The Sharks are not prime-time players again this season. But is their recent play showing signs of improvement?
San Jose was victimized again on Saturday night — a 5-2 loss against St. Louis at SAP Center — to see a winless streak extended to four games (0-3-1). San Jose came in with three straight one-goal losses before watching the Blues break open a close game by scoring three in the third period.
Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly scored a power-play goal 4:22 into the third, just 12 seconds after the Sharks were assessed a rare faceoff violation penalty. Jordan Kyrou added insurance with his second of the game at 15:51, and David Perron filled an empty net at 18:01.
Dylan Gambrell and Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks, who did not get enough saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk (20 shots against) and fell to 3-6-2 at home.
Coach Bob Boughner admitted after Friday’s shootout loss to the Blues that “it’s a team that’s maybe not ready to contend for a Stanley Cup, but a team that’s getting better by the week and a team that’s building on its culture.”
The Sharks started the second half of the 56-game schedule Saturday convinced they’re doing a number of things better than at the outset, when they had to play 12 straight on the road.
“If you look at our last 4-5 weeks of work you have to be pretty satisfied,” Boughner said. “We made some changes and adjustments after our start, and have tried to play more to our strengths.”
There’s no secret the organization is in reset mode, where it’s willing to take a look at a number of younger and inexperienced players. It’s not conducive to winning enough games to hang in a playoff race.
Boughner and players agree things started turning around in the middle of last month when getting off the road and practicing in familiar surroundings helped.
“We are definitely getting better,” Sharks forward Ryan Donato said. “We’re making less mistakes, we’re in the right spots more. Any chances they’re getting is from our little mistakes, and those are happening less and less often.”
The Sharks have become a better forechecking team by getting pucks behind opposing defensemen and winning battles to retrieve and set up in the offensive zone. San Jose has tightened up defensively, and it’s playing harder around the net.
“I think we have found that identity,” Boughner said. “We’re a team that’s a lot harder to play against, that competes every night and that sticks up for each other.”
Forward Kevin Labanc said: “We’re hard to play against and we’re very simple. We don’t try to beat guys with skill, we beat ’em with grit and simplicity.”
The biggest takeaway when the season ends on May 8 is whether the Sharks, who outshot the Blues 31-21, have seen individual improvement. Eight rookies have been given a chance thus far, and it’s likely that number will grow over the final six weeks.
“I think everybody on this team, including the young guys, have taken huge strides,” defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “I think everyone has grown. You try to help them out as much as you can.”
Ross McKeon covers the Sharks for the San Francisco Chronicle. Twitter: @rossmckeon
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Sharks try to see bright side after 5-2 loss to Blues - San Francisco Chronicle
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