This is only the second time this season that the San Jose Sharks have achieved this. And I’m not talking about their second regulation win this year, a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

For just the second time this season, per Stathletes, the Sharks won the 5-on-5 OZ Possession battle against their opposition.

Intuitively, this is an important stat: Of course, you want the puck more than the opposition. Having more puck possession should mean more scoring chances, while limiting opposition puck possession should mean less scoring chances allowed.

The San Jose Sharks achieved this on Thursday, in part, with more assertive defending.

“We want to play more on our toes,” Warsofsky said on Thursday during morning skate. “We want to take away time and space quicker in the defensive zone. We’re just a second hesitant to maybe jump in there with numbers.”

Killing plays in the DZ at 5-on-5 is the springboard for pretty much everything you want for winning hockey: Less net front defending, cleaner lanes for stretch passes, more rush offense, and more OZ possession.

Darnell Nurse stood out on the San Jose Sharks’ blueline, in that regard.

“He was really good, especially at the end. Him and [Jacob Trouba] were really good,” Warsofsky said. “Doc was physical, ending plays. I think you used the right word, assertive.”

Post-game, the Sharks said playing freer fueled their 3-2 comeback win, down 2-0 heading into the third period. We were asking about offense, but that also applies to defense, too.

“You don’t want to think,” Nurse said. “You can’t be free offensively, and then, gripping it defensively, [or] vice versa. There’s a connection within the game. When you’re frustrated about your offensive game, a lot of times, it’s going to leak into your defensive game. That was big for us, just taking a breath and being able to just play.”

It’s a cliché, but good defense leads to good offense.

“When you defend well and you kill plays, that’s when you catch teams out of structure,” Nurse said. “That’s when you’re able to counterattack, use your speed.”

The San Jose Sharks, as the 5-on-5 OZ Possession stat illustrates, have failed to kill plays consistently this season.

They’re 31 st in the NHL in 5-on-5 OZ Possession Time Against Per Game, ahead of only the Canucks. They were 27 th in this category in 2025-26, 31 st in 2024-25, dead-last in 2023-24, and 26 th in 2022-23.

“It’s a big part of the game,” Warsofsky said. “That’s why we added those guys on the backend to end plays, get out of our own end, and I thought they were good last night.”

Warsofsky is speaking of Nurse, Trouba, and Michael Kesselring. Hope is, last night’s third period is a sign of things to come, and the Sharks’ slow start in killing plays this season can be attributed to players, new and old, getting used to a refreshed defensive zone scheme.

Nurse, a big part of two recent Stanley Cup Final squads with the Edmonton Oilers, certainly knows what it looks like, when it’s working.

“We’re aggressive on our toes, just playing free and reading off each other, all of a sudden, you can be aggressive on the wall, because you know we have an F3 or centerman or even your [defensive] partner coming across to clean up any mess behind you,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, you get into that flow of playing that aggressive way defensively, that turns into offense. Being able to be free and make plays and stack good shifts, one after the other. There’s a connection within our team and a connection within the way that we defend that’s going to bring out the offensive side of our game as well.”

Of course, that was one period against last-place Vancouver. Let’s see if the Sharks can continue to play free in their rematch against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Overtime

It’s worth noting that between Oct. 8 and Oct. 19 was among the Sharks’ better 5-on-5 stretches this season. Their raw OZ possession numbers weren’t outstanding, but they weren’t an eyesore either.

It’s no coincidence San Jose’s recent possession time swoon started after center Alex Wennberg went down with an upper-body injury on Oct. 19 at the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Wennberg had gotten off to a slow start this season, but his game was rounding out before he got hurt. And last year, he was second among Sharks forwards in 5-on-5 OZ Possession Time Per Game, trailing only William Eklund. Speaking of killing plays, Wennberg led Sharks forwards with 8.18 5-on-5 Turnovers Forced Per 60, just ahead of Macklin Celebrini, and 10 th in the NHL.

The San Jose Sharks, safe to say, miss Wennberg.