With the first month of the season at a close, the Sharks find themselves sitting at 3-6-2 through 11 games. Certainly not a record to write home about, but in context to the Sharks' previous Octobers over the last couple of seasons, they have taken a step forward from the previous two seasons of the rebuild.
The Sharks have been playing their best hockey over the last week, better than they have played to start the season. They picked up their first regulation win of the season against the Devils, dominating the scoreboard 5-2.
The Sharks got off to a fast start in large part due to the strong play of their 2nd line of Wennberg, Eklund, and Kurashev. This line has been one of the Sharks' most consistent lines over their last two games, where the Sharks have outplayed their opposition. And while the Sharks bent in the 2nd and 3rd periods, at no point did they ever look in danger of breaking. Nedeljkovic was on point and stopped everything he needed to, and the Sharks got their first win of the season by more than a single goal.
This was a watershed moment for a Sharks team that started the month blowing a late lead after strong play for the majority of the game against Vegas, and falling into similar traps in subsequent games. But last night, the Sharks showed they were capable of playing winning hockey with the lead, and I couldn’t tell you the last time the Sharks were able to play such a game.
It’s easy to look at the Sharks and be disappointed that they are likely heading to another season at the bottom of the standings. Still, there is no denying how much better the Sharks look this season compared to previous years, and this is with the potential for even more growth as the season develops. And while it's beating a dead horse at this point, the Sharks blew at least three winnable games this month due to poor goaltending and defense in the late stages of games. If they won those games, they would be 6-5 right now through the first month.
Celebrini, Eklund, and Smith have blossomed into genuine threats offensively on a nightly basis. As they continue to improve, the already-improving Sharks' offense is going to get even better, while the defense and goaltending lag behind. If the Sharks can continue to improve as they settle into the season, they won’t just be fun to watch; they will win some games, too.
The Sharks will kick off November with a tough doubleheader against two of the league's best teams, Colorado and Detroit, this weekend.