Just when you think the Sharks have figured things out, they drop a couple of games in a row and look really bad in the process.
After beating the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars at home last week, San Jose headed to Arizona and lost to the Coyotes 6-3. Two days later, it got even worse for Bob Boughner's club as the Colorado Avalanche shut out the Sharks 4-0 on Thursday night.
San Jose heads to Vancouver to face the Canucks on Saturday before getting eight days off due to the NHL All-Star break.
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SIGN UP HERE For Boughner, it's time for his club to put up or shut up.
"I think it's crucial for us," Boughner told reporters in Colorado. "I think Vancouver, a team that's in the division and ahead of us, before we get into this break and end it off on the right note, we felt really good about ourselves and the way we were playing before this trip and things haven't gone our way for the first two games.
"I think it's time to man up. We've got too many guys that are not on the same page right now in the last two games and we're not a good enough team to do that. We proved that we can play with the best teams if we play the right way and we've got all 20 guys going and stick to the plan. But when we don't, we're average at best."
The Sharks are in danger of missing the playoffs for just the second time since the 2003-04 season, and Brenden Dillon understands every game the rest of the way is vitally important.
"Yeah, it's a division game, it's a team we're chasing and I think all these games we've got to have that playoff mindset of do-or-die mentality going in and show some desperation," Dillon told reporters. "A lot of these teams are battling, whether that's for playoff spots or home-ice or whatever it is in the division. But especially against Vancouver, a good team that's going well, so we've got to finish on a high."
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After the loss to the Avs, the Sharks sit at 21-24-4 with 33 games remaining. They are nine points out of a wild-card spot, but every loss chips away at their margin for error.
If they don't turn things around in a hurry, it will be a long summer in San Jose.