The San Jose Sharks are now set to go on the road for the first time in the 2026-27 season after a brief two-game homestand to start the new campaign. While their wins against the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings weren't pretty, they're 2-0-0 so it's difficult to imagine a better start than that. There were quite a few things we learned during those two games though, so let's take a look.

The San Jose Sharks are giving Yaroslav Askarov every opportunity that they can for him to earn the starting job. Last season, we saw more of a 1A and 1B relationship between Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic. Ryan Warsofsky often went with the hot hand and there was no clear starter and no clear backup per se. This time around, Warsofsky opted to start Askarov in both of the Sharks' first two games which seems like a clear indication that they want him to reach up and grab the metaphorical brass ring. 

Askarov did make some big saves in both games, but statistically he's been mediocre. He looks much better positionally this season and as time goes on his numbers should reflect that. One analytically important note is the fact that his goals saved above expected is currently positive, which which wasn't the case last season. He's saving quite a few high and medium danger chances, he just needs to be a bit more effective on low-danger opportunities. 

It would be surprising if we don't see Nedeljkovic get a chance against either the Dallas Stars or the St. Louis Blues this week. While Askarov has been effective, he has left some room for Nedeljkovic to earn more playing time.

It seems somewhat ridiculous to criticize a player who has five points in his first two games of the season, but it seems like Macklin Celebrini is trying to put the team on his shoulders like he was forced to do quite a few times last season, when it's not fully necessary at this stage. While Warsofsky didn't name names, he did mention players taking "too long of shifts" during their game against the Kings, which Celebrini certainly seemed to be doing.

Celebrini is an elite player, and he's a game-changer, there's no question about that. With that being said, playing as much as he currently is will lead to issues down the road. While players like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby often lead their teams' forwards in ice time, they typically don't outright lead their team in that regard. Usually, that's done by a top-pairing defenseman, simply because there are less of them in the lineup so each guy is called upon to do more. Celebrini currently does lead the Sharks in average time-on-ice. While it's not a huge issue to do so for two games, if he tries to do that for all 84, it could wear him out substantially before we get to the end of the season.

While it's never a bad thing for a player to want to help his time on the ice as much as possible, Warsofsky needs to ensure Celebrini doesn't overdo it and end up doing the opposite in the long run. Overexertion over such a long period of time can lead to increased injury risk, and of course fatigue. Even more so, extending shifts unnecessarily takes away ice time from other players who need to develop and become an important part of the forward core like Michael Misa.

Having possession of the puck in general is a good thing. First off, it allows you to try to score goals, but arguably more importantly, it stops your opponent from scoring goals. That all should be obvious to anyone who has ever even watched a period of hockey, but the San Jose Sharks are giving their opponents possession on a consistent basis, especially in the defensive zone, simply because they're struggling in the faceoff circle. 

In their first two games, the Sharks won just 37% of their draws in the defensive zone. As a result, they're giving their opponents the ability to immediately launch an attack and potentially catch their goaltender or defense off guard. A big part of this issue revolves around Zack Ostapchuk, who went 0-for-7 on the dot overall against the Panthers and more specifically 0-for-4 in the defensive zone. He was better against the Kings, going 4-11 overall, but he still only won a single draw in the defensive zone, going 1-for-5. 

While Ostapchuk has been effective in other aspects of his game, this is something that needs to be addressed quickly. As a result, it wouldn't be surprising to see Ty Dellandrea step into the lineup against Dallas to address this concern. The only question is, does Ostapchuk come out of the lineup to allow Dellandrea to play or does Warsofsky decide to move the younger player to the wing and take out veteran Barclay Goodrow? 

Of course, it's important to note that all of the Sharks' forwards outside of Alexander Wennberg and Macklin Celebrini have been struggling in this regard but Ostapchuk has been the most notable example. 

Getting all four points in a two-game homestand to start the season is hard to complain about. But the way the Sharks are winning is unsustainable in the long run and Ryan Warsofsky certainly has some work to do as they prepare to fly to Dallas if they want to keep the ball rolling on the road.