Before the Olympic break, the San Jose Sharks were first place in the Western Conference for quite a long time. Now, just 10 games after the Olympic break, the Sharks find themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference, and in the midst of a six game losing streak. They are 3-7-1 since the Olympic break. So, why is this happening?
The first goal
The Sharks have given up the first goal of the game in nine of the ten games after the Olympic break (by the way, when they did score the first goal of the game against Florida, they still ended up losing). What's more, in six of those 10 games, they have given up the first two goals of the game, and they have lost all of them by an average of 2.5 goals a game.
Goaltending
Evgeni Nabokov has given up 32 goals in 10 games, for a GAA of 3.20. To put that in retrospect, he gave up just 28 goals in one month , for a GAA of 2.15. He also had a horrible Olympics while defending the net for Russia. He gave up six goals in two periods to team Canada, and had to be replaced.
Thomas Greiss, the backup for San Jose, hasn't done a good job either. After giving up three answered goals to ...
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Article written by Eric He
Why the San Jose Sharks Have Been Slipping in the Standings
March 21st, 2010 by Eric He Leave a reply »
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