San Jose Sharks Find Themselves Amidst Division Mess

It’s been a rough go of things for the San Jose Sharks of late, as they find themselves sitting in fifth place within the Pacific Division following a dreadful December performance. The Sharks won only four of their 13 contests during the final month of 2015 and got off to a rough start in 2016, laying an egg against the Winnipeg Jets last week.

San Jose has enjoyed an extended period of time off, but it has allowed other teams in the division to pass them by. The Sharks have played the fewest games, 37, in the Pacific but San Jose hasn’t shown the ability to string together a series of wins in quite some time. It appears as if the Sharks are teetering on the edge as they approach the midway point of their season.

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At the top, the Los Angeles Kings just keep rolling along. Following their 5-3 loss to the Sharks right before the holiday break, the Kings rattled off five consecutive victories to extend their lead over San Jose from six to 14 points. While their winning steak was snapped last night, Los Angeles continues to roll along as they are starting to put the puck in the net on a more frequent basis.

Leading the way is Tyler Toffoli with 19 goals, 31 points and a staggering plus-22 rating as the Kings are steamrolling through the Pacific.

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Surprisingly, the Arizona Coyotes find themselves in second place within Pacific following a big 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks last night. The Coyotes have recorded points in three straight games and they’ve done all this without the services of Mike Smith. Their offense is carrying the day for them, ranking seventh in the league in goals per game.

Speaking of the Canucks, they’re somehow staying in the race by finding ways to lose in either the overtime or shootout sessions. Vancouver has lost on nine occasions in extra time and their 12 regulation wins rank 29th in the league. It’s a minor miracle they’ve held on as long as they have but they will likely fade away over the course of the season.

For the first time all season, the Anaheim Ducks find themselves in a playoff spot as they’ve utilized a stingy defense to record points in six straight games, winning four of those contests. Anaheim ranks fifth in goals against per game and leads the NHL on the penalty kill as John Gibson has assumed the starting role with the Ducks. Gibson sports an 8-4-2 record with a 1.63 GAA and a .932 save percentage.

Tied with the Sharks are the Calgary Flames, who are starting to turn things around defensively despite still allowing the most goals per game, sporting the worst power play and the worst penalty kill in the NHL. Johnny Gaudreau has been absolutely lights out for Calgary in his sophomore campaign with 17 goals, 22 assists and 39 points.

Rounding out the group is the Edmonton Oilers who continue to hang around, but they’ve also played the most games in the division at 41. After winning their first six games of December, the Oilers fell apart to conclude the month dropping seven of their final eight games, but they have been able to win their first two games of 2016. Taylor Hall continues to pave the way with 16 goals, 25 assists, 41 points and a plus-11 rating.

Next: Time Is Now For Sharks Turnaround To Begin

San Jose will look to start a turn around when they host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, before wrapping up their five-game home stand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.