I have been mulling over the latest Sharks loss, a 4-1 drubbing by the Winnipeg Jets, and I can't seem to wrap my tiny brain around this teams' struggles.

They started the season so strong and appeared, by all accounts, to have put last season behind them.

But, 37 games into the 2014-15 season they are an average 18-17-2 and in fifth place in the Pacific Division.

If you look at the team from a distance they seem to be a sure fire playoff contender.

If you are a believer in team chemistry and leadership, this team seems to have both of those with a nice balanced mix of veteran and youth talent. Led by Joe Thorton, Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau etc., the Sharks seemingly have the foundation for success.

If you believe in advanced stats, well, the Sharks hold their own there as well. They are 12th in Shots Attempt % Close at 50.76%. (I assume that's good)

If you believe in coaching they think they have that in Pete Deboer. PDB led an average New Jersey Devils team to an Eastern Conference Championship and has 235 career wins and a .517 winning percentage with three different teams (FLA, NJD, SJS).

Special teams? Yep, they have that too. The Sharks have the leagues fifth ranked power play with a 21.8% success rate. The penalty kill is not bad either. It ranks 12th at 81%.

And as I said above, they play in a bad division.

So what is wrong with this team?

How about a little bit of everything.

- They have won two games in a row just once since since mid November.
- They have allowed 27 goals in the last seven games (3.86 goals per game).
- They have held an opponent to less than two goals just twice since Nov. 22 and they lost one of those games (ANA won 1-0 on DEC. 4).
- They own the NHL's 17th ranked offense.
- They are the NHL's 21st ranked defense.

Just from the eye test alone this team appears to have all the tools to be successful. They are fun to watch. They move the puck with the best of them and they can score in bunches, but they have the ability to give it all back in a hurry. From bad turnovers to lack of simple fundamentals, the Sharks find new and more annoying ways to lose hockey games. They cannot stay out of their own way. Just when it looks like they are heading in the right direction they lay an egg like they did against the Jets and I cannot see it changing.

Can they...er, will they turn these trends around or do changes need to made?

Just how frustrated are you as a fan? Me? I'm frustrated just watching it.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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