NHL EDGE: Sharks Zone Time Numbers Need Improvement

The San Jose Sharks put in one of their best efforts of the season on Thursday, defeating the Nashville Predators 3-2 in a shootout.

After seven games, a 4-3-0 start is a clear improvement over previous seasons. Look at the Philadelphia Flyers this season: nine straight Ls to start the year. But despite the four wins, the Sharks’ analytics don’t back it up in some areas. While no free, publicly available tool lets you view game-to-game zone time stats, the NHL EDGE tool can help when looking at overall totals.

Keep in mind that for the 26-27 season, the sample size is much smaller, but you can still look at it as a trend.

Per NHL EDGE, the 26-27 San Jose Sharks spend 38% of their time in the offensive zone, 29th in the league, at all strengths. The league average is 40.3%. With that number lower, it is understandable that the defensive zone numbers are higher, at 43.7%. That ranks 29th in the NHL.

Those numbers are worse than the 25-26 Sharks. As a reminder, these numbers average out over 82 games. There will be a regression/progression to the mean for the 26-27 team.

In 25-26, the Sharks ranked 22nd in offensive zone time at 40.5%. The league average was 41.5%. In the defensive zone, Team Teal ranked 23rd at 41.8%. The league average was 41.5%.

Then there is also zone time when the San Jose Sharks are on the power play this season. Coach Ryan Warsofsky emphasized man-advantage this offseason. While the team may be looking for overall improvement, zone time is critical.

In 20 power-play opportunities this season, the Sharks have scored just four power-play goals. The 20% success rate is good enough for 15th in the league. They could push that higher by spending more time in the offensive zone, which starts with face-offs.

Over seven power-play games, the Sharks are in the offensive zone just 55.4% of the time. That ranks 25th in the NHL. In 25-26, they were in the offensive zone on the power play 60.5%, good enough for 10th in the NHL.

Against Nashville on Thursday, the Sharks generated more zone time in advantageous positions. That built momentum after the team played very well against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, despite the loss.