The San Jose Sharks are still searching for their power play formula for success. They\u2019re also looking for that on 6-on-5.<\/p>\n
The Sharks, as of Nov. 10, are 20th in the NHL with a 20.3 PP success percent rate.<\/p>\n
Power play groups have been in flux since opening night, the biggest constants being Macklin Celebrini<\/a>, Will Smith<\/a>, Alex Wennberg<\/a>, and Ivar Stenberg being on the top unit.<\/p>\n Sharks tools<\/p>\n There have been lots of fan questions about why young guns like Michael Misa<\/a> haven\u2019t been as involved on PP1 and why defenseman Sam Dickinson<\/a> hasn\u2019t been a part of it at all. On Nov. 7 at the Dallas Stars, it was noteworthy that Misa missed the last 4:45 of the game, including the 6-on-5. The Sam Dickinson<\/a> question was answered a couple weeks ago.<\/p>\n Generally speaking, encompassing both the 6-on-5 and the power play, keep in mind that every player has a job on the man advantage that the coaching staff thinks they\u2019re best at.<\/p>\n The San Jose Sharks used defenseman Jacob Trouba and forwards Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Ivar Stenberg<\/a>, Mason Marchment, and Kiefer Sherwood<\/a> on the 6-on-5 in Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cMack and Smitty that can make plays. Sherwood can hunt down pucks. Mush is a big guy that\u2019s scored a lot around the net in this league. Stenny, we\u2019ve seen the poise and the patience on the half-wall,\u201d Warsofsky said.<\/p>\n Trouba has a big shot from the point, and among regular Sharks defensemen, has had the least amount of Shots Blocked Per 60, along with Darnell Nurse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Best guess, Misa was supposed to take over for Celebrini at 6-on-5, but Celebrini, as San Jose\u2019s clear franchise player, is someone you want out on the ice as much as possible. Celebrini played a personal record 28:05 in Dallas, and honestly, looked consistently fresh doing it. It was just one of those games for the superstar.<\/p>\n So unless you\u2019re throwing out six forwards at 6-on-5, or like Misa\u2019s playmaking over Smith and Stenberg\u2019s, or the 19-year-old\u2019s net front or puck recovery skills over Marchment and Sherwood? That\u2019s a reasonable explanation for sitting Misa, at least.<\/p>\n \u201cNot saying Mies can\u2019t do it or other guys can\u2019t do it. Those are the guys that we\u2019re going with right now. We feel comfortable with. Does that change as we go? Maybe,\u201d Warsofsky explained. \u201cWe\u2019re still a young group that\u2019s figuring out those roles. You practice and you see stuff on film. We watch our practices over and over again. That\u2019s videoed as well. So there\u2019s substance there, when you\u2019re playing in different roles.\u201d<\/p>\n #SJSharks<\/a> worked on 6-on-5 at the end there, looked like Smith-Celebrini-Stenberg-Sherwood-Marchment-Wennberg<\/p>\n \u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n As for the power play? Wennberg\u2019s return on Monday changed up power play groups:<\/p>\n PP1: Trouba-Celebrini-Stenberg-Smith-Wennberg<\/p>\n PP2: Orlov-Pohlkamp-Misa-Toffoli-Marchment<\/p>\n Clearly, based on his usage the last three years, the San Jose coaching staff sees Wennberg as the team\u2019s best net front forward. Also, while Wennberg is not dominant on the faceoff circle, he\u2019s serviceable, which frees up Celebrini to set up quicker in his ideal spot on the power play, more on the outside.<\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re looking at the Sharks going back to a five-forward power play, and again, where does Misa fit best on the PP? The left-handed Misa is, once again, arguably competing with left-handers Celebrini and Stenberg on the flanks. I\u2019m not sure you\u2019d put him over Trouba at the point or Wennberg net front.<\/p>\n \u201cStenny\u2019s been pretty comfortable on those flanks. He\u2019s been playing there a lot in Sweden and coming up. He\u2019s coming off one of his best games in the league against Dallas, he looked comfortable. He sees the ice really well. He\u2019s got poise. He can play both sides. There\u2019s some flexibility there,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cMies is playing well too. On the power play, you can only play five guys, and we got to have two units that can play.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of the second unit, Warsofsky outlined a philosophy that they\u2019re trying to get to for both units. The second unit, to some degree, succeeded at this on Monday, with Tyler Toffoli<\/a>\u2019s goal right after the end of the PP.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding the balance and the identity to both units is critical,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cBoth units can have two different identities. I think that second unit can be more of a shot mentality with people there in front of the net. The first unit, we\u2019ve got some players out there that have unique skill that can make plays. Just trying to find that balance is the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShoot! Shoot! Shoot!\u201d is what you hear when there\u2019s a power play just moving the puck around on the perimeter.<\/p>\n But to some degree, and obviously, there\u2019s an extreme to it, but Warsofsky wants his top unit to have more patience.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get [the other] team running around a little bit. We don\u2019t need to force something that\u2019s a low percentage chance to execute. If you have to go through three sticks, that\u2019s probably not the play we want to make. It might be a reset up top, get it moving again. Playing with the clock in your favor,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cIf you\u2019ve got them hemmed in there for 45 seconds, we want to continue to hold on to the puck and continue to exhaust them. Just having that feel and that patience is what we need. That\u2019s most important, what we need to figure out here.\u201d<\/p>\n San Jose Sharks (8-11-1)<\/p>\n Yaroslav Askarov<\/a> will start.<\/p>\n