Sharks captain Joe Pavelski summed up the team’s effort Friday night in just a few words.
“No excuses. We need to be better. Bottom line.”
It was perhaps the best way to describe San Jose’s two-game road trip through the Central Division. After a comeback fell short in a loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday, the Sharks were shut out 4-0 by the St. Louis Blues a day later.
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The Sharks never really found their game, the captain continued, and he said that was the story for the entire trip.
“We did a lot of things out of character,” Pavelski told reporters in St. Louis. “We’re a better team then what we’ve shown the last two games.”
“Obviously we gave Dallas and St. Louis a lot of chances around our net, and that’s something we’re not known for,” Sharks winger Evander Kane added. “Then offensively we get shut out, and that’s unacceptable as well.”
When the Sharks have struggled like this in the young season, some have speculated that the ongoing adjustment to new players on the team could be a reason for San Jose’s woes. Center Logan Couture didn’t agree with that assessment when the media asked him about it on Friday night.
San Jose Sharks
“We’re 17 games in, that’s almost a quarter of a season,” he said. “You can use that excuse for one or two, maybe even three. Can’t use it for 17. So, we’ve got to figure it out.”
Perhaps the most glaring factor in the loss to the Blues was the Sharks’ difficulties on defense. San Jose spent a good portion of the contest pinned in its own zone, and St. Louis was able to capitalize and get the best of Aaron Dell, who put up a valiant effort between the pipes against a swarming Blues lineup.
When asked about the defense itself, Pavelski told the media the whole team was responsible for the missteps.
“That’s not [just] on our defense,” he said. “That’s not just on our forwards. It’s a collective group.”
So, what’s a team supposed to do to not be on their heels on a nightly basis? Kane pointed out that the Sharks still need to be more physical, particularly on the defensive end. While San Jose matched the Blues in blocked shots and hits – unlike the last few games – the Sharks still need to be harder on their opponents.
“I think we’re too much ‘one hand on the stick and reaching,’” he explained. “We’ve got to get into our checks a little bit harder, all five guys in the d-zone, and that will shut teams down a little quicker.”
“It starts with effort,” Couture said bluntly. “That’s the first thing. You’ve got to not want to give up chances when you’re out on the ice. You’ve got to take pride in defending. And we’re simply not doing that.”