San Jose Sharks: Ryane Clowe Struggling To Break Through

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

22 Goals, 30 assists, and a plus/minus of plus eight in 71 games.

This is what Ryane Clowe's breakout season looked like last year for the San Jose Sharks.

Fast forward to the tenth game of the 2009-10 season for the Sharks.

The power forward has struggled to post just one assist while racking up 27 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of zero in his first 10 games.

To put things in perspective, Jody Shelley has more points than Clowe so far.

However, it is laughable to think that Shelley, who has zero goals and two assists, will be a more offensive force than Clowe for a span of 82 games this season.

But I think you get my point. Clowe, a player that San Jose needs to contribute offensively, is on a major league schneid.

After the passing of each game, No. 29's scoreless drought seems to get magnified. As head coach Todd McLellan stated recently, the Sharks aren't two games into the season; and Clowe's struggles are becoming a big concern.

It has been 10 games, and the top goal-scorers in the league this year, including Alexander Ovechkin, as well as teammates Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi, and Dany Heatley, are already being mentioned in the "who will reach 20 goals first" discussion.

And those are just a few of the names in that debate.

But, Clowe's early-season-scuffle has been somewhat mystifying.

What we do know is the fact that the native of Newfoundland has not been playing with his regular linemates this season.

Last year, the veteran of four years thrived on the second line with Joe Pavelski at center and the speedy Milan Michalek on the left wing.

However, Pavelski is still nursing a lower body injury, and Michalek was shipped to the Ottawa Senators as part of the Dany Heatley trade.

The injury to Pavelski, along with the inconsistency of the Sharks as a team has forced coach McLellan to juggle the line combinations.

Before the season started, the second line was supposed to be Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, and Ryane Clowe.

With these three on the second line together, and Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, and Devin Setoguchi penciled in on the first line, San Jose's top six forwards looked offensively powerful.

But all the aforementioned events have not allowed these lines to stay together.

This could certainly be a factor in team teal's problems this year, and "Clowey" might be feeling those effects too. It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason(s) for the Right Winger's lack of offensive production this year.

But it is clear that he has not been himself this season, for one reason or another.

Ryane has not shied away from the criticism of his play though. He has said before that the cold streak is on his mind, but he has also affirmed that he feels good out on the ice and thinks his ability is still there.

Although the 27-year-old is still struggling on the ice, he has started to do certain things well.

In San Jose's 5-2 defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Clowe was skating well and muscled his way to the front of the net whenever he had the chance.

The scrappy, yet skilled forward managed three shots in his 24 shifts and 18:49 of ice time.

That was his most ice-time since October 12 against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Along with those three shots, Clowe also tallied six shots against the New York Rangers in the game leading up to the one against the Lightning on Thursday night.

The 6 foot 2, 225 pound forward said he needed to start shooting the puck more, and his nine shots in the past two games are almost twice his total from his previous three games combined.

Clowe was even around the net and almost got credit for a goal that was eventually and correctly credited to teammate Ryan Vesce.

The second-liner obviously still has room to improve in his performances, but he is starting to get to the prime scoring areas in order to jump-start his season.

Once the Sharks get healthy and Clowe is able to get going, San Jose will likely find more consistent success.

As for now, Clowe's slump will continue to keep him in the heat of the spotlight. In the past, we have seen what Clowe is capable of offensively.

And it is just a matter of time until he is able to turn off that spotlight.

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