SAN JOSE, Calif. — How much pushback does this Sharks team have?
More than they had Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning?
It won't take long to find out.
The Sharks were clobbered 7-1 by the Lightning at SAP Center, sleepwalking through most of the first period en route to their most lopsided loss of the season. The Sharks gave up four goals in the first 13 minutes and only offered an occasional response, as they lost for the fourth time in the last five games.
"That team exposes you when you don't compete. That's it. Simple as that," Sharks winger Andrew Cogliano said of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning.
"They can beat you when you compete at your highest level. But when you don't compete, and you're not even close to their level, it gets embarrassing real fast."
While the Lightning looks fully capable of winning a third straight Cup, the Sharks appear to be light-years away. Several of their best players are over 30 years old, their top centerman might be traded or leave as a free agent, and their top prospects need time to mature before they're ready to be impactful NHL players.
That's the big picture. In the meantime, the Sharks will have no chance of beating the NHL's best teams or remaining in the mix for a playoff spot if they're not willing to defend hard or match their opponent's work ethic.
"Obviously, we thought we were close to their level," Cogliano said, "and it proves that we're not even close."
This next week before the NHL all-star break could help set the tone for how the rest of the season will unfold.
The Sharks open a four-game road trip Wednesday against the Washington Capitals, followed by games against the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Sharks finish the trip on Feb. 1 against this same Lightning team.
Florida and Tampa Bay entered Sunday tied atop the NHL's overall standings with 61 points each, Carolina was fifth with 56 and Washington was tied for sixth with 55.
This is as tough a road trip as there is in the NHL right now.
"You look at our road trip, Washington and Florida, Tampa, Carolina, it doesn't get any easier," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said after Saturday's game. "If anything, you better think about that one tonight and think about what you need to do to compete against the best teams.
"We've been good all year. I'm not challenging this team's will or their passion or their urgency. It was one of those nights where we were out-competed and it was men amongst boys, as simple as that."
The Sharks (21-19-2) have 44 points, are in fourth place in the Pacific Division, and have a tenuous grip on the Western Conference's second wild-card spot.
Both the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars are two points back, with the Flames holding six games in hand and the Stars having four. The Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets are four points back and can also overtake the Sharks with the number of games in hand that they have.
The Sharks can give themselves an emotional lift going into the second half of the season with some inspired performances against some of the NHL's best teams. Or they can fall out of a playoff spot altogether and spend the rest of the season trying to catch back up.
"It should be a massive wake-up call for our team that's played hard and battled through things all season, but no one really cares," Cogliano said. "No one cares in the standings, and other teams are fighting for the same position. They want us to lose and it's on us to play hard and win games and be close in games against good teams."
It appears the Sharks will get forwards Rudolfs Balcers and Jonah Gadjovich back for Wednesday's game in D.C., but the availability of Erik Karlsson is more in question. Karlsson missed Saturday's game and is, for now, considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Boughner, though, said the two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman and the Sharks' medical team were going to be discussing their options.
If Karlsson has to miss more time, other players will have to fill the void. The Sharks' defense was putrid against the Lightning and will have to play a much harder and tighter style against the Capitals and other upcoming opponents.
"You can't have any success if you can't match the compete, and that's the most discouraging thing for me," Boughner said. "We can always sort out the X's and O's, mistakes and personal errors, but when you're not ready to play hard and do the opposite, play soft, that's the issue.
"We've got to learn from it and put it behind us and get ready for the first game of an important road trip."
