PHILADELPHIA — If the Sharks want to continue their surprise pursuit of a playoff berth, they will have to figure this out.
Why are they consistently no-showing periods and games?
On Tuesday, it was the opening frame against the Philadelphia Flyers, getting outshot 16-3. They ended up, improbably, tied at one apiece after one, mostly due to the heroics of Alex Nedeljkovic.
Of course, even the best teams have off periods and games. But for the Sharks, since Nov. 13, you can argue that they have alligator-armed about half their games (at Calgary Flames on Nov. 13, at Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 26, versus Washington Capitals on Dec. 3) or significant periods of them (versus Ottawa Senators on Nov. 22, at Dallas Stars on Dec. 5, at Philadelphia tonight).
That’s about six noteworthy head-scratching performances in their last 14 games.
Tonight, the stage seemed set for the Sharks to play for something higher than themselves: Yaroslav Askarov was ill, so Alex Nedeljkovic was thrust into the starting role, EBUG Justin Kowalkoski backing up.
Instead?
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