The Sunday Surmising space returns to the San Jose Sharks tonight, as we just returned from watching the team beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1, at the SAP Center. Strangely, the Sharks sit in fifth place among the Pacific Division teams with a 11-9-3 record, good enough for 25 points in the standings—and ninth place in the conference. This means San Jose is just two points out of a playoff berth right now, which is stunning.

Once again, though, the Sharks kept their loyal supporters on edge, taking a 2-0 lead into the third period, which has not always been kind to the San Jose faithful. When the Bruins scored with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, you could tell the fans were expecting another late collapse. Yet … it never happened! This time, the Sharks got their empty netter and put away a solid Boston squad with some bravado and fortitude.

Don’t look now, but the Sharks are surging, people.

Since the 0-4-2 start to the season, San Jose has posted an 11-5-1 record to put the team in postseason contention, and that’s something the franchise has not been able to state honestly for quite some time. For a team that topped the NHL in regular-season wins from 1999-2019 yet never won a Stanley Cup, it’s a big deal. If the Sharks can keep playing at this pace (.676) for the rest of the season, they’d finish 51-30-1. Wow!

We can’t expect that, of course, but it’s a symbol that the tide may be changing in the South Bay, and the San Jose franchise actually may have teeth again. We still have a lot of criticisms for this roster and its coaches, but the team is showing grit on the ice, finally, which is a necessary component for any hockey team. It’s a small team, and it’s not blessed with great speed, but the players are showing some moxie despite issues.

Again, we’re not fans of the coaching strategy: the Sharks don’t seem to poke their sticks at pucks in passing lanes much on defense, for example, which led to Boston’s only goal in this game. The same unit had been on the ice for a long time in its defensive zone without being able to disrupt the Bruins’ passing—or even trying to do so. It’s like the players had a power-kill mentality when it was five-on-five hockey. And it hurt.

Without being able to get possession of the puck to institute a line change or six, San Jose just got tired and sloppy in the process of giving up the big goal to Boston. Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov was excellent in this game, but even the best goalies can’t stand constant peppering with pucks for long. On the night, Askarov was very good, though, making 34 saves and lowering his GAA on the year to 2.83, which is solid.

With a .910 save percentage, too, Askarov is showing he has the talent to carry this San Jose team pretty far once he gets more seasoning: this is his age-23 season, and the future looks very bright. The Sharks are scoring more these days, improving to 19th in the NHL on offense (goals scored) while also stabilizing at 20th in defense (goals allowed). That’s solid balance after the six-game winless streak to start this season.

Yet we also think the team needs to change its overall mentality: instead of getting puck possession and then just dumping it for a line change, the skaters need to push the puck and be a little more aggressive. Sustained puck possession is the key to more shots, and on that subject, the Sharks need to take more shots, too, instead of constantly passing the puck looking for the singularly perfect shot. It’s wasted opportunities.

All in all, we were thrilled to see the team win in a situation in which we have certainly seen it fail this year—and last year, too. With 34 points, too, center Macklin Celebrini is second among all skaters in the NHL for scoring. He is delivering on that promise for being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft. The team is young and talented, and now it’s realizing how good it can be. Time is on the Sharks’ side, folks. Enjoy it.