Winning Play: 4 Ways Sharks Can Slow Down Avs

It’s not as simple as Erik Karlsson has to justify his contract. It’s not as simple as Martin Jones (or Devan Dubnyk) needs to stop more pucks.

As a team, the San Jose Sharks must become more cohesive as a six-man unit if they want out of the lottery.

Last night’s 7-3 shellacking, courtesy of the Colorado Avalanche, was a good reminder of that.

Sure, it’d be great if Martin Jones was Connor Hellebuyck. Or if Erik Karlsson, was, well, Erik Karlsson.

But there’s also so much that they can do if the entire team short circuits, as it did last night. Patrick Roy and Bobby Orr, in their primes, probably weren’t winning this game.

“We didn’t play a lot of situations right last night,” Bob Boughner acknowledged today.

Good news?

It’s still early in the season. And San Jose received the best news they’ve had in a while today: They’ll be allowed back into SAP Center on Feb. 13. At that juncture, 26 of their next 42 games will be at home — a runway to the playoffs, if they can hold their head above the water at the end of this month-and-a-half road trip.

Sharks Will Return to SAP Center on Feb. 13

And what will help the Sharks hold their head above the Avalanche on Thursday night? Four things stand out: Establish a forecheck, don’t turn the puck over, read the rush, and block shots.