Inside the Cage: Sharks Defense is Buying Time

It's easy to see the Sharks are searching for consistency in their forward lines and reconfigured power-play units in the hopes to produce more goals.
What's easy to overlook is the fact the Sharks defense, staunch goaltending and attention to detail on the penalty kill is buying the team time to solve it's challenges at the other end of the ice.
The netminding duo of Martin Jones and Aaron Dell have combined to amass a league-low 2.24 goals-against average through 19 games. After his first two starts of the season, Jones has allowed more than two goals in a game only once. That's two or fewer permitted in 11 of his last 12. His back-up Dell had produced similar numbers.
Here's Jones: 2.11 GAA and .926 save percentage. Here's Dell: 2.14 GAA and .923 save percentage. Each has posted a shutout, too. And Jones, well established as a No. 1 goalie in his third full season in that role, has posted a save percentage of .920 or better in 10 of his last 12 games.

Jones and Dell have had their hand in improving the penalty kill, a point of emphasis when the team ranked 18th at 80.7 percent. Through nearly a quarter of a season this year, the Sharks ranked No. 2 at 89.2 percent - nearly 4 percent better than Boston's league-leading figure of 85.7 percent last season.

San Jose has allowed a power-play goal at home in just three of 13 games, and only once in its last eight at SAP Center.
The staunch defensive posture is even more impressive considering Jones, Dell & the blue line know they've had to keep opponents off the scoreboard as much as possible because the Sharks have hit a rut offensively during the season's second month.
Their offensive woes were not as noticeable in October when San Jose scored three or fewer goals three times in 11 games. But it's been more of a pressing issue in November when six out of eight contests have featured the Sharks scoring three or less.
"We're in one of those things where you've really got to stay positive," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We're doing more good than bad. We're just not getting rewarded. And we've got to stick with it."
The tough numbers include ranking 29th in goals per game (2.42) after Monday's nine-round shootout loss, last in 5-on-5 production (26 goals) and 28th on the power play (15.3 percent), which has undergone a recent facelift.
But, as outshooting opponents 15 of 19 times - and all but once in eight November games - might attest, San Jose has not been lacking in shot volume. The Sharks ranked eighth with 33.5 shots per contest, but second-to-last in shooting percentage (5.5 percent).
Several factors are in play here:
The goals will come as the forward lines find chemistry and gain consistency. DeBoer has experimented with a number of young skaters who are searching for the kind of success that made them stars at lower levels. It's easy to forget just how few games some of these teal-behind-the-Sharks have in the NHL: Timo Meier (52), Ryan Carpenter (22), Tim Heed (18), Joakim Ryan (17), Barclay Goodrow (83), O'Regan (5) and Labanc (71).

"The reality is we've got some young guys in the lineup and we need 20 guys going a night," DeBoer said. "We can't have 15 or 16 - more contributions for longer stretches." One younger Shark who appears to have broken through is Donskoi, who needed only 19 games to tie and surpass his goal total from a year ago. Now Donskoi would love to forget about 2016-17, an injury-interrupted season in which he had two shoulder separations and managed six goals in 61 games. But that off-year following his 11-goal, 36-point rookie campaign of 2015-16 seems to have served as motivation.
"He's one of the guys who has driven our team," Pavelski said of Donskoi, whose seven goals in 19 games is a pace to net him 30 goals.
"He's been great," Couture added on Donskoi's contributions. "He's bounced back, and that's all you can ask from a guy who didn't have the kind of year he wanted last year. He put in the work in the offseason, and he's had a really, really strong season."
Now it's up to other players on the roster to produce breakthrough performances while the goaltending and defense works to keep things close.
"We've got to find guys who can score some goals," Couture said. "Guys in this room can score. We just have to go out and do it."
"The losses are unacceptable, no doubt," Pavelski added. "You've got to be patient. It's a long season. We're 19 games in. Yeah, I believe it's going to come."