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San Jose Sharks: 3 Reasons to Believe in a Strong Finish
Publish Date: April 10, 2026
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With four games left in the regular season, the San Jose Sharks have reason to believe in a strong finish. Team Teal’s three key trends are marked by resilience without shot control, fast starts, and big-picture progression.
Shot Volume and Fast Starts
Despite Macklin Celebrini ranking fourth in NHL points (108), the Sharks win most games while being outshot. Only about 35 percent of the team’s wins come when they outshoot opponents. Across 13 wins, the Sharks average a margin of over six shots, indicating more decisive control of play in victories.
These games are also dictated either by capitalizing on chances, outstanding goaltending, or defensive positioning at key moments. In 25 of their 37 wins, the Sharks had at least one opportunity on the power-play (PPO). In 15 of those, (41 percent of the time), the Sharks were able to capitalize with at least one PPG. While not elite, San Jose ranks 15th league-wide when it comes to the power play.
Their ability to generate pressure, draw penalties, and convert respectably shows they don’t need to dominate to stay competitive.
In any case, while a mid-ranked PP is not the worst, setting the tone early on couldn’t hurt their play.
“I think we need to come out a little hotter,” Celebrini told media on Wednesday, “We need to shoot pucks. We passed up a lot of really good chances. We gotta play hard on their top guys, we can’t let them kind of just dance around.”
Nearly half of the Sharks’ wins come with an early goal in the opening period.