SAINT PAUL, MINN. \u2014\u00a0What should the San Jose Sharks look like, when they\u2019re right?<\/p>\n
We got a glimpse of it in a 4-1 loss against the Minnesota Wild on Friday. It\u2019s their sixth loss in their last seven.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we worked harder. I thought we got above quicker. We reloaded quicker without the puck,\u201d head coach Ryan Warsofsky said.<\/p>\n
Sharks tools<\/p>\n
Center Collin Graf<\/a> (51), along with wingers Kiefer Sherwood<\/a> (44) and Mason Marchment<\/a> (27) are all top of the puck in this 2-1-2. So is defenseman Jacob Trouba<\/a> (65). Also, to Warsofsky\u2019s point, Graf, Sherwood, and Marchment are all playing on their toes, and alternating as the high defensive forward, the F3, when the other two forwards are forechecking.<\/p>\n There is, however, one key area of disconnect in this clip here, which has plagued the San Jose Sharks all season.<\/p>\n They\u2019re creating offensive zone turnovers off the forecheck and have done so all season.<\/p>\n Per Stathletes, the Sharks are eighth in the NHL with 9.26 OZ Turnovers Forced Per 60.<\/p>\n For comparison, the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes (10.98) lead the league in this category, while the Ottawa Senators (9.56), who Warsofsky expressed a lot of admiration for recently, are seventh.<\/p>\n Last year, Carolina led the NHL in this stat, Ottawa was third, and San Jose was 18th.<\/p>\n Both the Canes and the Sens are teams that rely on a heavy forecheck to create offense.<\/p>\n But the San Jose Sharks are not converting these turnovers into offense.<\/p>\n The Sharks are 23rd in the NHL with 13.82 5-on-5 Scoring Chances Per 60. They\u2019re 27th with 1.43 High-Danger Scoring Chances Per 60.<\/p>\n The Hurricanes are first in 5-on-5 Scoring Chances Per 60 and sixth in High-Danger Scoring Chances. They were also very high in both categories last year. The Senators, actually, are more average in both areas this season, but last year, they were top-10 in both.<\/p>\n The Sharks were 20th in 5-on-5 Scoring Chances Per 60 and 14th in High-Danger last season.<\/p>\n Can San Jose solve this disconnect soon?<\/p>\n This could be as simple as going to the net more.<\/p>\n That could be the key to unlocking a lot more 5-on-5 offense, which they sorely need. San Jose is, as well-documented, last in the NHL is 5-on-5 goals.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also not that simple: Do the Sharks have enough personnel that crashes the net with impunity? You don\u2019t need 12 forwards to do it, but maybe they can use a couple more.<\/p>\n