Sharks open nine-game road trip with loss
The Sharks' longest road trip of the season got off on the wrong skate, a 3-0 loss in St. Louis on Sunday night. But San Jose doesn't have to wait long to try to rectify its wrongs since it is back in action again on Monday in the nation's capital against the Washington Capitals.
San Jose's marathon nine-game trip over 16 nights will take them 7,750 miles, and it marks the second-longest stretch of games away from home in franchise history.
"Sometimes they're easier than going out on a three-game trip," coach Todd McLellan told the San Jose Mercury News. "You know you're gone for a long time, and then you settle in. You find a routine on the road."
The longest trip in team history -- a 10-game, 20-night trek during the 1998-99 season -- had only two sets of back-to-back games, and neither of those involved travel of even as much as 300 miles. This time, there are three sets of back-to-back games -- all of them in cities at least twice that far apart, starting with the St. Louis-to-Washington challenge.
"It's going to be a big test, and I think we've got to look at it in two portions, the first half and the second half of the road trip," forward Ryane Clowe said.
A lot of factors come into play on long trips. Getting enough rest, eating properly and somehow finding time to practice are all obstacles the Sharks face on this trip.
"When you get into an opponent's building, there are some things you don't feel as good about practicing because they're often watching -- could be some power-play sets, could be some of the stuff you do in penalty kill or faceoff-type plays," McLellan said.
There are 16 points still available on the trip, so sticking together when adversity hits is important.
"We talk about the bonding and getting away on the road, and I'm not a big believer in that," McLellan said. "Once you put the uniform on, you sit beside each other in the locker room day after day. That's enough bonding."
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