Now is not the time for the San Jose Sharks to be mired in their worst losing streak of the season.

The lowly Dallas Stars crushed San Jose 6-1 on Friday night, handing the Sharks their fifth consecutive defeat and allowing the surging Anaheim Ducks to draw even with San Jose atop the Pacific Division with 91 points.

While the Sharks still lead the division courtesy of their three-game advantage in the regulation-or-overtime wins column, their downward spiral leaves them with only eight remaining regular-season contests to right the ship.

It also comes as the Ducks - who've won the last four Pacific Division titles - have reeled off three straight victories, including Friday's win over the Winnipeg Jets. Anaheim has prevailed in five of its last six and seven of its last nine games.

The Sharks obviously don't want to stumble into the playoffs like this, but it seemed like they might do just the opposite before the losing streak began on March 16.

Prior to this rough patch, San Jose won seven of nine, scoring 28 goals and allowing only 15 (less than two per game) in that span. In the five losses since then, they've scored only five goals.

While they drove possession during the previous run of success, the Sharks' even-strength Corsi For percentage during their losing skid has actually been better.

(Courtesy: Corsica Hockey)

So, shot attempts and puck possession aren't the issues. Clearly, the problem has simply been the inability to bury their chances, and the fact that beyond two inexcusable losses to the Stars, this five-game set has also matched them up against the St. Louis Blues, the Ducks, and the Minnesota Wild.

Can't blame the schedule, though, and it doesn't get any easier over the rest of the month:

On Friday afternoon, Ducks forward Corey Perry talked about the timing of streaks and skids over the course of an 82-game season, and his comments are even more relevant after the evening's results.

“You peak at the wrong time, you’re in trouble,” Perry told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. “You want to start peaking at the right time at the end of the year. Of course you want to play consistent(ly) and avoid big roller coasters all season long."

The Sharks and Ducks have been moving in opposite directions lately, and it's Anaheim that appears to be peaking at the right time while San Jose has allowed both the Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers to threaten their lead atop the division.

The pressure's now squarely on the Sharks to turn things around quickly if they hope to head into the playoffs on a high note and return to the Stanley Cup Final this spring.

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