Sharks takeaways: What we learned as skid hits three in loss to Ducks

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When Sharks captain Logan Couture tied Saturday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, there was a glimmer of hope that San Jose's fortunes had turned around. 

But the Sharks' excitement was short-lived. Their woes continued with a 3-1 loss to the Ducks at Honda Center.

Here are three takeaways from the Sharks' third loss in as many games this season.

That darn start

The Sharks, once again, gave up the first goal within the game's first five-or-so minutes, and they trailed headed into the first intermission for the third consecutive game.

Despite getting good offensive zone time and some solid saves from goaltender Aaron Dell after his turnover led to the Ducks' first goal, the Sharks' first period still didn't have enough punch. Well, unless you count when defenseman Brenden Dillon dropped the gloves with Ducks forward Nicolas Deslauriers.

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To make matters worse, the Sharks still aren't rallying enough after the opposition finds the back of the net -- no matter what point of the game they're playing in. They broke through in the second period thanks to Couture's goal, but they got pinned in their own zone shortly after Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf gave his team a 2-1 lead.

Too many turnovers

Although the Sharks had some solid zone time throughout, they had trouble holding onto the puck. Turnovers really cost San Jose, beginning with Dell's first-period mishap that ended up on the stick of Ducks goal-scorer Michael Del Zotto.

The turnovers weren't just limited to even strength, either. The Sharks are drawing penalties and getting opportunities on the man advantage, but man, they're not converting. At least San Jose didn't give up a short-handed goal for a third game in a row.

[RELATED: Ex-Shark Marleau reportedly confident he'll find new team]

Are there any silver linings?

It's hard to find anything positive when the Sharks haven't started this slowly in a quarter-century.

Sure, you could look at some of the really good work San Jose did in its own zone and the advantage on the shot clock. Or the fact that new players like Mario Ferraro, Danil Yurtaikin and Jonny Brodzinksi did some good things.

But at the end of the night, the Sharks are winless. They haven't solved any of the problems that emerged in the season opener. Something major must change, or this team will be in big trouble.

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