5 Stats That Should Make the San Jose Sharks Worried Moving Forward

The San Jose Sharks have played 11 games in the 2014-15 NHL season and are off to a solid 6-4-1 start. While there are several positives to point to, here are five statistics from the early part of the season that should make Sharks fans a bit worried moving forward.

Keep in mind that some of these issues are fixable. But if these trends continue, they certainly could hurt San Jose's chances of contending in the highly competitive Pacific Division.

The statistics in question are listed in order of importance with the one having the biggest impact on the team's long-term prospects holding the top spot. The easier the statistic is to fix and the more likely it is to average out, the lower it is on our list.

Feel free to comment on any numbers mentioned here or to mention any other early season statistic that concerns you and that you believe belongs on this list. As always, indicate why you feel the way you do.

5. Logan Couture's Poor Faceoff Percentage

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Logan Couture must improve in the faceoff circle.

In this day and age when NHL teams place a priority on puck possession, winning faceoffs becomes an important factor in many games. Simply put, if you win the faceoff, your team starts each segment with possession of the puck, and the other team has to chase after it.

Logan Couture is off to a very slow start in the faceoff circle. Through 11 games, the Guelph, Ontario, native has won only 29 draws while losing 45. That's an embarrassing 39.2 percent success rate.

Last season, Couture took 950 faceoffs and won 479 of them for a winning percentage of 50.4.

Couture is not a rookie and does not lack size or strength. At 6'1" and 200 pounds, he's not huge by NHL standards. But he's no 90-pound weakling either.

Expect Couture's numbers to improve as the season goes on. The slow start in the faceoff circle is cause for concern—but not for panic.

4. Matt Irwin's Plus/Minus

Christine Cotter/Associated Press

Matt Irwin has the worst plus/minus on the team.

Defenseman Matt Irwin is a third-pairing or depth defenseman who is still trying to establish himself as a full-time NHL player.

The 26-year-old played a career-high 62 games with the Sharks last season, but he's off to an uneven start in 2014-15.

Irwin has played in seven of San Jose's first 11 games, and he has two goals and one assist. The problem, however, is his deplorable minus-six rating. Nobody else on the club is less than minus-three.

Irwin isn't going to play significant minutes in a game, barring injuries to other defensemen. Still, he needs to prove to the Sharks' coaching staff that he can be put out on the ice and not hurt the team defensively.

A minus-six rating in seven games on a team that has won more games than it has lost is not a positive sign.

Last season, Irwin finished with a plus-five rating. He needs to avoid having an embarrassing plus/minus rating this season if he hopes to remain a regular contributor to Team Teal.

3. Joe Thornton's Lack of Power-Play Production

Christine Cotter/Associated Press

Joe Thornton has not been his usual productive self on the power play.

The Sharks are off to a pretty good start on the power play as a team, but one player who has traditionally served as the catalyst of the power play is not making his usual contributions: Joe Thornton.

Jumbo Joe has just two points when the Sharks have had the extra attacker in 11 games. Last season, Thornton had 19 points on the power play in 82 games. That means Thornton's power-play production is down about 21 percent.

Thornton remains one of the league's most accurate and gifted passers. When he has a little extra time and space, he is even more dangerous.

Expect Thornton to get back on track sooner rather than later. But if he doesn't, the San Jose power play could struggle, and the team's overall offensive production could also suffer.

2. Tomas Hertl's Lack of Shots and Production

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Tomas Hertl isn't scoring or even taking shots.

Second-year winger Tomas Hertl has not been as involved with the offense this season as he was as a rookie.

Last year, Hertl managed 98 shots on goal in 37 games—or an average of 2.65 shots per game.

This season, the Prague native has taken only 13 shots on goal in 11 games for an average of just 1.18 shots per contest.

His shooting percentage is nearly identical to last year (15.3 last season, 15.4 this year), so less shots simply equal fewer goals.

In 2013-14, Hertl scored 15 goals in 37 games—a 33-goal pace over a full season. Thus far, he has tallied only twice in 11 games for a pace of barely 15 goals over 82 contests.

The lack of shots on goal becomes a bigger concern when you factor in that Hertl has spent significant time on the top line with Joe Pavelski and Thornton and has seen regular shifts on the power play.

The Sharks were hoping Hertl would at least match his rookie production, if not improve upon it. Hertl needs to get more involved in the offense in order to make that happen.

1. Allowing Too Many Shots on Goal

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

The Sharks are allowing 32 shots on goal per game.

Team defense is a concern for the Sharks this early in the season. Through 11 games, Team Teal has allowed an average of 32 shots on goal per game. That ranks 23rd in the league.

While Antti Niemi and Alex Stalock are both good goaltenders, neither is considered elite. Allowing a high volume of shots only makes things tougher on whichever netminder is between the pipes on any given night.

The Sharks also take a lot of shots. But in the NHL, defense becomes paramount, especially in the playoffs. Unless San Jose finds a way to tighten up its defense, it may face another early exit from the postseason this spring.

Unless the Sharks find a way to reduce the shots against in both quality and quantity, they may face an uphill battle in their quest for the franchise's first Stanley Cup.