Sharks takeaways: What we learned in disappointing 5-2 loss to Canucks

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SAN JOSE - If you thought the Sharks' loss to the Ottawa Senators last weekend was bad, you were in for a surprise if you watched Saturday's game against the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center.

After playing one of their best games of the season against the Jets on Friday night, San Jose failed to find that same offensive spark. With just a couple goals scored late in the game, the Sharks were overpowered by the visiting Vancouver squad, 5-2 -- which has also extended their losing streak to five games.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday's game:

What happened to the team from Friday night?

Despite giving up the winning goal in the final two minutes of play to the Jets, the Sharks knew they were doing a lot of things right -- establishing a good forecheck, having good puck control, you name it.

"If we play with that type of game, the wins will come," head coach Peter DeBoer said at the time. 

Needless to say, they didn't play that same way on Saturday night. Vancouver maintained control of the puck for the better part of the evening and made San Jose pay for every one of their mistakes.

And no, being tired from playing on the tail-end of the back-to-back doesn't count as an excuse. The Canucks were also playing on their second night in a row and looked just fine.

Why can't they score any goals?

The Sharks' execution problems were at the forefront of Saturday's game. Sure, San Jose wasn't getting that many good looks in front of Vancouver's net to begin with. But when they did get any zone time, they either spent too much time passing or blindly threw the puck to the net. It was a bit of a wonder when Marc-Edouard Vlasic was able to bury the puck on a short-handed chance and get the Sharks on the board in the third period.

San Jose has a roster full of talented goal-scorers, and sure, even elite goal-scorers go through droughts. But the fact that the bulk of the team is struggling to find the back of the net is a big problem.

Speaking of big problems ...

[RELATED: Wilson addresses status of prospects]

What is going on with the goaltending?

At the very start of the season, there was a glimmer of hope that the Sharks' goaltending would turn the corner after a down 2018-19 campaign. But during this weekend's back-to-back, both Martin Jones and Aaron Dell gave up goals they shouldn't have.

Dell looked on Saturday like the polar opposite of the player who stymied the Habs a little over a week ago. What's worse is that the team in front of him sagged after giving up the first goal. It's unclear what changed between that start in Montreal and now, but he has to figure it out if he wants DeBoer to keep giving him starts.

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