The Sharks search for a winning formula is ongoing, to say the least. There is a possibility, however, that getting right back out on the ice is the best medicine.
San Jose has no time to dwell on its back-to-back losses to the Vegas Golden Knights, as the Sharks kick off their first roadie of the season with a Saturday night battle against the Ducks down in Anaheim. For a team clearly dejected after an embarrassing home opener, playing another game just 24 hours later could help right the ship.
"These two games, it's behind us," Tomas Hertl said Friday night after San Jose's dismal 5-1 loss put them in a 0-2-0 hole on the season. "Start from a new page. We have to be ready because Anaheim wants to for sure beat us. So we have to get ready for them."
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San Jose's history in back-to-back situations is mixed, with a record of 170-143-26-29 over 368 games throughout the franchise's history. Nevertheless, hopping right back on the ice is one way to reset the Sharks' mental state, which is clearly not in the right place through the first two games of the season.
The best course of action is to push the first two games out of their minds.
"You have to, I think that's the bottom line," coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're integrating some young players in the lineup and the message is: You can't drag this stuff around."
"Starting 0-2 is not acceptable for this group," Erik Karlsson put it bluntly. "I think we work hard, we just don't work smart. And that's something we're going to have to try to figure out here. And the sooner we do it the better because we can't keep going like this."
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There's plenty of reason to believe the Sharks can rebound from their poor start. After all, they did it in 2017-18 after beginning that season with consecutive losses.
That being said, the current season offers up a slew of new challenges for San Jose. The Sharks haven't been able to generate much offense at even strength or on the power play so far, and have given up quite a bit on the defensive end in the process. Additionally, San Jose continues to fall behind early in the game.
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Whatever the right formula is for success, the Sharks really do need to find it fast. The season might only be a couple of games old, but letting these losing ways go on for much longer could really hurt them.
"It's still early but we have to start (winning)," Hertl said. "Because if we lose a couple more games, we'll be hunting all season."