Sharks current record: 8-17-2 (.333)
Sharks projected record: 26-54-2 (.333)
NHL record for worst season in 82-game history: 14-57-11 (.238)

We’re back with the weekly Sharks Sterility Stare, and the San Jose Sharks have found an offensive groove, scoring 22 times in their last four games. In the last week, since our last check in, the team has won 2 more times—and interestingly enough, both victories came in overtime action on the road: 5-4 against the New York Islanders and 6-5 against the Detroit Red Wings—after falling behind 4-0 and pulling the starter in net.

Talk about some resiliency … the Sharks fully have recovered from that 0-10-1 start to the season, and the overall winning percentage for the year right now is significantly better than could have been expected or projected after those first 11 games. But the recent scoring is what stands out to us, sabermetrically: after not scoring more than 3 goals in any of the first 16 games, San Jose has now done it 6 times since then.

Suddenly, the Sharks have two decent-scoring centers to anchor two lines, and it makes a big difference: Tomáš Hertl (9G, 14A in 26 games) and Mikael Granlund (3G, 13A in 20 games) have powered up, so to speak, and that energizes an entire roster. The secondary scoring is still on the weak side, but it has a chance to get better with experience, growth, and time. Things are trending upward for the San Jose offense now.

Unfortunately, the goaltending has been getting somewhat abused, still: the team’s 3.93 GAA is worse than the .894 save percentage would suggest, and that is because the team is giving up a tremendously high number of shots on goal every game. Both goaltenders have been about the same, overall, now, the Sharks defensive schemes need some improvement to limit the opponents’ scoring chances and preserve the net.

But here is a key stat: San Jose is 6-4-2 when scoring first this season. The Sharks also are 4-1 in one-goal games this year, yet they’ve been outshot in all but 2 of their contests this season. Thus, the recipe is this: shoot more, score first, and keep it as close as you can. This probably is a common formula for many teams, but as it pertains to this team, right here and right now, it is definitely what the coaches need to be stressing.

Again, we will be checking the Sharks out in person on Tuesday night upcoming, and we can’t wait to share the experience (again) as we keep our eyes on San Jose’s progress and projections throughout the 2023-2024 NHL season. Things are definitely looking up for the team, but it’s a long season. Stay tuned …