SAN JOSE — The last-place San Jose Sharks have been attempting to maintain a optimistic outlook this season. Regardless that the playoffs have been out of attain for months, they really feel they nonetheless have loads to play for, individually and as a gaggle.
However make no mistake, this yr has been an absolute grind for all concerned.
“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 stated. “And I think I’ll reflect more when that 82nd game is over.”
The Sharks performed their 76th recreation on Saturday, and misplaced for the 56th time, as they allowed 5 objectives on the primary 14 pictures they confronted in a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken earlier than an introduced sellout crowd on Fan Appreciation Night time.
The Sharks trailed 2-1 after the primary interval earlier than the sport went off the rails, as Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, and Jared McCann all scored in a span of 10:28 to assist hand San Jose its fifth straight loss.
Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev, enjoying in his three hundredth NHL recreation, allowed 4 objectives on the primary 11 pictures he confronted and was pulled after Schwartz scored his twenty fourth of the season on the 11:36 mark of the second to offer Seattle a 5-1 lead.
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 many largest cheers of the night time.
Will Smith scored the one aim for the Sharks, who are actually 12-25-2 at residence this season. San Jose has two extra residence video games this season, on Monday in opposition to the Calgary Flames and on April 16 in opposition to the Edmonton Oilers within the season finale.
The Sharks misplaced their first 9 video games of the season in October however battled to go 10-6-3 over the next 5 weeks, elevating their file to 10-13-5 after a 2-1 time beyond regulation win over the Jap Convention-leading Washington Capitals on Dec. 3.
However the season took a activate Dec. 9 when the Sharks traded No. 1 goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks misplaced 9 of their subsequent 10 video games, and coming into Saturday, had an NHL-worst file of 20-45-10.
The longer term is likely to be teal, because the crew’s slogan goes, but it surely has usually felt like a good distance away.
“It is extremely difficult,” Warsofsky stated earlier than Saturday’s recreation. “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 power objectives to Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky within the first 9:26 of the opening interval earlier than Smith scored his 14th aim of the season on the 14:18 mark.
Macklin Celebrini took a cross from Jack Thompson alongside the boards and fed Tyler Toffoli close to the slot. Toffoli then put a shot on internet that Kraken goalie Joey Daccord stopped, however Smith was there to direct the puck into the online to snap an eight-game aim drought.
One optimistic for the Sharks, not less than within the huge image, is that with Saturday’s loss, they will end the season no increased than thirty first within the NHL’s total standings. With 50 factors and 6 video games left, San Jose now can’t end forward of the Nashville Predators, who’ve 62 factors and 23 regulation time wins, the primary tie-breaker. The Sharks have simply 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 stated. “Yeah, we see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Initially Printed: April 5, 2025 at 9:43 PM PDT
