SAN JOSE — Sharks center Tomas Hertl enjoyed a playful moment at the end of a recent practice when after a failed shootout attempt on Martin Jones, he threw his stick in the air only to see it get caught in the netting behind the goal.
“I just for fun throw it,” Hertl said Sunday. “At least we had a good laugh from it.”
Hertl has had a tough time finding the back of the net in games, too. Through the first five games of the regular season, Hertl — mirroring the struggles the Sharks have had overall at both ends of the ice — had zero goals, zero assists and had a minus-6 rating.