SAN JOSE — The last-place San Jose Sharks have been trying to keep a positive outlook this season. Even though the playoffs have been out of reach for months, they feel they still have plenty to play for, individually and as a group.
But make no mistake, this year has been an absolute grind for all involved.
“I keep telling myself, you look back, hopefully in a year or two, and we’re almost going to be glad we went through it and got a lot of experience from it,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Saturday morning. “And I think I’ll reflect more when that 82nd game is over.”
The Sharks played their 76th game on Saturday, and lost for the 56th time, as they allowed five goals on the first 14 shots they faced in a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken before an announced sellout crowd on Fan Appreciation Night.
The Sharks trailed 2-1 after the first period before the game went off the rails, as Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, and Jared McCann all scored in a span of 10:28 to help hand San Jose its fifth straight loss.
Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev, playing in his 300th NHL game, allowed four goals on the first 11 shots he faced and was pulled after Schwartz scored his 24th of the season at the 11:36 mark of the second to give Seattle a 4-1 lead.
“Obviously, just didn’t have my best today, and sometimes that happens,” said Georgiev, who was coming off a 34-save performance on April 1 in Anaheim. “They just capitalized on the handful of chances they had. Some good shots, some shots that I wish I saved, but I just didn’t have my best today.”
San Jose’s frustrations boiled over as Sharks winger William Eklund dropped the gloves with Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen with 34.6 seconds left in regulation. The scrap elicited one of the biggest cheers of the night.
“It’s tough. Been a lot of different stuff that’s happened,” Eklund said when asked about another challenging season. “We’re just trying to battle through it right now. All of us, we don’t want to be in this situation.
“We’ve got a hard-working group in here; I love every guy in there.”
Will Smith scored the only goal for the Sharks, who are now 12-25-2 at home. San Jose has two more home games this season, on Monday against the Calgary Flames and on April 16 against the Edmonton Oilers in the season finale.
“We’ve got to continue to compete and not have soft, bad habits crep into our game,” Warsofsky said after the loss. “That’s going to be the message these last six games. I thought tonight was disappointing. Had some energy in the crowd and the building’s sold out. Wished we gave them a better performance.”
The Sharks lost their first nine games of the season in October but battled to go 10-6-3 over the following five weeks, raising their record to 10-13-5 after a 2-1 overtime win over the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals on Dec. 3.
But the season took a turn on Dec. 9 when the Sharks traded No. 1 goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks lost nine of their next 10 games, and entering Saturday, had an NHL-worst record of 20-45-10.
The future might be teal, as the team’s slogan suggests, but it feels far away right now.
“It is extremely difficult,” Warsofsky said before Saturday’s game. “I’m going to be honest with you, it’s been a challenge, and it’s something that I’ve learned going through this. I know this is in a different light as a head coach, but when you’re out of the playoffs, it’s tough this time of year in the National Hockey League.”
“You lean on your coaches, your staff,” Warsofsky added later. “Obviously, we’re all in this together, the players, the coaches, the organization, from top to bottom. We’re in this together.”
The Sharks allowed even-strength goals to McCann and Andre Burakovsky in the first 9:26 of the opening period before Smith scored his 14th goal of the season at the 14:18 mark.
Macklin Celebrini took a pass from Jack Thompson along the boards and fed Tyler Toffoli near the slot. Toffoli then put a shot on net that Kraken goalie Joey Daccord stopped, but Smith was there to direct the puck into the net to snap an eight-game goal drought.
One positive for the Sharks, at least in the big picture, is that with Saturday’s loss, they can finish the season no higher than 31st in the NHL’s overall standings. With 50 points and six games left, San Jose cannot finish ahead of the Nashville Predators, who have 62 points and own the first tie breaker with 23 regulation-time wins,. The Sharks have just 14 regulation-time wins.
“We’ve got to play for our fans. We’ve got to play for this organization, the people that have supported us through some really tough times here the last few years,” Warsofsky said.
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