The San Jose Sharks have a bit of turbulent start to a very sensationalized season. The first handful of games have already produced mixed results on the ice and a panicked fan base off the ice. Its not even Halloween and a small but loud portion of Sharks nation is acting like the sky is falling.
The San Jose Sharks have been through quite an eventful first two weeks of the season. They’ve played 6 games in 11 days. The Sharks have already lost their emotional leader, traveled across the United States, and played in multiple early AM games. That’s a lot for a newly configured roster to maneuver around at a very early stage of the season. Even with all the commotion surrounding this they team has played very well on the ice.
The San Jose Sharks are currently 2 – 3 – 1 heading into a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night at SAP. That record is very underwhelming for a team with talented skaters like the Sharks have.
But honestly Sharks fans shouldn’t fret all that much, at least not yet anyway. Their record might be a bit baffling, but the underlying numbers suggest that the Sharks are on doing the right things required to win in this league.
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The San Jose Sharks have compiled 15 goals so far this season, with 8 of them coming in one game against the Flyers. In 6 games that isn’t that impressive for a team with this much hype surrounding it, but it is far too early to to panic.
During those 6 games the Sharks have dominated in just about every offensive statistical category besides goals for.
Team Teal is currently placed in the top 5 in Corsi For, Fenwick For, Shots For, Scoring Chances For, and High Danger Scoring Chances For at all strengths. These are staggering numbers and are good illustration of what trends to expect going forward in this season.
All of these stats might seem like a bunch of numbers to some, but they show that the San Jose Sharks are clicking fairly well offensively. Corsi, Fenwick, and Shots For depict that they are controlling possession and offensive zone ice time.
While the Scoring Chances and High Danger Corsi For indicates that this team is in the right positions on offense and are getting good looks at the opposing net minder. They are just having trouble converting those opportunities into goals, which will most likely change with more ice time together.
There are a few areas of concern however. They have a very low team save percentage, which I believe is a direct result to the new defensive pairing arrangements implemented after the acquisition of Erik Karlsson. Also, the team continues their woes on special teams, but again I think that this is a direct result in the teams new structure.
Hockey is a very strange game. Things like locker room chemistry and culture seem to matter much more in hockey than other sports. If a team doesn’t feel in sync in the locker room it will manifest on the ice, and after the first handful of games it seems they are stilling working out the kinks. But there are lots of positive signs in the underlying numbers that point to calmer waters ahead for The San Jose Sharks.
Traditional hockey minds tend to not make harsh judgments about a team until American Thanksgiving, so it’s interesting that some of Team Teals faithful are already clamoring to abandon ship this early in the season. It’s normal to be excited about a team with the type of talent that the San Jose Sharks have. But the underlying metrics suggest that this team is trending in the right direction.
All stats in this article were provided by NaturalStatTrick.com