Maybe last year, and certainly the season before, a 3-2 comeback shootout loss, complete with a first NHL goal from a top prospect, would be okay for the San Jose Sharks.

But head coach Ryan Warsofsky is trying to set a higher standard, and just maybe, the Sharks are getting there soon.

San Jose is 4-4-1 in their last nine and has been competitive in every single game in this stretch.

Sam Dickinson scored his first NHL goal off a brilliant Will Smith pass, and the Sharks tied it late, before falling in the shootout to the Detroit Red Wings.

But post-game, the discussion with Warsofsky wasn’t about a moral victory, it was about real wins.

“We wanted to keep this thing going,” Warsofsky said of the Sharks’ almost three-game winning streak against all playoff teams. “That’s the name of the game. Our guys are a little bit crushed in there, because we wanted win.”

Warsofsky, however, put a finger on a glaring problem that will prevent San Jose from consistent winning hockey, an issue that has plagued the young Sharks even in this recent three-game points run.

“Puck management has got to be cleaned up,” he said tersely, “or we’re going to be shooting ourselves in the foot very soon.”

That’s a message to the veterans, like John Klingberg, and to the youngsters, like Macklin Celebrini, to cut it out with the turnovers.

San Jose isn’t going to be a Stanley Cup contender overnight, but can they improve throughout this season in this essential to winning hockey?

Warsofsky believes so: “The confidence is coming, the belief is coming. We can get better. We can get a lot better. I know we got some results, but I think there’s a team in there that can really be consistently very good, night in and night out, and we’re going to keep pushing and challenging to get to that standard.

“There’s better hockey in us coming.”

For the first time in a long time, it feels like this just might be happening sooner for the Sharks than later.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on San Jose Sharks trying to establish a higher standard:

We want to win. That’s the name of the game. Our guys are a little bit crushed in there, because we wanted win. We wanted to keep this thing going.

The confidence is coming, the belief is coming. We can get better. We can get a lot better. I know we got some results, but I think there’s a team in there that can really be consistently very good, night in and night out, and we’re going to keep pushing and challenging to get to that standard.

There’s better hockey in us coming.

Warsofsky, on the key to a higher standard:

Puck management has got to be cleaned up, or we’re going to be shooting ourselves in the foot very soon.

Warsofsky, on Ethan Cardwell’s game:

Cards was good, was skating. I thought he was trying to add some purpose to his game, some conviction was some something we talked about with him.

Sam Dickinson

“It was a hell of a pass, right before it we made eye contact, and at that point, I think I knew it was coming.”

Sam Dickinson on his 1st NHL goal, talks Will Smith’s assist & Ryan Warsofsky chirping him: https://t.co/Z3fPmQX0tk

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 3, 2025

Mario Ferraro

Ferraro, on if there’s a feeling in San Jose Sharks room now that they’re never out of a game:

I mean, lately, it does definitely feel like that. That’s got to be a part of our identity. So we got to keep that moving forward. Whether we’re down in games or we have a lead, we got to play the same way.

Ethan Cardwell

Cardwell, on playing for the San Jose Barracuda last night, then for the San Jose Sharks tonight:

I mean, it’s really no issue. Any night you get to play in the NHL, it’s pretty special. You can figure out of way to get your legs going. So a couple Red Bulls and I was good to go.