The Sharks' season couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. The team is 0-3-2 through the first 5 games this year, continuing the trend of losing streaks to start the season. Over the last two years, the Sharks have lost their first 9 and 11 games respectively, and are trending in a similar direction for a 3rd straight season.
This past Saturday, against the Penguins, the Sharks actually played solid for 60 minutes, and even outshot Pittsburgh the first time they accomplished this all season, but were shut out by Tristan Jarry in a 31-save effort. There was a lot of good to take away from the game. 2nd overall pick Michael Misa shined in his 2nd NHL game and almost scored his first NHL goal if not for a strong effort from Jarry. Sam Dickinson also had a bounce-back game from his struggles against Carolina and Utah, looking the most comfortable he has all season offensively. Even with that, it's hard to feel positive with the results staying the same at the end of the day.
Ryan Warsofsky expressed his frustration with the lack of results after the Penguins game in a humorous way, but you can see how losing has worn on the players and coaches, after optimism heading into the year that things would be different with another year under the belt for the young Sharks. And they did come out of the gates hot, against Vegas and Anaheim, but due to crazy sequences, were unable to walk away with Wins despite being in control the majority of the way. This was followed up with uninspiring performances against Carolina and Utah, where they were flat-out beaten the entire way. The game against Pittsburgh, however, despite being shutout, was a blueprint for how the Sharks can win games. It wasn't perfect by any means, mistakes were made, but the Sharks were competitive throughout and had the puck bounce their way more than it did; they could have easily won.
If the Sharks are going to win games, they need to remain competitive; had things been a little different, they could be 3-2 right now. It is deflating that they don’t have a win, but the season is long, and eventually things will come around in the Sharks' favor. They just need to be consistent and stick with the process. They are not talented enough to win consistently with inconsistent play shift to shift. The Sharks will be taking on a fellow struggling team in the Islanders, on Tuesday as they kick off their first big road trip of the season in what will hopefully be a swing of momentum for the struggling Sharks.