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The Downward Spiral

The San Jose Sharks have not won a game since January 27th against Vancouver. Since that win, they have played seven more games and are 0-3-4. I hate shootouts and don’t consider them wins or losses, but rather ties, putting that record into better perspective. The game yesterday against Columbus was as bad as they come and I am glad I missed it due to work. After watching the highlights, I feel terrible that the eight Columbus fans in attendance witnessed such poor hockey on the Sharks part that they feel Columbus is now a playoff-bound team with Steve Mason winning the Vezina. Since the NHL season is only 48 games long, Sharks fans should start to worry of hard times being near.

With a much shorter season than normal, every team in the NHL is constantly being dissected with every game being blown out of proportion, both good and bad. This is one of the main reasons I hate the shootouts because it skews the standings so badly that people forget their teams are in the midst of a huge losing streak. Had the Sharks won all of their shootouts, they would be 4-3 and fans wouldn’t notice. If they lost all four of those shootouts, fans would want firings and trades happening already. In reality, the team has played the exact same game but the outcome then relies more on individuals and not the teams – something hockey usually differentiates itself from other sports. Getting an extra point from one player scoring against a goalie is not hockey – if it were, there would be shootouts in the playoffs. That is why the standings discount shootout wins for tie-breaking purposes with the ROW column (Regulation/OT wins).

So what is going wrong with a Sharks team that started off so hot in the first two weeks of the new season? There haven’t been any new injuries to players and some are just coming back. Has time finally caught up to these old geezers? Will this be the final nail in the coffin of Doug Wilson’s tenure as the General Manager going for broke to win a Stanley Cup in San Jose? I hate to think it, but this season could be the first year the Sharks don’t make playoffs since before the 2004 lockout. Their lack of effort and being outworked has been the all-too-often excuse given for lackluster performances over the past few years, including the playoffs. Something has to change but I don’t believe it is the coaching this time around.

I’m not sure what else needs to be done on Doug Wilson’s part considering he has created one of the best teams and dynasties on paper. That’s why I think his neck may be on the line if they don’t get things together soon and make a serious run at the cup this season. He has usually (but not always) executed amazing trades to land some very talented players in San Jose but at the expense of running the prospects cabinet bare. Wilson’s attitude of win-now will eventually come to bite him if the Sharks don’t end up winning now, and it’s a shame considering he was the team’s first ever captain and leader. It would only be fitting to see him on a parade through downtown San Jose, a city in which he helped put on the map by coming here as a player.

I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom this year, but there isn’t much wiggle room for error like there is in a normal 82-game season. Going seven games without a win would kill you normally, but in a compact season with another five games left on the road trip, that loss to Columbus better be a wakeup call to the team. The only few bright sides of last night was the fact that Marleau finally scored a goal to take back second place in the league with his tenth. The penalty kill didn’t exactly wow but it has vastly improved from last season and is now sitting at sixth place. The powerplay also scored a goal late in the game, which will help with some confidence and momentum.

I hope to see the Sharks come out working hard the rest of the road trip and getting back in the win column without the help of shootouts. The third and fourth lines need to step up their scoring because when the first two lines dry up, they need to help carry the team along. Right now, there are only two goals scored outside of the top six forwards and that is not going to help you win games. The Sharks need to be a little less dependant on their top two lines to carry them and also score more 5-on-5 goals. You can’t be dependant on powerplays in the post-season.

There will eventually be a year when the Sharks don’t make playoffs, let’s just hope it’s not this one.

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