With four games left in the regular season, the San Jose Sharks have reason to believe in a strong finish. Team Teal’s three key trends are marked by resilience without shot control, fast starts, and big-picture progression.
Despite Macklin Celebrini ranking fourth in NHL points (108), the Sharks win most games while being outshot. Only about 35 percent of the team’s wins come when they outshoot opponents. Across 13 wins, the Sharks average a margin of over six shots, indicating more decisive control of play in victories.
These games are also dictated either by capitalizing on chances, outstanding goaltending, or defensive positioning at key moments. In 25 of their 37 wins, the Sharks had at least one opportunity on the power-play (PPO). In 15 of those, (41 percent of the time), the Sharks were able to capitalize with at least one PPG. While not elite, San Jose ranks 15th league-wide when it comes to the power play.
Their ability to generate pressure, draw penalties, and convert respectably shows they don’t need to dominate to stay competitive.
In any case, while a mid-ranked PP is not the worst, setting the tone early on couldn’t hurt their play.
“I think we need to come out a little hotter,” Celebrini told media on Wednesday, “We need to shoot pucks. We passed up a lot of really good chances. We gotta play hard on their top guys, we can’t let them kind of just dance around.”
Nearly half of the Sharks’ wins come with an early goal in the opening period.
Compared to March 24 against the Nashville Predators, when Sharks allowed five first-period goals, poor starts determine wins or losses.
When the Sharks strike early and dictate the pace, it translates into a winning effort.
The San Jose Sharks improved to 37-33-7 after finishing 20-50-12 in 2024-25 and 19-54-9 in 2023-24. Three years ago the Sharks were tanking and rebuilding. They have gone from a bottom-tier team to a team that is competitive on a nightly basis.
San Jose is much more competitive in close games, with a 17-5-6 record for one-goal games according to Hockey-Reference.com. No longer getting consistently smoked, Team Teal is continuing to learn how to not only stay in, but also win.
The Sharks aren’t the same team they were a year ago, and these final four games are a chance to prove just how far they’ve come.
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Featured image courtesy of San Jose Sharks on NHL.com
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