SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini stood contained in the San Jose Sharks dressing room and gave the impression to be in disbelief that he and his teammates have been going by way of this once more. Exterior the room, coach Ryan Warsofsky, who has now been by way of 4 straight agonizingly gradual begins with the staff, facetiously stated he’d hand over considered one of his two younger kids for a win proper now.
“Trust me, it sucks,” Warsofsky stated Saturday night time. “I keep telling myself, there’s a reason why this keeps happening.”
A Sharks season that was hoped to be just a little bit higher than the last few has to this point turned out to be something however, as San Jose enters a difficult four-game street journey this week because the NHL’s final remaining winless staff.
The Sharks fell to 0-3-2 with a 3-0 loss to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night time at SAP Middle. Responding after poor performances towards the Carolina Hurricanes and Utah Mammoth earlier within the week, the Sharks have been the higher staff for the ultimate two durations as they established a forecheck, outchanced the Penguins, and saved Pittsburgh’s pictures on objective to a minimal.
Nonetheless, the Sharks have been unable to beat Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, who made 31 saves, as they have been shut out for the primary time this season. Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 18 saves in a frenetic first interval, however Crosby scored a second-period objective on a tipped shot, and Anthony Mantha and Evgeni Malkin each scored within the third, with Malkin’s being an empty-netter, at hand San Jose its third straight regulation-time loss.
“The only way we’re going to get those bounces is if we keep working for them. They’re not just going to happen,” Nedeljkovic stated. “We have to earn those bounces. And if we play like we did tonight, more times than not, coming up, we’ll start getting some.”
Whereas the goaltending took a step ahead Saturday, the Sharks have nonetheless managed simply two even-strength targets of their final three video games.
“I think we have a really tight group, and it’s just hard,” Celebrini stated, “especially when you play some good games, do some good things, and it just feels like it hasn’t really kind of connected yet.”
The Sharks start a four-game street journey on Tuesday towards Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 total decide in June’s NHL Draft, and the New York Islanders. That’s adopted by video games towards the New York Rangers on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils on Friday, and the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
The Sharks have been 0-5-0 to start the 2022-23 season, began 0-10-1 in 2023-24, and 0-7-2 final 12 months. Warsofsky has sadly been part of each dismal begin, as he was an assistant underneath David Quinn from 2022 to 2024 earlier than he was named the Sharks’ head coach.
This 12 months’s staff is believed to be higher than any of the earlier three. Now’s the time to indicate proof.
“We’re not going to quit,” Warsofsky stated. “We’re five games into this thing. What’s happened has happened, and we’ve got to work. I’ve got to get this team to improve and individuals to improve. It’s on me.”
CAGNONI RECALLED
The Sharks on Sunday positioned Shakir Mukhamadullin (higher physique) on injured reserve and recalled fellow defenseman Luca Cagnoni from the Barracuda. Mukhamadullin, 23, has missed the earlier two video games after he was injured throughout observe final week, and it’s unclear when he may have the ability to return.
The 20-year-old Cagnoni, a second-year professional, had a powerful camp with the Sharks and scored within the Barracuda’s season-opening sport towards Bakersfield on Oct. 11. Cagnoni had 52 factors in 64 video games with the Barracuda final season and two assists in six video games with the Sharks.
Warsofsky stated Saturday that injured defensemen Timothy Liljegren (higher physique) and John Klingberg (decrease physique) could be on Sunday’s flight to New York. Nevertheless, it was unclear when both could be wholesome sufficient to play. Each have been injured within the Sharks’ Oct. 14 sport towards Carolina. Liljegren is on IR and is eligible to return for Thursday’s sport.
