Shootout Struggles & Unexpected Victories
Welcome to the THW San Jose Sharks Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Sharks writers.
In today’s edition, we discuss the Sharks’ shootout struggles, a couple game recaps and their limited trade options this season.
It would be great if you’d share the THW Sharks Substack with your friends and family so that they can subscribe and enjoy all the latest.
Now on to the good stuff…
Sharks’ Shootout Struggles Reflect Team’s Lack of Talent
November 28, 2023 by Alex Hutton
Given the amount of turnover the San Jose Sharks had during the 2023 offseason, it’s difficult to find many trends across the team’s 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. But in the first quarter or so of this campaign, one small pattern has emerged. The Sharks are 0-2 in shootouts thus far, continuing an area of struggle from last season, when they went 1-6.
2 Takeaways From Sharks’ 2-1 Win Over Capitals
November 28, 2023 by William Espy
The San Jose Sharks hosted the Washington Capitals on Monday (Nov. 27) following their impressive 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks two days beforehand. The Sharks’ lineup did require some changes though, as Tomas Hertl was out with a middle-body injury that he reportedly suffered at home and Filip Zadina was placed on injured reserve after missing the game against Vancouver.
Justin Bailey, the leading scoring of the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda, was signed to a two-way NHL contract earlier in the day and made his Sharks debut in Hertl’s place.
Sharks Have Very Few Options for Trades this Season
November 28, 2023 by Andrew Stille
The NHL season is one-fourth of the way completed. Despite one of the roughest starts in the San Jose Sharks’ recent history, the team has managed to rack up a few wins. Through 21 games, they are 4-15-2 with a total of 10 points.
While this is nowhere near decent, it’s much better than the 0-10-1 start they had. However, wins can come in many forms beyond the numbers alone. For a rebuilding team like the Sharks, one of the most significant ways their season could be viewed as a win would be gathering assets via trades.
Sharks Suffer Another Embarrassing Loss, Fall 7-1 to Kraken
November 23, 2023 by William Espy
The San Jose Sharks visited Climate Pledge Arena to face off against the Seattle Kraken in a Pacific Division matchup. The Sharks entered the night looking for their first win on the road this season, as their first three wins have all come at the SAP Center. As a result of Kevin Labanc’s injury on Monday (Nov. 20), the Sharks had to run with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for this game, which was certainly less than ideal.