears inclined to be careful with Askarov rather than simply force the issue. The idea is less about making a permanent declaration and more about giving the younger goalie the right kind of workload so he can build confidence and keep developing through the season. How the Sharks balance that approach in the weeks ahead should be one of the more interesting subplots on their side. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Catch Sharks At A Good Time In Crucial Road Matchup
The Sharks have shown real signs of progress under Ryan Warsofsky, even if the growing pains are still easy to spot. San Joses five-on-five play has improved enough to suggest the rebuild is moving in the right direction, but defensive lapses continue to pop up, and the injury situation has made the margin for error even thinner. Macklin Celebrini remains central to whatever momentum the club can generate, while the upcoming stretch against Buffalo, Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary gives the Sharks a chance to keep stacking small improvements against a busy schedule.
Igor Chernyshov and Alexander Wennberg have both been sidelined by upper-body injuries, which leaves San Jose trying to patch together its center depth at a time when structure matters most. The Sharks cant afford to let the defensive side of the puck slip in the coming road tests, especially with Ottawa looming in a matchup that could tell us a lot about how far this group has come. The encouraging part is that the foundation is starting to look sturdier, but the injury ledger and the teams consistency still leave one important question hanging over this trip. [Read more 🡒]