The 2023-24 San Jose Sharks are a uniquely assembled team. They are largely a collection of players who have not spent much time in San Jose, and the organization faces a significant amount of roster turnover. While the team will likely have a difficult season, most of the specific challenges and weaknesses that might emerge are still to be determined. But after two games, one shortcoming is clear: the Sharks skaters don’t seem to be as fast as their opponents. San Jose’s lack of speed has manifested itself in a couple of crucial ways, and it could have major impacts throughout the rest of the season.
Sharks’ Transition Defense Will Be a Problem
For starters, the Sharks’ two games thus far have been against the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. Both are fast-moving teams with a lot of offensive skill and don’t necessarily reflect the league-average pace. But in both games, the Sharks struggled to limit breakout opportunities for the opposition.
Against Vegas, two of the four Golden Knights goals occurred in transition, and the defending champions found themselves with numerous other breakaway chances. The Sharks were simply unable to keep up with Vegas’ fast skating and speedy, crisp puck movement. Reflecting San Jose’s youth, those on the ice at the times the goals were scored included Thomas Bordeleau and Henry Thrun. Reflecting a problem from last season, one of the two goals came in the waning seconds of a period.
San Jose didn’t allow any transition goals to the Avalanche, but still allowed a number of odd-man rushes and scoring chances as Colorado racked up 50 shots on goal in regulation. It was only Mackenzie Blackwood’s stellar play in net that kept the Sharks from conceding those goals.
For much of last season, Sharks goalies struggled thanks partially to a defense that repeatedly put them in difficult situations, often by allowing these breakaways. Through two games this season, it looks like more of the same, and it could be a key point of improvement for the players and the coaching staff throughout the season.
Key Statistics Highlight Sharks’ Struggles
The eye test makes the Sharks’ lack of speed obvious, but the numbers back it up as well.
Through two games, the Sharks have allowed 84 shots on goal while posting 44 of their own. Their Corsi for is 37.1, essentially meaning they have controlled the puck for just 37.1 percent of the total game action they have played. They have allowed 67 scoring chances while creating only 35 for themselves, and conceded 23 high-danger scoring chances while generating 11.
Related: Sharks Have Many Improvements to Make Following First Game
These stats are about far more than just transition defense, although that is certainly a factor. The facts and figures show a Sharks team that is losing puck battles and races to loose pucks. A team with an offense that doesn’t move the puck quickly enough to generate quality looks at the net, and can’t keep up defensively with teams that do. A team that might simply get outskated on any given night. A team that shows just how hard it is to win when that happens.
Thus far, the box score doesn’t reflect well on San Jose’s speed, and it will take a full team effort to turn that around.
Sharks Have A Long Season Ahead
In terms of team speed, the early returns for the Sharks have not been promising. But there are still 80 regular-season games left to play and plenty of opportunities to improve in this facet of the game. Perhaps the solution is a greater focus on conditioning in practices, or maybe just a greater attention to detail during game action. Whatever the case, the Sharks have one of their first clear points of emphasis in a season with a lot of question marks.
The Sharks are struggling, which isn’t surprising. But given how many new players they have, we weren’t sure how exactly they would struggle, and now we have our first answer. The rest of the season will decide how they meet the challenge.