Why the San Jose Sharks Have Been Slipping in the Standings

Before the Olympic break, the San Jose Sharks were first place in the Western Conference for quite a long time. Now, just 10 games after the Olympic break, the Sharks find themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference, and in the midst of a six game losing streak. They are 3-7-1 since the Olympic break. So, why is this happening?

The first goal

The Sharks have given up the first goal of the game in nine of the ten games after the Olympic break (by the way, when they did score the first goal of the game against Florida, they still ended up losing). What's more, in six of those 10 games, they have given up the first two goals of the game, and they have lost all of them by an average of 2.5 goals a game.

Goaltending

Evgeni Nabokov has given up 32 goals in 10 games, for a GAA of 3.20. To put that in retrospect, he gave up just 28 goals in one month , for a GAA of 2.15. He also had a horrible Olympics while defending the net for Russia. He gave up six goals in two periods to team Canada, and had to be replaced.

Thomas Greiss, the backup for San Jose, hasn't done a good job either. After giving up three answered goals to lose to Florida 3-2 in OT, he replaced Nabokov to start the third period against the Dallas Stars after Nabokov had given up four goals in two periods. In a span of just ten minutes, Greiss allowed four goals, two shorthanded, and on the same power play.

Lack of goals

The Sharks have scored just 28 goals in 10 games, with a dismal average of 2.8 goals per game. Besides that eight goal game against Nashville, the Sharks have scored just three goals or less in each of their games. To put that in retrospect, the Sharks scored 41 goals in a 10-game stretch during January.

Watching the Sharks over the past few weeks has been a real pain. Something just isn't right. They have lost to both Anaheim and Edmonton. Both are last in their respective divisions, and Edmonton is last place in the West (they are 17 points behind Columbus, who is second to last).

The Sharks had won all their games this season against those two teams, and they were blown out in each of them. Hopefully, this is the end of the darkness. Hopefully, they will finally get back on the right track. Hopefully, they will make a run for Lord Stanley's Cup this year. And hopefully, they can win it all.

Hopefully.