Listening to the postgame on the radio last night, I hear Jaime Baker say (and I’m paraphrasing) that the Sharks should be happy with the way that they played, and although you can’t really be happy about losing, they should be happy about this loss.

Mr. Baker is someone I have talked to in person, and I respect. He’s extremely knowledgable about hockey, and as a third-line-type player, had to use his game smarts and experience rather than dazzling skill to get by in the NHL. But this time, I think Jaime is a little shortsighted.

If this were the first time this had happened during the season, I might agree with his analysis. But unfortunately, the Sharks have shown they play differently (and not better) when they hold a lead late in the game. The Sharks went into prevent defense the last ten minutes of last nights game, and got burned. Just like:

• December 20 – JR scores with 12 minutes left against Phoenix, go into a defensive shell, give up the tying goal to Shane Doan with less than a minute left, and lose in the shootout. Outshot the Yotes 38-37, but are outshot 6-2 after JR’s goal, with a penalty and 4 giveaways in that span.
• January 13 – Sharks lead going into the third against the Ducks, give up a goal to Doug Weight with less than a minute left, and lose in the shootout.
• February 6 – Sharks outshoot Colorado 31-25, who is playing without their three best players, give up an empty net in the last minute, and lose 3-1.
• And now February 12 – Sharks outshoot Calgary 41-18, go into a defensive shell after the go-ahead goal, give up the tying goal with less than a minute left, and lose in overtime. Sharks do not register a shot in regulation after their third goal.

There are several other games I could mention in this vein, but these are the most obvious. One of these is a bummer, two is a fluke, but three or more is a trend. Being happy with the way they played is all well and good, but right now the Sharks are the 5 seed, looking at consecutive playoff matchups against the best three Western teams: Anaheim, Dallas, and Detroit. They need to start getting happy about winning the damn games.