Coming off a loss in which they were blanked, the easy thought would be the San Jose Sharks solely are looking for more offense when they play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky is well aware his team must put pucks in the net to return to the win column, but his pressing concern is at the other end of the arena.
“Yeah, we’re not generating, but we also gave up 40 shots and a lot of chances again,” Warsofsky said of his team’s performance in a 2-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. “That’s the bigger issue.”
The Sharks have dropped two straight outings as they head into the second clash of a four-game homestand.
San Jose has surrendered more than 40 shots on net in two of its last three clashes, and been on the wrong side of the shot clock in five straight games.
Even so, the Buffalo loss was a 1-0 game before the Sabres sealed it with an empty-net goal, so one tally would have made a huge difference.
“I’m not happy, but I’m not worried,” Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini said. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. We’re trying to score and we’re trying to do everything we can, trying different things, because it’s been a couple of games now we haven’t created much.”
The Sharks summoned from the minors center Filip Bystedt, a 2022 first-round pick, on Wednesday and he is slated to make his NHL debut.
Bystedt has collected four goals and four assists in eight games this season with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. He skated on the third line with Tyler Toffoli and Kiefer Sherwood on the wings in practice.
The Canucks arrive having finally returned to the win column themselves. Vancouver snapped a 10-game losing skid (0-9-1) with a 6-5 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday to open a quick two-game road trip.
“I’m hoping this turns a corner for us,” said forward Brock Boeser, who collected one goal and two assists. “We played a lot better hockey the last two games, and in spurts, and we understand how we need to play.”
The Canucks earned the victory in thrilling fashion. They trailed 4-1 heading into the third period and were down 5-2 with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation time before scoring four unanswered goals.
Overtime was forced thanks to a pair of goals with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, both off the stick of Jonathan Lekkerimaki in a span of 49 seconds.
Lekkerimaki, the 2022 first-round pick who spent the bulk of the last two seasons in the minors, leads the Canucks with six goals.
“He’s elite in terms of his ability to get it off and pick corners,” coach Manny Malhotra said of Lekkerimaki.
Now Lekkerimaki and the Canucks, who sit at the bottom of the league standings, hope a boosted confidence can turn their fortunes.
“When you string together as many losses as we have, it bleeds into the room and the morale takes a hit,” Malhotra said. “Not just getting a win, but a big come-from-behind win in the third (period), is obviously something we can build off of.”
