Surprising Sharks in playoff mix after impressive month, but is there trouble ahead?

SAN JOSE Over the last two decades in the NHL s salary cap era teams that have been in a playoff position by Thanksgiving Day have made the postseason of the time Perhaps the same indicator holds for teams if they re in a playoff spot just a inadequate days afterward That s where the Sharks could be as soon as Monday night if they beat the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center After their - loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday the Sharks with points entered Sunday in a three-way tie with the Mammoth and Edmonton Oilers for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference and are only behind Utah because they have fewer regulation-time wins Regardless it s been a remarkable meager weeks for the Sharks who behind particular standout performances from center Macklin Celebrini and goalie Yaroslav Askarov went - - in November their best record in any one month since going - - in Nov You guys are going to think I m crazy but I still think there s another level to our battle that we can get to consistently to put teams on their heels a little bit coach Ryan Warsofsky disclosed Friday after the Sharks - win over the Vancouver Canucks We did certain good things We ve gotten specific really good goaltending We ve won in different tactics That s a big positive Here s how the Sharks can stay in the mix for their first playoff appearance TAKE PRESSURE OFF THE GOALIES Before Sunday in November Askarov had the third-best save percentage among all goalies who started at least six games allowing just goals on shots while posting an - - record It was arguably the greatest single regular-season month by any Sharks goaltender in franchise history And it s perhaps unsustainable As he established himself as the Sharks No Askarov faced an average of shots per competition in November second preponderance in the NHL among the goalies who made at least nine starts behind Boston s Jeremy Swaman Alex Nedeljkovic didn t have it much easier as he faced nearly shots per competition in his five starts The Sharks before Sunday s games per Natural Stat Trick also allowed high-danger chances at even strength in November third-most in the NHL They also rank nd in the league in both offensive and defensive zone time per NHL Edge Stats It s not an excellent combination for staying in the playoff mix The Sharks can give their goalies a break by establishing their forecheck turning the puck over less at the offensive and defensive blue lines and taking fewer penalties The Sharks are the third-most penalized gang in the NHL but Askarov has often bailed them out with his stellar play When a association is playing on top of you it s tough to get any sort of momentum going and it s suffocating at times Nedeljkovic mentioned Saturday of the Golden Knights forecheck I think we can learn from that a little bit and we did it at times ourselves too We ve just got to be a little more consistent with it SECONDARY SCORING If the Sharks want to remain in playoff contention they need to have more players contributing offensively Celebrini and Will Smith did their part in November combining for of the Sharks goals which ranked in the bottom third of the NHL But the Sharks need more from Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund who combined for just three goals in games during the month Yes Toffoli and Eklund do other things but they re also capable of more production Toffoli on a -game goal drought is on a -goal pace after he had last season Eklund was a point-per-game athlete in October before a lower-body injury slowed him down in November Eklund has two goals in two games going into Monday a sign that he s starting to feel like his former self Celebrini and Smith have been huge for us so far Eklund explained Friday But if you want to win more games you need other guys stepping up Obviously those two are going to be good every night but a lot of guys have got to contribute The Sharks also need more production from the blue line as their nine defensemen have combined for just six goals including three at even strength all season Dmitry Orlov is having a solid year offensively and leads all Sharks defensemen in scoring with assists John Klingberg has seven points in games not quite enough offense to make up for certain repeated defensive shortcomings STAYING CONSISTENT Since late October the Sharks have done an admirable job of not letting one loss turn into two or three Of their last eight defeats the Sharks have bounced back to win the next event seven times But the Sharks upcoming schedule will test that resiliency Related Articles Smith Celebrini have milestone games but Sharks comeback in Vegas falls short Sharks special teams shine in penalty-filled win over Vancouver Canucks When it comes to Evander Kane Ryan Reaves feelings haven t changed Sharks can cling to one positive trend after blowout loss to Avalanche Resurgent Sharks get big dose of reality from NHL-best Colorado Avalanche Starting with Monday s encounter against Utah six of the Sharks next seven opponents were in a playoff spot before Sunday s games That includes the Sharks battle against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in what might be Alex Ovechkin s final trip to SAP Center and a five-game road trip that begins with stops in Dallas Carolina and Philadelphia The Western Conference standings are so bunched up right now that any three or four-game losing streak could send a gang tumbling down a meager spots and it s not constantly easy to make up that ground Still per tankathon com the Sharks before Sunday s games had the easiest strength of schedule of any NHL gang with their remaining opponents average points percentage being We ve gotten results Warsofsky revealed But there s still another level we can get to