Did Sharks find their formula for success in first win of year?

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NEW YORK – It didn’t look it, but the San Jose Sharks were on the right track in the second period.

Now it felt like déjà vu. Going into Madison Square Garden, the Sharks had been outshot 70-39 and outscored 12-2 in the middle frame. And tonight appeared to be no different: The Sharks were outshot 13-4 and outscored 2-1 by the Rangers in the second.

But, as I mentioned in my Game Notes, the Sharks were noticeably insistent with getting the puck in deep and trying to establish the forecheck, even in the second period. They were trying to play the right way, even if they weren’t getting rewarded.

I know “playing the right way” can be vague hockey speak, but when it comes to the mostly blue-collar Sharks, Nico Sturm put it well after Tuesday’s loss to the New York Islanders: “Let’s face it, we’re not gonna blow out teams. We’re not going to score five, six goals every game. We got to figure out how we start winning games when we score two or three goals, and that’s what we got to focus on, play to our strengths. If we’re trying to be somebody that we’re not, we’re not going to have any success.”

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