Sharks' Pavelski on frustrating start: 'The harder we try, it's like the worse it's going'

It's early yet, but the San Jose Sharks are on the outside of the playoff picture after 24 games. For a club used to dominating the regular season, the early-season struggles are unnerving and frustrating.

"The harder we try right now, it's like the worse it's going," alternate captain Joe Pavelski told David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, following a 2-0 loss to the Calgary Flames.

The Sharks stomped the Flames by shot attempt differential Wednesday night, but couldn't beat Flames goaltender Karri Ramo, who made 32 saves. Of course, it didn't help that the Sharks struggled to get pucks past the first defender, much less Ramo, as the Flames blocked 30 of San Jose's shot attempts.

"That will affect our offensive outcome," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said of the frequency with which Sharks shots found nothing but shins. "We'll have to look at that and try to find a way to fix it."

Notwithstanding the team's struggles, winger Patrick Marleau believes the form is there. San Jose just needs some bounces.

"We were stuck out there for a while," Marleau said. "Bouncing pucks, things like that. That's where you take that extra second to corral it and make sure it gets out."

Generally speaking, the Sharks have been unable to buy a bounce in the early going. Sharks forwards are currently capitalizing on only 6.3 percent of shots at even strength, an unsustainably low number that's very likely to regress in a favorable direction for San Jose over the balance of the season.

"I think the chances are there," Marleau, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner, said. "Hopefully it's like a buildup of a dam, and it's going to break soon and we'll start getting on a winning streak."

Despite blowing an opportunity for a win against the Flames on Wednesday, the Sharks' underlying performance through 24 games is still suggestive of a playoff team. Of course, postseason play would've been assured had the Sharks addressed some of their weaknesses this summer, as opposed to just loading up on fourth-line toughs.

- With h/t to /r/hockey