SAN JOSE -- There weren't too many things the Sharks liked about the game they played against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. In fact, there were a whole handful of things they didn't like.
Logan Couture listed them off after the disappointing 4-1 loss.
"We didn't pass well. We didn't play hard enough," the Sharks center said. "We didn't spend enough time in their end. We didn't forecheck. We turned pucks over.
"You can go down the list. We did a lot of things wrong tonight, and we got what we deserved."
What probably made the game even more discouraging is that the Sharks did start to push back against the heavy Columbus squad -- although that push came late in the third period. It was bad enough that the team didn't have as much energy as it would have liked. But when the Sharks did start to pick up momentum, it was late in the game while they were down in a two-goal hole.
"We can't go down two goals, and then go out and try to come back," Couture assessed.
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It doesn't help this was the second game in a row that the Sharks notched the first goal, then allowed the opposition to get on the board with the equalizer before the first intermission.
"We're getting leads, but we're giving them up right away," Couture continued. "We're falling behind, and then we decide it's time to turn it on. We've got to fix that."
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer agreed.
"We've got to be better," he summarized. "We're not doing enough things to win games right now."
DeBoer reiterated his message from the last game that San Jose needs to pick up on other teams' desperation. Columbus, he felt, put up a stronger defensive front after previously suffering a tough loss, and that successfully kept the Sharks from adding to their one goal on the evening.
"I think they blocked 30 shots," the coach said. "They showed a desperation level to come in here and try to win that game.
"We have to find a way to get by those blocks," he continued. "Or block some shots of our own to make sure we're on the right side of this."
The coach acknowledged he thought the Sharks played a better game than they did in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. Nevertheless, they have to find a way to beat teams like the Blue Jackets if they want to have more success down the stretch.
"We knew it was going to be hard to get to the net tonight, but you've got to find a way," DeBoer said. "You're going to play teams like that if you want to go anywhere in the playoffs, and you've got to fight through that stuff. We didn't do enough of that."
