SAN JOSE — The Sharks will not have the luxury of easing back into things when the unofficial second half of the regular season begins Tuesday night in Anaheim.

The Sharks were playing their best hockey of the season before the NHL All-Star break, as their 10-game point streak moved them into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division. But the next four weeks, starting with their game against the Ducks at Honda Center, will go a long way in determining whether they can stay in a playoff position, or even make a run at first place.

Tuesday’s game is the first of 10 the Sharks (26-18-4) will play on the road this month. They continue the road trip in St. Louis, followed by games against Nashville and Chicago, all Central Division heavyweights. In the middle of February, they begin a five-game trip that crosses three time zones.

In short, February figures to be the most challenging month the Sharks have had so far, even for a team that has a Western Conference-leading 16 road wins this season.

“This last stretch has been all about the team,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said Monday. “Guys have stepped up and done a lot of little things to put us in that position, and it’s got to continue.”

The Sharks stayed afloat for the first three months of the regular season thanks largely to having one of the best road records in the NHL. They took off in the last three weeks of January due partly to both the return of Logan Couture and to finally catching fire at home.

The Sharks went 8-2-2 in January, as they vaulted past four teams, including the Ducks, to be just seven points behind first-place Los Angeles. Couture’s presence did wonders, as the Sharks scored 28 even- strength goals over the past 10 games, compared with 72 even-strength goals in their first 38 games.

The streak was all the more impressive considering the 10 games came in just 18 days.

“We just want to pick up where we left off going into the break,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought we had a real good rhythm going on the road and at home. Our game was in a really good place.

“When you’re playing like that, you really don’t want a break. But considering the schedule, we probably needed it. It’s how quickly we can get back to that rhythm again.”

The Sharks have the same number of points right now as they did after 48 games last season. But in 2015, the wheels fell off in a 3-8-2 February, as they dropped out of playoff position and never recovered.

There was zero desire Monday by the players who were on that team to rehash what happened that month, and DeBoer has not expended any energy whatsoever worrying about a possible repeat.

“I don’t compare last year to this year,” Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. “It’s two different styles we’re playing, two different scenarios. We’re playing well right now.”

“Totally different team, totally different situation,” DeBoer said. “I don’t think it’s relevant at all, and we’re not spending any time on it.

“Last year at this time, I was coaching my son’s pee-wee Quebec team because I had been fired at Christmas. It feels like that was long ago.”

For more on the Sharks, see the Working the Corners blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/sharks. Follow Curtis Pashelka on Twitter at twitter.com/CurtisPashelka.