ANAHEIM \u2014 When you\u2019re losing, no one wants to talk about the lessons learned.<\/p>\n
The San Jose Sharks may have received a different lesson than usual though, after a 6-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. This comes on the heels of a 5-2 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers the night before, losses which put San Jose\u2019s playoff hopes on life support.<\/p>\n
The lessons learned may be the only positive takeaway from all this losing.<\/p>\n
The Sharks are now four points out of the last wild card spot in the West, held by the Los Angeles Kings, four games left, no games in hand on the Kings, three teams to leapfrog.<\/p>\n
The different lesson tonight?<\/p>\n
San Jose, curiously, has come out flat in back-to-back nights, in the biggest games of the season. Whatever the reason, pressure, fatigue, line-up decisions, youth, you name it, there\u2019s a better way to handle a lack of energy to start a game, which is a fairly normal thing, especially in the second half of a back-to-back in an 82-game season.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody has these games this season, because the way the schedule is, no excuses,\u201d 2018 Stanley Cup winner Dmitry Orlov said. \u201cYou have to still show up. You don\u2019t feel great, but play short shifts, play simple and then during the game, you\u2019re still gonna get to your game. Get a feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The San Jose Sharks lead the NHL with 16 back-to-backs, tied with the Kings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/p>\n
So when you don\u2019t feel great? KISS: Keep it simple, stupid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s going to have to be worked on going forward, not just this year, but even into next year. Back-to-back\u2019s aren\u2019t good enough, and we need to learn how to play back-to-back\u2019s in tough situations,\u201d head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. \u201cEvery team goes through it. It\u2019s not an excuse. We got to get in better shape. We got to have an understanding mentally, how to approach games and play the game the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
This points to something that the Sharks haven\u2019t quite learned to do, 78 games into the season. San Jose hasn\u2019t figured out how to play when they\u2019re off their A-game, when they\u2019re not playing as fast as they want, when they\u2019re not forechecking like they want, when they\u2019re not getting the stops that they need.<\/p>\n
As Orlov suggests, it\u2019s possible to find your game in-game, even if you start slow, as long as you stay patient and don\u2019t shoot yourselves in the foot.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow hard it is to play right now, this time of year. How detailed you have to be, how competitive you have to be. And we\u2019ve probably fully haven\u2019t grasped that yet,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cSo we\u2019re learning that right now, and we\u2019re getting punched in the face with it right now, in this moment, probably last night as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sharks will now need some help to make their first playoff appearance since 2019: There\u2019s still a chance, but it\u2019s not all in their hands anymore, like it was before the loss to Edmonton.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see if we can, we have four [games] left, if we can try to learn from it and move forward and try to find that extra little gear,\u201d Warsofsky said.<\/p>\n
Kiefer Sherwood<\/p>\n
Sherwood: “It’s not good enough this time of the year. We can’t be outwilled or outworked, it’s unacceptable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a back-to-back. You saw it last night. The other team wanted it more and same thing tonight. We have to learn from it, and we got to look\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Tyler Toffoli<\/p>\n Toffoli, on back-to-back disappointing efforts from the San Jose Sharks:<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing you can do now. You just got to go out and play. It is what it is. We put ourselves in this position. You can look at it, good or bad, and on Saturday, we have to be ready to go.<\/p>\n Dmitry Orlov<\/p>\n Orlov says when you don’t have a lot of energy, you have to simplify your game, which Warsofsky agreed with: “Probably not a lot of energy, [you] probably can see. But everybody has these games this season, because the way the schedule is, no excuses. You have to still show up.\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Ryan Warsofsky<\/p>\n Warsofsky, on how the San Jose Sharks are hurting themselves:<\/p>\n We really complicate the game, I would say, with some execution, the way you have to play the game this time of year, especially. We make it difficult on ourselves. We really beat ourselves. That\u2019s no disrespect to the Anaheim Ducks, they completely outplayed us tonight, but we make it really easy for teams to play against us.<\/p>\n Warsofsky spoke up for Dickinson: “Me going in there and screaming and yelling at him doesn’t do any good. He understands. He’s a smart hockey player. He’s a smart kid. He’s gonna have a long NHL career. We got to help him through his challenges that he’s going through. <\/p>\n “We saw\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Warsofsky confirms that Chernyshov, Gaudette & Klingberg were all healthy scratches tonight.<\/p>\n Wouldn’t be shocked to see a couple of these guys back in the line-up on Saturday<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n This is a good question, please don’t mind the long explanation.<\/p>\n So at home, I’m one of a pool of reporters who selects them. On the road, same thing, unless I’m the lone Sharks reporter on the road, which I was tonight, and often am.<\/p>\n So relatively a lot goes into it, depending\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t