Improved Sharks not backing down from facing NHL's best team: Why not us?'

"Turns out that game against the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 1 and his adjustment leading up to it helped turn around the Sharks and Askarov's season. Three days after he allowed four goals in 14 shots in a loss to the Los Angeles Kings, Askarov stymied the dangerous Avalanche on Nov. 1 by making 36 saves to help the Sharks pull out a 3-2 win on Philipp Kurashev's overtime goal."

"Going into Wednesday's rematch against the league-leading Avalanche in Denver, Askarov is now 7-1-0 this month with a .959 save percentage second-best in the NHL among all goalies with at least five starts and has been a huge reason why the Sharks have been able to rejoin the playoff race after a 0-4-2 start. He's definitely a confident goaltender right now, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Askarov. You can see he's tracking pucks. There's some calmness in his game, and I think that (game) got him kind of going in the right direction."

"The biggest difference was that at the beginning of the season, I would kind of forget my routine, Askarov said. Everybody has some bad days, some good days. Our goal is to if we have a bad day try to manage the time and try to finish the bad day as quickly as possible, and try to get back to the good days, and try to keep that long as possible."

Yaroslav Askarov reversed an early-season slump to post a 7-1-0 run in November with a .959 save percentage, ranking second among NHL goalies with at least five starts. He made 36 saves to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Nov. 1, a performance that helped jump-start the turnaround. The improved results followed adjustments to his pregame routine and a mental focus on managing bad days and returning quickly to good performances. The goaltending surge has been a major factor in the San Jose Sharks re-entering the playoff race after a 0-4-2 start. Coaching staff noted increased confidence, tracking, and calmness in net.

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