The San Jose Sharks lost their seventh game out of their last eight on Saturday, falling 4-3 to the Dallas Stars in Texas.
That defeat leaves the San Jose Sharks sitting six points out of the final Western Conference wild card spot as of Nov. 7, according to San Jose Hockey Now reporting. History suggests an uphill battle, since roughly 75 percent of teams outside a playoff position by Thanksgiving ultimately miss the postseason entirely.
General manager Mike Grier and head coach Ryan Warsofsky face mounting scrutiny if this campaign devolves into another rebuild. The organization committed over $140 million to veterans Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba, Michael Kesselring, Mason Marchment, and Kiefer Sherwood across the calendar year.
As the team dealt with organizational questions, 19-year-old rookie Ivar Stenberg showed 5-on-5 progress against Dallas. Stenberg led all San Jose forwards with seven 5-on-5 shot attempts, eclipsing his previous season-high of four set on Oct. 27 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Before Saturday, the young winger had averaged just 1.56 5-on-5 shots per game, ranking 12th among the team’s 15 forwards. While Stenberg has battled consistency issues fitting for a teenager adjusting to the NHL, his performance offered encouraging signs of confidence.
I thought Stenny was really good tonight,
Ryan Warsofsky said.
Stenberg had not attempted a recorded puck battle in five games, dating back to an Oct. 29 matchup against the Vancouver Canucks.
He registered three puck battles against Dallas, winning one in a sequence where he fought for the puck, kicked it forward, and drew a late power play. By comparison, high-motor veteran Kiefer Sherwood averages 3.53 5-on-5 puck battles per game and wins roughly 57 percent of them.
Tasked with chipping the puck deep to allow tired teammates to change, his soft dump-in was intercepted by veteran defenseman Esa Lindell.
Darnell Nurse touched the advancing puck while the San Jose bench was in disarray, drawing a too-many-men minor penalty. Thomas Harley capitalized on the ensuing power play to score the game-winner for Dallas.
It’s part of developing these young men to play in this league for a long time, and they’re going to make mistakes,
Ryan Warsofsky said. This is a game of mistakes.
Despite the critical turnover, Warsofsky demonstrated tangible trust by deploying Stenberg for 19:02 of ice time. That marked the forward’s heaviest workload since he logged 20:22 on Oct. 27.
