The San Diego Seals are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and have gone from the Western Conference favorite, to a team that is struggling to find its identity heading into the playoffs. It’s time to “Dive In” and see what has caused their five-game losing streak.
The San Diego Seals are averaging 10.2 goals per game during their losing streak, which is down from their 11.5 average during their first eleven games. While their big three of Austin Staats, Dane Dobbie, and Wes Berg have been consistently leading the charge all season, it’s their secondary scoring that has dropped off during this losing streak. Tre Leclaire, Jeremy Noble and others have seen their scoring output drop, which has allowed teams to focus on the Seals top scorers and double team them.
Now it’s not just the secondary scoring however. Currently Berg, Dobbie, and Staats have a combined 4.6 goals per game and 28.6 shots per game during this five-game skid, compared to 13.4 goals on 22.9 shots per game in their first eleven contests. So not only are they scoring less, but they are taking more shots, and since there isn’t much secondary scoring help, the once vaunted offense is now predictable and less efficient.
The defense and goaltending have struggled even more though, giving up a whopping 12.6 goals per game, compared to their 8.45 in their first eleven games, which included three games where they held opponents to 4 goals. The Seals have looked lost on defense several times, collapsing on picks and allowing offensive players to get open looks. It just seems like there is a lack of communication on the floor, which is a complete 180 of the team we saw the first half of the season.
They are currently allowing 48.8 Shots per game, which is up from their 44.8 shots allowed during their first eleven games. During those first eleven games, they have received masterful goaltending from Justin Geddie, Christopher Origlieri, and Frank Scigliano. Scigliano has been the workhorse for the Seals, but lately he has struggled, including being benched twice during the five-game losing streak. Even though it’s not all been his fault, he has had a .751 save percentage during the last five games, where he previously had a .825 save percentage before the losing streak. Maybe a better defense in front of him could help, but sometimes you need the goalie to stand on his head and make up for defensive deficiencies, but unfortunately for San Diego, Scigliano hasn’t been able to find that same magic he had earlier in the season with the Seals.
As we inch closer to the playoffs, this is the time of year where you want your team firing from all cylinders and gaining momentum as they head toward the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Seals, they have seen their game slip away from them and they have gone from being the Western Conference favorite, to potentially sliding down to fourth in the playoff seedings. Now with all the talent and veteran leadership that they have, the Seals could easily right the ship, but they could also be spiraling toward a disappointing end to what seemed to be a magical season just a mere 6 weeks ago.
