With just three wins in their last 17 games, the San Jose Sharks have fallen to last place in the NHL, an all-too-familiar spot for them over the last two seasons. After outperforming their talent through the first half, they are now regressing. Their struggles are proof that their lineup isn’t deep enough to mitigate even one or two injuries to key players.
The main issue with the Sharks right now is their lack of consistency. Whether within a game or over many games, they can’t sustain the same level of play for an extended time. They need to change that if they want to start winning again — or simply return to being a respected team in the NHL.
Sharks Not Playing Complete Games
One of the Sharks’ most frustrating trends is their tendency to play a strong first two periods, then fall apart in the final 20 minutes. Of their 14 most recent losses, they held a third-period lead in six. Winning even half of those would change their standing.
Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins highlighted these issues. After a great second period, capped off by a Fabian Zetterlund goal, the Sharks took a 3-2 lead into the last frame. But the Bruins turned up the pressure, using their skill to control the puck for much of the period. They outshot the Sharks 12-8, scoring four goals. Two of the goals were empty-netters, so it was a slightly closer game than the score indicated, but it showed how the Sharks can’t afford a bad period if they want to win.
Many factors explain their inconsistency, and these collapses. Their roster is heavy on young players who are not used to holding leads in the NHL. Their relative lack of talent forces them to play on their heels with a lead, and teams trailing the Sharks want to avoid the embarrassment of losing to a bottom-ranked club, so they ramp up their own game.
"We got immature in the third period… Just a young team." #SJSharks HC Warsofsky went into a little more details after but felt the age of their team showed in the third period
— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) January 20, 2025
As the Sharks improve their roster and their players gain more experience, some of these tough losses will become wins. In the meantime, they’re stuck showing why putting together a full three-period effort often separates good teams from bad ones.
Sharks Failing to Stay Consistent From Game to Game
The Sharks also aren’t finding any consistency across multi-game stretches. They’ll play well and look competitive for a game or two, then follow it up with a listless run of performances.
The early days of their 17-game slump included close, hard-fought losses to the Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers. But before long, they turned in limp performances against the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. Once the calendar turned to January, the quality of their play was equally scattershot, including strong wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils but also bland, ugly losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders.
Related: 4 Thoughts at the Sharks’ Midway Point of the Season
Once again, these issues are partly due to the youth movement as many of their players have never played this many games in a season, and the grind of the NHL schedule will catch up to them. Similarly, a lineup without as much talent as other teams means they simply can’t sustain one good performance in the way other teams can. Both of these problems should eventually turn around, but for now, the only thing consistent about the Sharks is their inconsistency.
Sharks’ Consistency Problems Don’t Have a Single Solution
To solve these issues, the Sharks need good coaching to hold leads and sustain momentum from one game to the next. Players have to be willing to play with some aggression, even when holding the lead, and maintain the same effort across several consecutive games.
Much of the answer, however, is simply a matter of time. The Sharks need to build up their roster and let their players mature, develop and adjust to the NHL, learning what it takes to be consistent at the highest level of the sport. This approach will create growing pains in the immediate future, but if successful, it could take the franchise to heights they’ve never experienced before.
