Evgeni Nabokov Shows Improvement, but Sharks Still Have Their Share of Troubles

In my last Sharks article, I lamented the play of the Sharks on the back end. This was for good reason: Through four games, San Jose had given up 13 goals had a composite save percentage of .863.

In the last two games, the team has allowed just two goals in 125 minutes of skating, and Evgeni Nabokov has a save percentage of .971. This raises his season percentage over .900 and drops the team's goals-against-average to 2.83, just under the midpoint of the league (16th).

Too bad the Sharks have been outshot in both games—not the style this team claims is the path to success, but perhaps it is: Anaheim was outshot by 18 twice and five twice in last year's four playoff victories over the Sharks.

It's not about how many shots; it's about how many good shots. And it's not about offence; it's about defence.

The game against Minnesota was one of the more impressive displays of hustle by the Sharks since last season's All-Star break. They back- and fore-checked (22-11 edge in hits, 9-6 edge in takeaways), fought for loose pucks (36-26 edge in faceoffs), and blocked shots (17-14 edge)—and many of these efforts did not even appear in the stat sheet.

However, San Jose is still experiencing its share of troubles. In four of its six games, the team has entered the first intermission trailing. Against the Coyotes, the Sharks were dominated for the second period and failed to score through 65 minutes.

In other words, the consistency is not there in any phase of the game: offence, defence, or goaltending. But it is still early in the season and there are new faces in the lineup, so this is not unexpected.

Two familiar faces are set to return as early as next week. Second- and third-line centres Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell should both be in the lineup before month's end, and both are key members of a penalty kill that without them is still ranked ninth in the league.

One of the reasons the Sharks have been able to endure the loss of both players is their depth down the middle. Newcomers Manny Malhotra and Scott Nichol give the Sharks two good checking-line centres, and Patrick Marleau has shifted from the wing to centre to fill in for Pavs.

Still, only two of the Sharks' 20 goals have been scored by players not in the first two lines/pairs, and seven of those goals have come from the power play. Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau have as many goals as the rest of the team, and Devin Setoguchi has four of the remaining 10.

Once Pavelski and Mitchell are back (and one has to think that after missing every regular season game so far for two years, Mitchell cannot be counted on to remain healthy), this has to change. Scoring when it counts—the playoffs—requires balance: Just ask Heatley how easy it is for a good defence to shut one line down in the playoffs.

Last year at this time, the team was dominating and we were all wishing the games mattered. This year, we can be glad they don't count yet, as the team can establish some good work habits battling for wins in the six months they have left before they do.