Few degrees of separation between winning and losing

SAN JOSE, Ca – The San Jose Sharks have come up on the short end of the stick in the last few games they have played. The games were short just a single goal in fact, and most of these losses have come at the Shark Tank, which used to be a place that the opposition seldom faired well.
 
The difference in the NHL between winning and losing is a few degrees of separation. There is great parity in this league, which is what makes it very exciting to watch night in and night out. In any given game, picking the winner is quite difficult.   Degrees of separation can be any number of things. For example not burying the empty net opportunity, not moving your feet, which can lead to an offensive chance or a penalty, and in some cases, it could be something completely out of the hands of the participants when the refs make a bad call. Let’s take a look at the separation in the Sharks last few games that has allowed the rest of the league to begin to close the gap in the standings.
 
Los Angeles came into San Jose starting Eric Ersberg, their back up goalie and only 4 points back. As you would expect from a team behind in the standings, they played with more desperation from the time the puck dropped. The Kings kept things simple and played hard. On the power play, they got pucks to the net and when they had chances to bury, they capitalized. At the end of the day, San Jose out shot their in state rival, but Los Angeles buried the scoring chances they got and the Sharks did not.
 
The home team made numerous costly errors. One degree of separation in this game was a lack of communication in their defensive zone which led to Drew Doughty’s goal. Four San Jose players got sucked in to the puck side and didn’t come out with the disc, which allowed the upcoming star to take a pass on the open side of the ice, walk in and blast a slap shot past Evgeni Nabakov’s blocker.

 
Another apparent degree was the amount of time the Kings forwards had with the puck. San Jose’s rear guards were unable to close the gap between them and the puck carriers all night long.
 
Hockey is the fastest team sport on earth and players have trained themselves to know what they are going to do with the puck before they get it. Having an extra half second or longer to make decisions can often be the difference between winning and losing. It can be called a mental let down or a lack of intensity, either way it is something San Jose has been guilty of lately.
 
The Sharks power play has seen a drop in goals lately and the game plan was to keep it simple and put pucks on net. With the man advantage, they scored one goal on seven attempts for a 14 percent success rate, as opposed to the Kings, who scored two goals on five attempts for a 40 percent success rate.
 
The home team was stuck in the sand and not moving their feet and did not get enough pucks to the net; a result of complacency. When it was all said and done, with the game tied at four, San Jose got the short end of a call that could have given them a 5-4 lead and possibly the win in regulation time. Instead the game went into overtime, and Kings captain Dustin Brown scored on a dribbler that Nabakov stops 98 times out of 100. The reason the degrees of separation are so important is because the Sharks were so close to making this a four point game against a division rival.
 
After a heartbreaking loss, in comes another division opponent who, like the Sharks, is looking to stop their losing streak. The first period of this game, was one of the most entertaining of the year, with tight checking and bodies flying everywhere. The Sharks did what they do best, which is score goals, going into the break ahead 2-1 against the Dallas Stars.
 
Dany Heatley got a great pass from Joe Thornton, but it was Dan Boyle’s persistence along the boards that created the scoring chance. Rob Blake went five-hole on Marty Turco for the second. That was a goal that the Stars net minder would like to have back.
 
The rest of the game was spent wondering what happened to the Sharks team that played the first period. San Jose came out tentative and standing still. If not for the stellar play of Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabakov this game would not have gone into overtime. As it turned out, Brad Richards tied the game for the Stars in the third.
 
It was clear to see things had changed and not for the better, in the second frame where the Sharks have dominated this year, but were completely outplayed. The Stars out-shot the home team 16-6 in the second and at the game end 44-35.
 
At this point the degrees of separation for the Sharks are getting bigger and the game in Phoenix was clearly proof of that. The writing is in the box score. In the last two games, San Jose has taken more penalties than their opposition, which is often a result of not moving your feet or a lack of communication and commitment.
 
Wayne Gretzky used to say that the laziest play in hockey is to go offside. Well, in the overtime period against Dallas, the Sharks owned that stoppage of play, which is a sign that these guys are not on the same page. The only bright spot for San Jose was the play of their number one net minder, who forced the Stars to go deep into their roster during the shoot out to decide a winner; eleven rounds deep, which is a credit to both Nabakov and Turco. A strong performance was encouraging, but not surprising after letting in a weak one against the Kings in the overtime period.
 
After dropping two division games in a row, at home, it would appear the Sharks would be hungry, especially against another division rival who kept San Jose off the score sheet October 12^th at home, the last time they played. It is clear that this team is out of sync. The only sustained pressure they amounted, that created consistent second scoring chances came late in the third. A team can’t play well for ten minutes and come away with points.
 
Dan Boyle who got crunched into the boards as time ran out, summed it up for the Sharks when he said the hit wasn’t a cheap shot, he just put himself in a bad position. Bad bounces, calls, and luck are small degrees of separation, but mental errors like the ones this team has been making are larger degrees of separation. Boyle missed practice Monday but is expected to play Thursday night against Anaheim at the Shark Tank.
 
On the other side of the coin, even though they have not played well as of late, the Sharks have tallied some points for reaching overtime. Another positive we can take from this streak they are on, is that as poorly as they have performed, all the losses have been by a goal.
 
Every good team in pro sports hits a wall or two throughout the season with the exception of football where you have a week to prepare for your next opponent. My point is, there is no need to hit the panic button. This is a good team, with good coaches and players and maintaining mental toughness for the whole season is just not a realistic expectation. It really comes down to peaking at the right time.
 
Sharks supporters out there know that they will turn things around. The upcoming game against the Ducks on Thursday could be the perfect team to get things back on track. These teams don’t like each other at all and a heated rivalry usually brings the best out of players.
Contact cam.gore@prohockeynews.com
Photos by Jack Lima – jack.lima@prohockeynews.com