And on the 11th day, the Sharks took a deep breath and a long rest.
Much deserved.
As the ice chips settled following a stretch of six games in 10 nights - along with East Coast travel thrown in if the schedule wasn't challenging enough - the Sharks came out of it in pretty good shape.
Going 6-5 during its 11 games in October, San Jose since has battled injury, a goal drought, and experienced power outages on the power play while just starting to get into the guts of its winter travel schedule. With all of those obstacles that could derail a less experienced team, the Sharks have earned points in 13 of 18 games going 10-5-3.
That stretch translates into a 105-point season pace. And added to their first month, the Sharks are safely above the postseason cutoff line with a projected 99 points.
Inside the Cage: The Comeback Kids
"I'm happy that we're putting points in the bank and with a lot of the things that are going on," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "It isn't picture perfect, but we're finding a way to get points."
San Jose capped the busy stretch by earning five of a possible six points despite playing three times in four nights and finishing with games on back-to-back days. Against Carolina on Thursday, and against versus rested Minnesota on Sunday, the Sharks dug out of a 3-0 deficit to earn points - two in an overtime victory over the Hurricanes, and one with a sudden death setback to the Wild.
The comebacks sandwiched a 5-0 thumping of Ottawa when Aaron Dell collected the second shutout of his season while lowering his goals-against average to 1.72 while raising his save percentage to .939. Teamed with Martin Jones' 2.49 GAA, San Jose ranked second in the league with a 2.32 GAA.
"We have a resilient group, a confident group," DeBoer said.
"I think in all those situations we've shortened the bench," he added regarding San Jose's recent comebacks. "Our top players are top players, and they get that extra ice time without worrying about the score they have the ability to create offense and put pressure on the other team."
The Sharks strive to score first, which helps in their mission to dictate play. It's always harder to chase the game when the opponent scores first, especially if they mount a multi-goal lead. But falling behind hasn't bothered the Sharks lately.
"It's hard to play against, we just can't do it all the time," defenseman Brent Burns said. "With our team, we've stuck together pretty good. If we're down, we feel there's no doubt we can come back. It's not easy, but we don't have that doubt."
And they've done it while hit with a number of injuries. Forwards Joonas Donskoi, Mikkel Boedker, Melker Karlsson and Barclay Goodrow have missed time recently while veteran defenseman Paul Martin has appeared in only three games. Jones was unavailable for two games while Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski have played through instead of missing time.
Two of the biggest positives to come from the recent busy stretch in addition to the team earning points is an improved power play and the fact the puck is starting to go in again for Burns.
San Jose connected for two power-play strikes in each of its last three games. The Sharks went 6-for-17 with the man advantage on the recently competed three-game homestand as DeBoer opted to reunite the group that had struggled for a stretch earlier in the season. Back together on the first unit are Tomas Hertl, Thornton, Pavelski, Couture and Burns.
"That's two power-play goals in three straight games so that's something to build off of," Couture said.
Burns went into the three days of idle play riding the hot hand for the first time in 2017-18. He has four goals and 11 points in his past 10 games, and has multi-point efforts in each of the last three.
"We obviously need him to get going," DeBoer said. "He had a couple great shots there, and that's hopefully a sign of things to come."
"I think with Burnzie it's taking better care of the defensive zone. That's a lesson I learned a long time ago," Couture said. "If you're responsible in the defensive zone on your shift it's going to lead to offensive chances. He's been a lot cleaner in the D zone breaking pucks out, jumping into rushes, creating offense and he's still got that shot."
