San Jose Sharks: Three Areas Of Concern At Quarter Mark
With the first quarter of the 2015-16 NHL season passed, the San Jose Sharks are sitting in a pretty good position coming off their dreadful end to last season, and all the injuries and inconsistencies the Sharks have battled in the early going.
Yesterday, we took a look at three positive takeaways from the Sharks play through their first 22 games, and today, we take a look at the flip side and three areas of concern for San Jose.
1. Home Ice Struggles
For some reason, the Sharks are a different team on home ice than they are away from SAP Center. Currently, San Jose has racked up a 10-3-0 record on the road, while they are just 3-6-0 at home. It’s pretty surprising to see the Sharks struggle as much as they have on home ice as they’ve been a notoriously strong team at the Tank throughout the years.
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As it stands right now, San Jose ranks 25th in the league in home ice scoring with just 2.22 goals per game, and ranks 23rd in home ice save percentage at .895.
Meanwhile, the Sharks rank sixth in the NHL withe 3.08 goals per game away from SAP Center, and they are tied for 10th with an away save percentage of .920.
Needless to say, San Jose needs to find a way to play much better on home ice as they can’t rely on their away performances to carry them throughout the course of this season.
2. Power Play Deficiency
Similar to their inability to perform on home ice, the Sharks have inexplicably fallen short with the man advantage. Last year, San Jose possessed one of the most lethal power plays in the league, ranking sixth with a power play conversion rate of 20.9 percent, headlined by Joe Pavelski who was second in the league with 19 power play goals.
This season, it’s been a completely different beast for the Sharks as their power play has been dormant for a majority of the year. Currently, San Jose possesses the league’s 28th ranked power play at just 14.1 percent.
The Sharks have been fine on the road, boasting a power play percentage of 20 percent (9-of-45) for the year, but it’s been at SAP Center where they’ve struggled mightily. San Jose has just one goal on 26 opportunities, a 3.8 conversion rate, and their one goal came last time out in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
While the power play has looked more dangerous in recent outings, the Sharks need to punish teams with the man advantage, otherwise, their struggles on home ice could continue.
Next: Sharks Need Younger Players To Step Up
3. Injuries and Depth
The Sharks have been hit hard by injuries through the first quarter of the year, headlined by Logan Couture missing 19 games due to a fractured ankle. Ben Smith has also missed extended action, and Paul Martin, Joonas Donskoi and Justin Braun have all missed some games due to injury.
San Jose needs to regain all their healthy bodies as Peter DeBoer like to roll over his lines on a consistent basis. Couture’s return should really help boost the Sharks offense and could jump start their power play.
The injuries have really showcased the depth concerns for the Sharks, especially on the blue line. San Jose has only five reliable defensemen at this stage, so they can ill-afford to lose anyone on the back end otherwise the Sharks will be in big trouble moving forward.