Quite easily, the San Jose Sharks’ least favorite topic of discussion since the start of training camp has been any mention of last season when they hit rock bottom and finished with the worst record in the NHL.
“Last year was last year,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Friday morning before his team’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. “We’re completely on to this season and this group.”
That may be true. But before the Sharks can look ahead to Sunday’s home game against the Colorado Avalanche, they need to address the two stinkers they just played to finish their first road trip of the season.
Because those games most definitely had the same bad aroma as most nights featured last year.
After sleepwalking through the first period in what became a 4-2 loss to the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, the Sharks were just as bad – if not worse — against the playoff-contending Jets.
Before some fans had settled into their seats at Canada Life Centre, the Sharks were down a goal as Josh Morrissey’s blast from inside the blue line got past a partially screened Mackenzie Blackwood.
Three minor penalties later, the Sharks were down by three goals and failed to slow down the onslaught in an 8-3 loss to the Jets, dredging up some bad memories in what was easily San Jose’s most lopsided loss of the season.
Asked about the slow starts, Sharks center Nico Sturm said, “That’s on each individual. Obviously, we’re professionals, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to prepare for games.
“We’ve had team skates in the morning. We’ve had optionals. It really makes no difference. You’ve got to be ready when the puck drops, whether you go to bed at 9 p.m. the night before or stay up till (3 a.m.) playing video games. Nobody really cares, as long as you’re ready. It’s taken us half the game, both in Chicago and here tonight, to be ready.”
Warsofsky was asked if there was any issue with the team’s preparation for games, specifically the night before.
“No,” the coach quickly responded.
Regardless, the Sharks took seven minor penalties for the second straight night, and for the third straight year, they’re winless in their first five games.
“The truth is, we did take a big step back these last two games set up,” Sturm said. “I thought we were really, really good the first three games with the season. We looked really good in Dallas on the road against a Stanley Cup contender, and then we took two massive steps back these last two nights.
“And it felt a lot like last year.”
The Sharks (0-3-2) could take some solace in their performances in losses to St. Louis, Anaheim, and Dallas to start the season, games decided by a combined four goals.
But those good vibes are gone, for now, as the hard-to-play-against mantra the Sharks are trying to instill was mostly nowhere to be found in Chicago and Winnipeg.
The Sharks have been without Macklin Celebrini (lower-body injury) for the last four games. On Friday, they were also without forwards William Eklund (upper-body injury) and Will Smith (maintenance day).
While Celebrini hasn’t skated again since his lone game on Oct. 10 and is still considered week-to-week, Smith figures to be in Sunday’s lineup. The question mark is Eklund, another key part of the Sharks’ offense, who is considered day-to-day.
It all forced Warsofsky to do some serious line juggling for Friday’s game (like his predecessor had to do last season when injuries took their toll).
But the Sharks’ biggest issue against the Jets wasn’t the offense. Besides the penalty problems, which resulted in four power-play goals, the Sharks were far too casual in their own end, allowing the Jets numerous scoring chances during 5-on-5 play.
Natural Stat Trick has the Jets with 32 scoring chances at even strength and just 13 for the Sharks. The Sharks gave up an average of 27.2 scoring chances per game last season on their way to that putrid 19-54-9 record.
“Too much time and space,” Warsofsky said. “(The Jets) obviously had a really good game plan, and for the most part, we’ve done a really good job in our D zone of cutting the motion down and stopping pucks up.
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“But at times, we’d stop a puck up, and then we just couldn’t make the next play. So you’re back in D-zone coverage again. So that was big, big part of it.”
The Sharks have talked about closing out plays quicker in the defensive zone and have played to that identity with some success in the first three games. But there’s obviously work to do before Sunday, or this season risks spiraling out of control like last year’s did with a 0-10-1 start.
“The first three games, there was some confidence in our power play, in our penalty kill, and 5-on-5, you look up and down the bench, there was a good mojo in the locker room,” Sturm added. “There was confidence within the group, amongst each other, and these last two games felt a lot like last year, honestly.”
