Sharks' lack of cohesion bites them in yet another disappointing loss

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SAN JOSE -- The Sharks certainly seem frustrated as a group that they have only won once in December.

Even so, interim coach Bob Boughner has expressed concern that not everyone on the ice is buying into San Jose's philosophy -- especially after another disappointing defeat in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

As many Sharks players expressed earlier in the season when wins were hard to come by, a long string of losses can sometimes cause players to play a more individual game. "Freelancing" was how defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic characterized it back on Nov. 12.

That habit of not sticking to the collective gameplan appears to be creeping back in, and it's keeping the Sharks from closing games out this month.

"We can't have anyone taking a night off," Boughner said Saturday morning, hours before the Sharks' loss. "To beat St. Louis and Vegas and these teams ahead of us [in the standings], we have to have 20 onboard. I think for the most part we're getting good compete, we're getting a good effort. But there's still one or two guys missing a night. We're not that kind of a team -- we have to get everybody going."

After yet another third-period letdown and another loss Saturday, the Sharks' bench boss said he saw some of that same behavior. He didn't point fingers or call anyone out, but Boughner acknowledged that the message isn't quite getting across to everyone on a nightly basis.

"I think there are certain guys who have to take it upon themselves," Boughner said after the loss. " ... We talk about it and I think the leadership group's got to hold some guys accountable. Teammates have to hold each other accountable."

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Once again, the Sharks generated a lot of chances but didn't have much to show for it. San Jose and St. Louis were tied 2-2 going into the third period, and the Sharks were doing enough good things to potentially pull out a win over the conference-leading Blues. They scored a power-play goal and the fourth line chipped in, too, with Stefan Noesen scoring in his San Jose debut. 

All it took was a couple of Sharks mistakes for the Blues to take the lead and then add to it. 

"After the first two periods, I came out and said, 'We don't really need to change much,'" Boughner said. "And that one big mistake hurt us."

[RELATED: Why Sharks, free agent Kovalchuk are an unlikely match]

The Sharks don't have much time to fix their habit of making late, game-breaking mistakes if they want to turn their fortunes around. They are currently sitting at 34 points, barely avoiding last place in the Pacific Division because they have played fewer games than the Los Angeles Kings.

If the Sharks are going to dig back out of yet another hole, everyone has to be on board.

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