San Jose Sharks Hitting Their Stride At Right Time

The San Jose Sharks began the month of January with two losses much like the previous month when the Sharks were only able to muster four victories in December. However, San Jose has hit their stride of late, winning seven of their past eight contests to pull into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division.

The biggest contributing factor for the Sharks in their recent run of play has been the balance throughout the lineup. San Jose isn’t relying on just one person or one line, but it’s easy to see who’s been paving the way.

Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton have been the catalysts of the Sharks turn around as Pavelski’s game-winner, his 23rd goal of the year, yesterday was his league-leading eighth of the season. He leads San Jose with 47 points and will be making his first All-Star appeareance, a much-deserved honor.

Meanwhile, his linemate Thornton has really kicked things into high gear as he has recorded points in eight-straight games and 16 of his past 17. On his other wing, the move of Tomas Hertl was a brilliant one by Peter DeBoer as the third-year forward is playing with a renewed confidence level.

More from Editorials

• Korenar deserves a chance at the NHL level
• Three prospects the Sharks should consider drafting
• Red hot Couture provides a much needed boost
• Is it reasonable for the Sharks to fire Doug Wilson?
• NHL misses golden opportunity with Tahoe games

After enduring a 19-game goalless drought and only finding the back of the net four times through the first three months of the season, Hertl has embodied the turn around by the Sharks. He has scored five goals, including three in his last four games, during the month of January and is a plus-eight for the month.

But it hasn’t just been the top line changing the fortunes for this San Jose group. The Sharks are getting contributions from the likes of Chris Tierney, who has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last eight games since being recalled from the San Jose Barracuda, and Joonas Donskoi.

After enduring his own extended scoring draught, Donskoi is now working on a four-game point streak including a beautiful goal and assist in yesterday’s victory over Minnesota.

Part of their success has to do with the return to health of Logan Couture who has been steadily improving each time out. Also, with all the lines now contributing, the Sharks find themselves with the league’s fourth-best offense at 2.87 goals per game.

The turn around hasn’t just been on offense as the San Jose defense has been cutting down on their turnovers and lapses of late. While they still must improve, the Sharks have looked more aware in their own end and their goaltender has been there to bail them out when necessary.

Martin Jones sports a 6-1-0 record in his last seven games between the pipes, and has a respectable 2.41 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage for the season.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, San Jose has started to cure their home ice woes as they have now won four of their last five games at SAP Center. At one point this season, the Sharks owned the worst home record in the NHL at 5-12-0, but now see their record at 9-12-1. Also, San Jose was able to continue their road warrior mentality, taking all three road games in January to improve their road record to 16-6-2 for the year.

Next: Sharks Welcome Kings Looking To Narrow Gap

All of these developments have certainly been welcome sights for Sharks fans as the team is starting to showcase the depth many thought they had when the season began.

San Jose will get a big test from the Los Angeles Kings tonight, but they should be well-equipped to handle whatever comes their way. The Sharks have hit their stride and it comes at just the right time as the stretch drive to the playoffs is about to get kicked into high gear.