The San Jose Sharks will finish their first multi-game road trip of the season with a .500 record if they can beat the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
That wouldn’t necessarily be an insignificant achievement.
The Sharks have had 21 road trips of three games or more since the start of the 2022-23 season, and have posted a .500 record or better in only six of them. Of course, a few of those trips came near the end of each regular season after the Sharks traded several veterans who were pending unrestricted free agents.
Still, a win over Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild, who have managed just eight goals in their last five games while going 1-3-1, could give the Sharks a lift going into their four-game homestand that begins Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Here’s what we’ve seen from the Sharks in recent games.
YOUNG GUYS TAKE A STEP
Macklin Celebrini was already the Sharks’ best player when the season began, and he’s matched or exceeded those expectations. He has 12 points through eight games, tying him for third among all forwards looking to earn a spot on the Canadian Olympic team before Saturday.
What’s been encouraging for the Sharks is seeing Will Smith and William Eklund raise their games as well. Smith’s four-point night against the New York Rangers, capped by his goal in overtime, matched a career-high, and Eklund has four points in his last two games. He had eight shots in his first four games and 14 shots in his previous four.
It’s not a surprise to see Smith have his best games while playing alongside Celebrini. The two, with Tyler Toffoli on the other wing, have undeniable chemistry. Nothing against the Sharks’ other centers, but for Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky to get the most out of Smith, he needs to have him on Celebrini’s line, at least for the time being.
FORECHECKING CHANGE
The Sharks recently changed their neutral-zone forecheck, and it’s made them a much more competitive team.
The Sharks started using a 1-1-3 alignment midway through last season, and it helped them clamp down on the number of odd-man rushes they allowed. The Sharks kept the more conservative approach at the start of this year, but a change was needed after they endured lopsided losses to the Carolina Hurricanes and Utah Mammoth earlier this month.
The Sharks began using a 2-1-2 forecheck during their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the improvement was immediate. Over the first four games of the season, San Jose allowed an average of 28.5 shots against per game during 5-on-5 play. In the last four games, they’ve cut that number down to 19.25.
“It gets our team skating,” Warsofsky said. “We had a tendency early on where we sat in that 1-1-3, and it translated to us not skating all three zones.”
PK’S A KILLER
When the Sharks take penalties, bad things usually happen. The Sharks have been shorthanded 12 times in the last three games and have allowed five power-play goals, including two to defenseman Dougie Hamilton in a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
One could argue the validity of at least two of the calls that went against the Sharks, including a hooking penalty on Jeff Skinner that led to Hamilton’s second goal, which became the game-winner. But the Sharks’ kill ranked 29th in the NHL at 67.9% before Saturday’s games, and they now face a Wild team that ranked fifth on the power play (31.3%).
IMPROVED ASKAROV
Perhaps the most encouraging thing for the Sharks so far on this road trip was seeing goalie Yaroslav Askarov have his best game of the season on Friday.
Askarov made eight saves in the first period, with four of them coming during the Devils’ power plays. His biggest save came midway through the first, as Dawson Mercer, stationed to Askarov’s right, sent a pass to the middle of the ice that was redirected slightly by Jack Hughes to Nico Hischier, whose one-timer was stopped by a sliding Askarov.
Of Askarov’s 26 saves Friday, 11 came on the penalty kill as he gave the Sharks a chance to at least pull out a point against the Devils, who have now won seven straight games.
Askarov came into Friday with a 0-2-1 record and an .838 save percentage through his first three games.
“Still no idea what (was going on) with me before,” Askarov, 23, told reporters after Friday’s game. “I know I wasn’t playing great before, but today it’s a new day, and this was a good game. Just trying to keep it going and be solid.”
‘PLAN’ FOR MISA?
When the Sharks decided to scratch center Michael Misa from Friday’s game, Warsofsky said it was part of the Sharks’ “plan” for the 18-year-old.
Warsofsky liked what he saw from Misa, who assists in back-to-back games against the Islanders and Rangers, but added, “This is the plan, and we’re sticking to it.”
Would there be a plan for Misa if the Sharks had already decided to loan him back to Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League?
If Misa plays Sunday, that’ll be his fifth NHL game, and he can play up to nine games before the first year of his entry-level contract is burned. If he stays out of the Sharks’ next back-to-back, he could play his ninth game on Nov. 5 against the Seattle Kraken.