The San Jose Sharks continued to work on their breakouts, a central point of emphasis this season.

The San Jose Sharks continued to work on their breakouts, a central point of emphasis this season.

Sharks head coach David Quinn has explained multiple times that many of the team's defensive issues stem from not breaking the puck out cleanly.

San Jose has struggled with possession time this season, directly correlating with clean passing. Against the St. Louis Blues, the Sharks finally got clean breakouts and possession time.

"I think we've done a better job in that area. I thought the other night, more than any point this year, we've had five guys connected in all three zones," Quinn said. "When you're moving out of the offensive zone as a five-man unit, and you're moving into the neutral zone as a five-man, then you're going into the d-zone as a five-man unit, you get connectivity, and you're gonna get out of the zone."

Connectivity was a word used throughout the locker room as well. Kyle Burroughs explained that staying connected is key to good breakouts.

"You look at last game, and it's a lot cleaner, a lot quicker, a lot more connected," Burroughs said. "I think that's something that we've tried to preach here, and point of emphasis is something that we need to get better at. We're playing with the puck more in those situations. For us last game to have that connectivity and be able to be a unit like that, usually, good things come from it."

In this Mike Hoffman goal, the Sharks work as a unit through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. The tape-to-tape passes create the opportunity to enter the zone and continue finding open lanes. 

"I think on first touch, we're not just forcing things," Burroughs said. "That's the biggest thing. I think we're seeing the ice more. We have more support around the puck, too."

While the Sharks still aren't expected to be very successful this season, the progression in team development is encouraging. This type of play will allow them to stay in games for longer and give them a chance to win. 

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