Sharks Let One Slip in Detroit: A Missed Opportunity in a Learning Season
DETROIT - For the San Jose Sharks, Thursday night in Detroit wasn’t just another game on the schedule - it was a chance to steal a point on the second leg of a back-to-back, the kind of gritty, grind-it-out performance that playoff teams find a way to deliver. Instead, it ended in frustration, as the Sharks dropped a 4-2 decision to the Red Wings after surrendering a quick third-period goal they never recovered from.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a blowout. This was a winnable game, and that’s what will sting the most.
Despite a sluggish second period where San Jose managed just four shots on goal, they entered the final frame tied 2-2. They had weathered the storm, and the door was open to walk away with at least a point.
But that door slammed shut early in the third, thanks to a costly turnover by veteran defenseman John Klingberg that led directly to a Dylan Larkin goal. From there, the Sharks couldn’t claw back.
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t sugarcoat it.
“We couldn’t make a play for the life of us,” he said postgame. “Our brains weren’t turned on, our puck play was horrendous.”
That about sums it up.
Klingberg’s miscue was a turning point, but it wasn’t the only issue. Warsofsky made it clear that several players had off nights - and when you're trying to scratch and claw your way into the playoff picture, especially as a young, developing team, those lapses become magnified.
The Sharks actually played a much stronger third period overall, outshooting Detroit 10-7 and generating some prime scoring chances. But they couldn’t cash in, and Red Wings goaltender John Gibson came up with the timely stops. The Sharks also failed to capitalize on a third-period power play - another missed opportunity in a game full of them.
This is where the margins matter. These are the games that make or break a wild card push. And for a team still learning how to win consistently, this was a moment to show growth - to find that one shift, that one play, that one bounce to tilt the ice in their favor.
Instead, it became a teaching moment.
John Klingberg, to his credit, didn’t duck responsibility. He owned the turnover that led to Larkin’s goal, explaining he misread the play and made the wrong decision under pressure. That kind of accountability matters in the long run - especially for a team with so many young players watching and learning.
One of those younger voices, Collin Graf, spoke after the game about what the Sharks need to do heading into their next matchup - a tough one against the back-to-back champion Florida Panthers.
“They’re really structured,” Graf said. “I think for us, it’s just not giving them anything easy and making them work for it. That seems our key to team success, when we make teams go 200 feet and make it hard on them.”
That’s the formula. The Sharks don’t have the firepower to outscore their mistakes, so they have to be disciplined, structured, and opportunistic. On Thursday night, they checked none of those boxes in the moments that mattered most.
The good news? There’s still time to grow.
But if San Jose wants to stay in the playoff conversation, they’ll need to start turning these near-misses into points. Because in a season like this, every one of them counts.