Sharks coach asks for more bite from struggling team
SAN JOSE >> The Sharks are hoping a little more attitude in their game — at both ends of the ice — might go a long way in turning their season around.
The Sharks haven’t come close in recent games to playing to their identity as a relentless, pressuring team. Too often they’ve had the pace of play dictated to them rather than asserting themselves in all three zones.
The Sharks hadn’t had a lead at any point in their last seven periods entering Friday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. They were outscored 3-0 in the third period of last Friday’s game by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and fell behind early in regulation time losses to the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins that dropped their record to 4-8-1.
The Sharks entered Friday 10 points back of Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division and six back of sixth-place Arizona.
“We’re a little (ticked) off with where we’re at; we’re a little embarrassed,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Friday morning. “We’ve got to start to play with a little bit more of an attitude. Defend with a little more attitude, attack with a little more attitude.
“We’ve been a soft team for 10-12 games. That doesn’t win you many games in this league.”
The key for the Sharks is adding a little more bite to their game without spending more time in the penalty box. Before Friday, the Sharks had taken 53 minor penalties — third most in the NHL — in 13 games.
By being the aggressor, the Sharks hope to eliminate some of the repeated stick fouls that have plagued them since the start of the season.
“We can use (the record) as a way to maybe change our attitude and how we play,” Sharks winger Evander Kane said. “Playing
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(ticked) off isn’t the worst thing, especially with where we are right now and how we’ve been playing.
“Having a little bit more of an aggressive mindset, both offensively and defensively, can help us.”
The Sharks haven’t been the fastest starting team in their first four years under DeBoer, gaining an average of just less than 15 points in their first 13 games from 2015-2018. They were 6-4-3 in their first 13 games last season.
Still, DeBoer is not concerned about the standings just yet.
“We’ve been here before.” DeBoer said. “Every group is different. I think those other groups we had looked in the mirror and figured it out and got it turned right. There was still a lot of hockey left to be played and turned it into a real good season.
“Now it’s this group’s turn to see what they’re made of.”
GAMBRELL OUT THE NEXT
TWO GAMES, AT LEAST >> Dylan Gambrell will miss at least Friday and today’s games with a hand injury after he blocked Charlie McAvoy’s shot Tuesday in Boston. The Sharks play Vancouver today and Gambrell will be reevaluated before Tuesday’s game with Chicago.
With Gambrell out, Barclay Goodrow slides back into the fourth-line center position. Melker Karlsson will play right wing on Joe Thornton’s line with Marcus Sorensen at left wing.
Goodrow will have Noah Gregor and Jonny Brodzinski as his wingers. It’s Brodzinski’s first game since he was recalled Oct. 20 from the Barracuda.
Goodrow is tied for third on the Sharks with three goals, trailing just Kane (seven) and Kevin Labanc (five) without the benefit of much power-play time.
“Barclay’s had a good start for us,” DeBoer said. “We’ve moved him around. He’s played left wing, right wing, center; he’s played up and down the lineup for us. You know what you’re getting from him every night.
He’s turned into a good faceoff guy, a real good penalty killer. He’s got some physical presence to his game, some heaviness to his game.”
JOE THORNTON NEEDS HELP FROM WINGERS >> Thornton went into Friday with four assists in 13 games. Three of those assists have come at even strength on goals by Karlsson and Goodrow (two).
Thornton, 40, is a mainstay on the Sharks’ second power-play unit but hasn’t much consistency in terms of his wingers, with players like Sorensen, Goodrow, Karlsson and Labanc playing up and down the lineup.
“He’s at a point where the guys he’s playing with have to help him,” DeBoer said. “He’s carried people and lines for years and he’s at a point in his career where he’s still a very good player, but he’s got to take care of his own game and he needs some help around him.
“For me, whether it’s the guys who have played there and the different options we’ve had, we haven’t given him, for me, enough support yet.”