Sheng Peng
The San Jose Sharks set the wrong kind of team history last year.
For a third straight season, they missed the playoffs, a franchise first.
So how will San Jose avoid a fourth consecutive campaign not in the post-season?
These are five things the Sharks will need to make the playoffs.
Scoring Depth
Last year, the Sharks were the third-most anemic scoring group in the NHL with 2.57 goals per game.
They were tied for the fewest 15-plus goal scorers in the league – Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, and Nick Bonino – along with the cellar-dwelling Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Seattle Kraken.
That has to change for the Sharks to sniff the post-season. Only three playoff clubs last year – the New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and Los Angeles Kings – weren’t in the top half of the NHL in scoring.
The Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche, by the way, featured nine 15-plus goal scorers.