San Jose Sharks

0-for-Alberta; Sharks limping towards a wild card spot
April 1, 2017, 11:31 AM ET [6 Comments]
Steve Palumbo
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The end of the season can't come soon enough. The San Jose Sharks (43-28-7) leave Alberta with no wins, no points and not much of anything else left in the tank.

Coming off Thursday nights emotional 3-2 loss in Edmonton, the Sharks had two possible ways to respond - get angry and play their best game of the year OR get angry and play chippy, sloppy and ugly.

Guess which one Los Tiburones chose?

The Calgary Flames (44-30-4) put up a five-spot en route to a 5-2 triumph at the Saddledome. The win punched Calgary's ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and sent San Jose to its eighth loss in nine.

The Sharks came out ready to play in the first, but when you are mired in this type of slump its hard to maintain your focus for 60 full minutes. Turnovers and frustration got the best of the Sharks again. San Jose couldn't crack Brian Elliott when opportunities presented themselves, the Flames made the most of their chances. Different night, same results.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Melker Karlsson scored the Sharks lone goals, and Martin Jones stopped 18 of 22 shots in defeat. Aaron Dell statred the third period and made 12 saves of his own.

In victory, the Flames move one point behind the Sharks for third place in the Pacific Division and lead the Nashville Predators by three points for the first Western Conference wild card position.

Let's recap:

- The Sharks begin Canadian road trip in second place in the Pacific Division.

- The Sharks leave Alberta two points behind the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific having played one more game.

- The Sharks lead Calgary by a single point for the first Wild Card spot and a possible first-round date with the Chicago Blackhawks. San Jose led the Flames by nine points on March 14.

There is no sugar coating this mess. San Jose is 1-8 in the last nine games and have fallen so far from grace they will need a backhoe to dig themselves out.

These numbers speak for themselves.

- Opponents are averaging FOUR goals per game during this stretch of ineptitude. REMINDER: It took the Sharks half of a season to score five goals in a game!

- The Sharks are averaging 1.67 goals per game in the last nine. They have been shutout once, scored more than two goals once (5-4 OT win vs NYR) and scored a single goal three times.

- The Sharks power play is 4 for 23 in the last nine games.

- At Home: 1-2-0; On the road: 0-6-0

- In Aaron Dell's three starts: The Sharks are 0-3 and were outscored 11-3.

Ok, enough of that. There is a bright side. The Sharks can change the narrative with a strong final four games. The final three are at the Tank.

With four games left and eight big points at stake, including a home and home vs. Vancouver and two home game against Edmonton and Calgary... much of the last two weeks could be erased from our collective memories.

The Tank should be electric for those playoff-like tilts. Will the Sharks be up to the task? That remains to be seen.