SAN JOSE -– Considering the Sharks had just lost three of four games on their homestand, and are now 3-8-0 in their last 11, head coach Pete DeBoer could have put his club through a grueling, expletive-filled practice on Wednesday and no eyebrows would have been raised.
Instead, it was the direct opposite. The Sharks held a brief yet playful three-on-three scrimmage with rolling lines, and everyone seemed to be having fun.
Why is DeBoer not hitting the panic button yet? Consider this – in his first 15 games as the head coach of the Devils in 2011-12, New Jersey posted a middling 8-6-1 mark, just three points better than where the Sharks sit now (7-8-0).