One of the Sharks’ biggest problems might not be solved this season

There are a limited reasons why Macklin Celebrini should be considered for the Hart Memorial Trophy this season if the Sharks somehow make the NHL playoffs for the first time since But here s one When Celebrini has had at least one point in a competition the Sharks have won almost twice as often as they ve lost When Celebrini has been held off the scoresheet not only have the Sharks failed to win a challenge so far this year but their offense has often gone totally silent Such was the event again Friday as Celebrini and the Sharks top line were mostly held in check in a - loss to the Dallas Stars Collin Graf continued his solid play of late by scoring his fourth goal of the season in the second period but San Jose didn t do much otherwise in what was its fifth straight loss on the road Celebrini thought he had a goal in the third period as he ripped a one-timer past Stars goalie Jake Oettinger that would have cut Dallas lead to - with left in regulation time But after a coach s challenge by the Stars Sharks forward Philipp Kurashev was ruled to have been offside seconds before the goal That s five straight road losses by the Sharks who going into Sunday s championship against the Carolina Hurricanes are - - this season when Celebrini has a point When he doesn t they are now - - managing only eight goals We had particular trouble winger Jeff Skinner commented of Friday s first period when the Sharks managed just three shots on net Obviously it s a good company There s not a lot of space Couldn t really get to the inside much and they closed the lanes up and were blocking shots I thought as the meeting went on we got better We had certain power play looks just couldn t find one when we needed it Throughout the season and especially on the road Celebrini and his line have usually had to go against the opposing group s top defense pair On Friday that often meant skating against the Stars Miro Heiskanen a workable Norris Trophy candidate and Esa Lindell Celebrini Will Smith and Tyler Toffoli all had one shot on goal and when they were all on the ice together at even strength they were out-chanced - per Natural Stat Trick That s going to happen from time to time against elite teams and the Sharks have another one on tap Sunday in Raleigh as the Hurricanes are one of the league s stingiest in terms of allowing even-strength scoring chances The Sharks already know this as they were flattened - by Carolina in San Jose on Oct But when the Sharks play these teams it s incumbent now and for years to come that they get certain secondary scoring to aid the top line Going into Sunday s challenge the Sharks have scored goals this season with Celebrini Smith and Toffoli accounting for of them or roughly of the club s total Going into Saturday San Jose now th in the Western Conference is th in the NHL at goals per event The issue for the Sharks is that their secondary scoring issues might not be solved this season So while continuing to build out the defense corps will likely be general manager Mike Grier s top priority next offseason adding selected scoring depth might not be far behind Adam Gaudette and William Eklund have seven goals each and Philipp Kurashev has six Gaudette and Eklund are both signed past this season and Kurashev will be a restricted free agent Prospects like Michael Misa Igor Chernyshov and Quentin Musty might not be far removed from helping the big club but chosen roster holes will still likely need to be filled via contract or free agency For now it s easy to see that if Celebrini isn t producing the Sharks are apparently not winning So if the Sharks can stay in the playoff picture defy the prognosticators and get in then Celebrini should no doubt be considered for the Hart given to the athlete adjudged to be the preponderance valuable to his association Across the league when it comes to Celebrini there likely wouldn t be an argument Related Articles Sharks defenseman takes blame for Stars late goal as road losing streak continues Misa plays waiting challenge as Sharks weigh decision Celebrini sees Crosby What drives Warsofsky nuts about the Sharks Klingberg discusses mistake Ovechkin scores twice as Sharks no-show in blowout loss to Capitals As Sharks Misa begins AHL conditioning stint are World Juniors next SHOT SUPPRESSION The Stars shots on goal Friday were in fact the fewest that Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov has faced in a contest that he has finished this season It was also tied for the second-fewest San Jose has allowed all season Of lesson the Stars after Friday s games were tied for first in the NHL with a shooting percentage If the Sharks can do something similar on Sunday that would be quite an accomplishment The Hurricanes are second in the NHL in average shots per meeting It was unclear whether Warsofsky would start Askarov or Alex Nedeljkovic against the Hurricanes Nedeljkovic was a second-round pick by Carolina in and played games with the company from to before he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Jonathan Bernier and a third-round draft pick