After a dismal performance on Friday night, the San Jose Sharks must show progress against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.<\/p>\n
No game this early in the season is \u2018must win\u2019, but tonight should be taken as a must-improve. Yaroslav Askarov<\/a> was much better in his second game of the season, minus the third goal, which is good. Alex Nedeljkovic<\/a> recovered well from his early-season mistakes by doing everything he could to keep the Sharks in the game against the Carolina Hurricanes.<\/p>\n Nedeljkovic will likely draw the start against his old partner, Tristan Jarry. The 29-year-old will surely want to beat the team that traded him away. <\/p>\n But for players like Will Smith, Collin Graf, and even Dmitry Orlov, improvement needs to happen. Smith has been challenged by San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky this season. <\/p>\n Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/p>\n While we haven\u2019t seen the step up in activity yet, the message to the Sharks\u2019 young star is clear: Impact the game.<\/p>\n \u201cA little bit perimeter. Need a little bit more from him,\u201d Warsofsky said on Wednesday. \u201cNeeds to engage a little bit more in the hockey game.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith\u2019s line, which includes Ty Dellandrea and Collin Graf, was benched for the latter part of the first period on Friday by Warsofsky.<\/p>\n Warsofsky on why the Graf-Dellandrea-Smith line got benched: “We don’t have the puck, and they’re leaving the zone. Can’t play winning hockey that way.”<\/p>\n Says “they got better” after the benching\u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dmitry Orlov<\/a> has struggled during the start of his tenure with the Sharks. Part of that can be attributed to a new defensive system and rotating d-partners. But an NHL veteran of 14 seasons (871 games) needs to prove he can adapt to different situations. <\/p>\n Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/p>\n Orlov has four points this season, all assists, but has struggled in the defensive zone at times. He took two bad penalties due to being out-skated to a puck. A tripping call in the first period led to Nick Schmaltz\u2019s opening goal.<\/p>\n While his holding penalty in the second period didn\u2019t lead to a goal against, it was slightly concerning to see Orlov get beaten by a forechecker to negate an icing. After he was passed, he used his free hand to grab the Mammoth player, which was an easy call for any NHL official. <\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Penguins could be punching above their weight at 3-2-0, but on paper, the Sharks have a better roster. Slow starts have been a theme for Team Teal this season, and with a back-to-back with travel, a good start is critical. <\/p>\n Puck drop is at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBCSCA and heard on the Sharks Audio Network. <\/p>\n Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.<\/p>\n The lineup for Saturday\u2019s game is unknown, but Michael Misa could return to the lineup for his second NHL game. Warsofsky is scheduled to have his pregame media availability at 4:30 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n Read more news and stories about the San Jose Sharks on\u00a0Sharks Hockey Digest<\/a>! Bookmark the page and follow Sharks Hockey Digest on Twitter @SharksHKYDigest<\/a>!<\/p>\n Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.\t\t\t