SAN JOSE – There isn’t a single team statistic in the NHL more revealing of overall performance than five-on-five scoring.
Just look at last season, when the Sharks finished 24th in the NHL with a 46.9 percent goals-for percentage. Neither they, nor any of the six teams that finished below them made it to the postseason.
Pete DeBoer has naturally put a priority on improving the Sharks’ five-on-five play in his first season as head coach. The result after 37 games? The exact same place they finished with last season, 24th in the NHL, with an even lower percentage (45.