Making what was likely his last visit to SAP Center as an NHL player, Alexander Ovechkin said farewell to a crowd predominantly donning Washington Capitals jerseys by scoring a pair of goals as the visiting club from D.C. pummeled the Sharks in a 7-1 route on Wednesday night. Ovechkin scored the 1st and 5th goals for the Capitals, who converted 4 times in the opening period to put the game out of reach early. The loss was the worst of the season for San Jose, who lost 6-0 to Colorado two weeks ago.

And, welcome back. It's a new season in many ways. Although the Sharks' finish last season was twenty-five points below awful, 2025-26 is looking absolutely respectable. Most of the league is bumbling around the 0.500 mark, and the Sharks fit right into that mediocre mix. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are the players the Sharks hoped they would be, and the young cast they are building around them generally makes the games exciting. A Tuesday night at the Tank isn't the disappointment that it was the last few years, and the seats being half to three quarters full is a good sign.

The Sharks and Utah Mammoth completed their regular season series with a barn burner at SAP Center on Monday night. With each team having taken a win in the series, the rubber match was an exhibition in offense. Powered by 3 goals in each of the first two periods, San Jose bum rushed the Mammoth to take a 6-3 win to open the month of December.

Back on October 10th, the Sharks opened the season and had a chance to shock everyone with an opening night win over the Vegas Golden Knights. They didn't, losing in heart-breaking fashion after holding a 3rd period lead. They traveled to Sin City on Saturday night with a chance to get a win back. They were forced to battle back from a 4-1 deficit, but would fall 4-3 in regulation.

San Jose got back to work the day after Thanksgiving with a matinee affair with the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center on Friday. The Sharks came back from a 2-1 deficit with a pair of 2nd period goals, then held off a flurry of crazy penalties late in the game to win 3-2. Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves to earn his 9th win of the season.

When the Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche on November 1st, it established the last time Colorado has lost this season. That was more than 3 weeks ago, and Colorado didn't forget what the Sharks were capable of. So they took that motivation and let San Jose know why they are the best team in the NHL. When the smoke cleared, Colorado handed the Sharks a good old fashioned spanking in a 6-0 win in Denver on Wednesday night.

The Sharks were not happy with their performance against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but a quick turnaround seemed like a tall task against a Boston Bruins club that had an extra day of rest on the Sharks. San Jose did an about face in performance and attitude, beating the Bruins 3-1 at SAP Center on Sunday night. Shakir Mukhamadullin, Maclkin Celebrini and Collin Graf all scored to lead San Jose.

When the Sharks traded Fabian Zetterlund last March, there was obvious resentment by their former winger following the transaction. Zetterlund returned to San Jose on Saturday night nad got his revenge, scoring a goal to tie the game before Tim Stutzle scored a 3rd period goal to help the Ottawa Senators beat San Jose before their first sellout crowd of the season.

Building off their overtime win over Utah on Tuesday, the Sharks had to play extra hockey on Thursday night, but the outcome was the same. San Jose overcame a late tying goal by the Los Angeles Kings to win the game in the shootout. Philipp Kurashev scored a goal in regulation and the only goal in the shootout to help pace San Jose who have won 7 games in 10 tries in the month of November.

The Utah Mammoth came to town on Tuesday night fresh off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks. After giving up a late lead in Anaheim, the Mammoth had the recipe for a comeback win except Macklin Celebrini got in the way. The Sharks budding superstar recorded his 3rd career hat trick, capped by an overtime power play goal that helped San Jose fend off a fatigued but feisty Mammoth team.

The Sharks wrapped up their 3-game road trip on Saturday in Seattle with a better effort than what they exhibited in Calgary 48 hours earlier. The outcome was the same however, as San Jose tripped on their chances and let the host Kraken take a 4-1 decision at Climate Pledge Arena in Washington State.

With all the positives that the Sharks have been nailing the past three weeks, they were probably bound to have a letdown sooner or later. That happened on Thursday night, as San Jose dropped a 2-0 decision to the worst team in the league in the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Gilroy native Dustin Wolf stopped all 16 shots he faced to snap the Flames 2- game losing streak.

The Sharks took their 3-game winning streak on the road for the first of four games away from SAP Center on Tuesday night. San Jose made a stop in St Paul to play the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena. San Jose stunned the Wild at the end of October with a wild finish in overtime when Macklin Celebrini scored on the Sharks only possession in the extra session. Tuesday's affair ended with a similar feel except this time Celebrini setup the game winner in overtime as San Jose steals 2 points with a 2-1 win in the extra period.

I originally wrote this in 2009, but while scouring the internet in search of stories about Joe Thornton's Hall of Fame induction, I stumbled on a question that a citizen of the internet was asking about why so many people were "wearing those red things on their jackets?" I decided to review this piece, because it's as relavant today as it was in 2009, or 1918 for that matter.

Thanks to losing records, the Sharks have drafted fourth overall in 2023 (Will Smith), first overall in 2024 (Macklin Celebrini), and second overall in 2025 (Michael Misa). The Sharks actually did finish dead-last league-wide with 52 points in the 2024-2025 season, but didn't win the draft lottery.

It's been a busy weekend for the San Jose Sharks. In a 24 hour span they beat the President's Trophy winner, followed by a victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champion. After dispatching the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, San Jose knocked off the 2024-25 Champion Florida Panthers with a gritty 3-1 performance. Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves to notch his 4th win of the season to lead San Jose.

The Sharks extended their string of solid performance by dispatching the Seattle Kraken 6-1 at Climate Change Arena on Wednesday night. The Sharks were firing on all cylinders against a team that has been historically a nuisance for San Jose since joining the league 4 years ago. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith had multi-point nights to lead San Jose, who has now recorded points in their last 4 games.

Playing 24 hours after their thrilling overtime win over Colorado, the Sharks turned in an about face in the energy department, but they scratched out a point in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the shootout. Rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson scored his 1st career NHL goal late in the game to get the Sharks to the overtime and shootout.

If you looked at the Sharks schedule this week, it seemed unlikely that they would wake up from their early season funk. After a would be win slipped through their goaltending against Los Angeles on Tuesday, the Sharks pinned back their ears and beat the two best teams in the NHL including in improbable 3-2 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center. Philipp Kurashev scored a pair of goals, including the game winner in the extra period and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov made 36 saves against the best 5-on-5 team in the league.

Looking for their first win on home ice, accomplishing that against the best team in the NHL didn't exactly have the stars aligning in the Sharks favor. The response was something to behold as the Sharks dominated the Devils in 5-2 win at SAP Center on Thursday night. The Sharks 2nd line came alive with Alexander Wennberg, Philipp Kurashev and William Eklund combinging for 3 goals and 2 assists to lead San Jose.

The Sharks out-classed the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at SAP Center. They out-shot the Kings 41-14. They controlled the puck the majority of the night and had the Kings on the ropes. All of that meant nothing to a Sharks team that allowed a road weary Kings squad grab a 3-0 lead, then hold on for an unfair 4-3 win. It was one of a thousand rough lessons that the young Sharks had to live through as they try to work back to competitiveness.

The Sharks wrapped up their first road trip of the year with a crazy 6- overtime against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon at Grand Casino Arena in St Paul. The Sharks squandered multiple 2-goal leads in the 3rd period, but Macklin Celebrini bailed them out with improbably overtime goal after Minnesota held the puck for all but 6 seconds in the extra period.

The Sharks youngsters put on a display at the world's most famous arena on Thursday night and in doing so, snapped their 6-game losing streak and potted their first victory of the season. San Jose knocked off the host New York Rangers 6-5 in a wild overtime tilt that saw four lead changes. Macklin Celebrini recorded his 2nd career hat trick to go along with a 5 point night, and Will Smith bagged the second of his 2 goals with the game winner in overtime.

San Jose hits the road for the first of 4 games on Tuesday night with a stop in Elmont, New York to face the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. The Isles have struggled at home, winning 1 of 3 games there this season, but they withstood a flurry of shots from the Sharks in the opening period, then held off San Jose in the last 90 seconds to drop the Sharks to a 6th consecutive loss to start the with a 4-3 win.

The futile season debuts continued for the Sharks on Saturday. San Jose was shutout 3-0 by a Pittsburgh Penguins lineup that, on paper, is not expected to do much this season. The Penguins leaned on Tristan Jarry, who made 31 saves for the shutout. San Jose has now gone a 4th straight season losing their first 5 games to start the year.

The Sharks hit the road for the first of 41 road games on Friday night. Let's hope the other 40 go better than the 6-3 thrashing they took from the host Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center. Utah rolled on a Nick Schmaltz hat-trick en route to a 6-3 throttling of the Sharks.

The euphoria of the start of the season has clearly worn out its welcome in San Jose. After turning into decent outings to start the season, the Sharks let the 12,786 in attendance know that they're still a team in transition, knee deep in a rebuild. The Carolina Hurricanes are on the opposite end of the win-lose spectrum and they let the Sharks know it on Tuesday as they out-classed the Sharks in a 5-1 decision at SAP Center.

48 hours after their gut-punch opening night loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks turned another 3rd period 2-goal lead into an overtime loss. Saturday's disaster came at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks who came looking for their first win of the season. They would put 7 pucks past Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, including a Leo Carlsson shot that found the back of the net 45 seconds into the overtime period after Macklin Celebrini coughed up the puck on the opposite end of the rink.

So the Sharks season began Thursday night, and resulted in one of the most heartbreaking, devastating losses I've ever seen in 34 years of Sharks hockey. With William Eklund about to close out the game with an empty-net goal to seal a victory, I thought a Sharks win was about to happen. But the puck never finds its way into the Vegas net, and instead was chucked down to the Sharks' end by Jack Eichel.

The Sharks unveiled their overhauled roster to start their 35th NHL campaign on Thursday night and things looked peachy for 57 minutes, then the ghosts of cursed 3rd periods smacked them square in the jaw. Leading 3-2 late in the contest. San Jose had a chance to ice things with an empty net goal. That didn't happen and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights were gifted a win on a fluke play and poor decision making in overtime.

Macklin Celebrini made his debut on Saturday night as the Sharks concluded their preseason schedule in Salt Lake City. The 2nd year forward assisted on a Will Smith power play goal in his first action of the season, but it came in a losing effort. San Jose overcame a 4-1 deficit with 3 goals in the 2nd period, but they would surrender a pair of unanswered 3rd period goals to drop a 6-4 decision.

The Sharks hit the road for the first of back-to-back games to end the preseason on Friday night with a stop in Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. San Jose rolled out a roster heavy in prospects that showed real progress, taking it to a veteran heavy Knights lineup. Ethan Cardwell led the youngsters recording a hat trick, while Pavol Regenda added 4 assists in a bog 4-1 win at T-Mobile Arena.

The Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights squared off for the second consecutive game on Friday night at SAP Center. Vegas snapped a 1-1 tie in the 3rd period on a Lukas Cormier goal. The Sharks were out-shot 29-14 in the contest, although the game was not as lopsided as the shot count might suggest. Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky and his staff will have lots to evaluate following the 2-1 loss.

While the point production doesn't reflect it, the 2024-25 season was a step forward for the San Jose Sharks. The cellar dwelling Sharks wrapped up the season with a 3-0 loss, finishing with the worst record in the league for the second consecutive year. The Sharks will have the best odds to land the 1st overall pick once again this season, something that landed them budding superstar Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks concluded their 2024-25 road schedule with a stop in Vancouver on Monday night. Playing less than 24 hours after losing 5-2 to the Calgary Flames, the Sharks turned in a carbon-copy loss. They held a lead entering the 3rd period, lost that lead, then lost the game in overtime. The 2-1 decision extended their losing streak to a season high 10-games.

As the clock ticks down on this 2024-25 NHL season for the Sharks, each game is a continued development and evaluation period for every rostered player. Their 75th of 82 contests was a chance for the younger Sharks to cut their teeth against a bona fide Stanley Cup contender in the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks put up a decent fight, but fell 3-2 in a spirited contest.

The Sharks wrapped up their season series with in-state rival Anaheim on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-3 decision in the shootout. San Jose failed to answer the opening bell, and spent the rest of the night chasing Anaheim. They scratched out a point by getting to the overtime if not for a gritty 2nd and 3rd period, but the start really cost them.

Following their 6-1 pasting by the New York Rangers on Saturday night, the Sharks limped into Los Angeles on Sunday and took an even worse beating. With 10 games to go in this season of lessons, the Sharks played a disheveled, unmotivated game that resulted in an 8-1 loss that begs the question, why bother?

Hockey is a strange game. Eliminated from the playoffs two weeks ago and a sure thing to land a lottery pick in the NHL Draft, the Sharks played one of their better games of the season on Thursday night. Holding a 5-3 lead with a minute to play, San Jose got a glimpse of what young superstars can evolve to, as the Toronto Maple Leafs scored a pair of goals in the final minute of regulation to get the game to overtime. San Jose prevailed in the shootout when their own youngsters bagged a pair of goals to take a 6-5 win.

The Battle of the Basement, or what the NHL is calling the Teen Titans Match-up, finally happened at SAP Center on Thursday night. The last two 1st overall draft picks in Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini finally squared off against each other. As it turned out, the game turned into a rookie showcase beyond the two super stars. Celebrini finished with the win as San Jose knocked off the Blackhawks 4-2.

As the Sharks try to allow their young core to gain experience, the sting of losing still bites. Lose after a miscue in the 3rd period, and the stinging is magnified. After the Sharks had scored a pair of goals 14 seconds apart to tie the game, a simple puck-handling error would end up in their own net. That goal turned out to be a painful game winner in a 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators at SAP Center on Tuesday night.

The new look Sharks returned to SAP Center on Saturday night, but by the end of their homecoming game, the scoreboard looked all too familiar. After out-playing the New York Islanders through the first 10 minutes of the game, their flurry of shots were nothing more than a statistic after the Islanders deposited 4 pucks in the Sharks net to take a 4-1 win at SAP Center.

Wrapping up a season-long 7-game road trip, the Sharks staggered into Colorado on the heels of two big wins, but also faced with the reality that several key pieces of their lineup were either shipped out or are on the verge of departing with the NHL trade deadline looming. Add those distractions to a game against a team that is clicking on all cylinders and the recipe was not in San Jose's favor. Colorado used 4 special teams goals to pummel the mentally wounded Sharks 7-3 on Thursday night.

Riding the wave of their 3-2 shootout win in Toronto on Monday night, the Sharks kept the momentum going 24 hours later by knocking off the host Buffalo Sabres 6-2 at KeyBank Center. San Jose had won consecutive games only three times this season entering play, and only once on back-to-back days. What was most impressive was the team's 3rd period output, where they outscored the Sabres 4-1. Closing out games is the primary focus for the young Sharks as they finish out the last quarter of the season, so the past 24 hours has been a step in the right direction.

The Sharks are all too familiar with blowing 3rd period leads. It's almost become a part of their 2024-25 DNA. An expected disappointment. On Monday night, they turned the tables on an opponent, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the 3rd period, then winning the game in the shootout. Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund bags goals in the skills competition to help San Jose also snap an 8-game losing streak. The win was the first for San Jose since January 27th.

Remind yourself that the last days of the 2024-25 season are about allowing the youngsters to cut their teeth on the NHL. It's not about wins. Case in point, the Sharks dropped their 8 game in a row in the all to familiar "blown 3rd period lead" scenario that played itself out yet again on Saturday night in Ottawa. The Senators overcame a 2-1 deficit, beating San Jose 5-3 at Canadian Tire Center.

The season long 7-game road trip made top number three in Montreal on Thursday night. The Sharks played out their 2024-25 script to a tee. Take a lead into the 3rd period, lose that lead, then lose the game. This one ended in overtime when Cole Caufield lifted a puck over goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for the game winner in a 4-3 decision at Bell Centre.

Not much has gone right for the Sharks this season in terms of wins and losses. It is a rebuilding year after all. So rolling into Winnipeg to take on the league's best team, expectations were expectedly low. Playing on back-to-back nights also firmly lined San Jose up behind the 8-Ball. Yet, San Jose carried a lead into the last minute of play before the Jets tied the game. Winnipeg would go on to score in overtime to take the 2-1 decision, ending a promising performance as the Sharks made their 2nd of 7 stops on their current road trip.

The Sharks dropped a game on Tuesday by giving up a short-handed game winning goal late. On Thursday, they found yet another way to lose. This time, they would allow the Vancouver Canucks to win on a penalty shot in overtime. Penalty shots are a rarity in the first place, but when was the last time you saw one called in overtime. It was and San Jose dropped their 41st game of the season in 56 tries by a 2-1 score.

In their first chance to face NHL competition after trading Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, the Sharks faced the Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center on Tuesday night. San Jose would tie the game twice, but a short-handed game winning goal by Joel Armia with 4 minutes left cost them in 4-3 loss. The Canadiens entered play having lost their last 5 games, but the Sharks stumbled late once again to help the vistors cure their ills.

The Sharks finally pulled the plug on two impending unrestricted free agents on Saturday by trading centerman Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2025 1st round draft pick and a conditional 2025 3rd round pick. Both players were scheduled to be free agents this summer and the Sharks did not feel inclined to overpay to keep them around.

There is much to be hopeful for in San Jose, but games like Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken may make that harder to believe in. After a fairly competitive opening period at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, the Sharks let their collective guards down and let the Kraken score 4 goals on their first 5 shots of the middle period. It was more evidence that the young undermanned Sharks roster has a ways to go before they'll be truly competitive in the NHL.

The Sharks snapped a 6-game losing streak with a gutsy 201 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center in a rare Monday night game. Macklin Celebrini scored the game winning goal in the 3rd period after Pittsburgh erased a 1-0 Sharks lead earlier in the frame. Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves to earn his 4th win of the season.

After gagging up a 5-1 lead against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, the Sharks needed to put together a bounce back. They responded by falling behind 3-0, before battling back to tie the game 5-5 by the end of the 2nd period. Then they showed their immaturity by taking undisciplined penalties in a pivotal 3rd period that would lead to a 6-5 demise at SAP Center on Thursday night.

As Sharks fans, we should all be used to it by now, as in the Sharks blowing leads. The Sharks had a 5-1 lead against Nashville on Tuesday, so they should coast to an easy win, right? Well, no, the Sharks lost, 7-5. Great entertainment for the Predators fans, but not the Sharks fans.

There have been tough losses this season, and then there were losses like the one in Nashville on Tuesday night. Holding a 5-1 lead at the midway mark of the game, San Jose turned in one of the more impressive implosions of the season, allowing Nashville to score 6 unanswered goals to take a 7-5 victory at Bridgestone Arena.

The Sharks played arguably their best game of the current 5-game road trip in Boston in a matinee game at TD Garden, but like so many other games this season, their inability to hold 3rd period leads was on full display. San Jose blew a 3-2 lead in the final frame, allowing the Bruins to score a pair of goals to erase that lead and add a pair of empty net goals to accent a 6-3 loss. It was the 14th consecutive loss to Boston, the longest active streak in the NHL.

After the dismal performance in Columbus on Thursday night, the Sharks had a chance to right the ship against a New York Islanders team that has struggled on home ice. They didn't. A combination of turnovers and a lack of execution led to a 2nd straight loss for San Jose as they hit the midway mark of their current 5-game road trip. A 3-goal 2nd period would help pace the Islanders to a 4-1 victory at UBS Arena in Elmont.

All the positive energy from the Sharks 6-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to start their 5-game road trip did little to help San Jose in Columbus on Thursday. In what can only be described as a flat and lifeless performance, the Sharks dropped a 4-1 decision to the suddenly resurgent Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Columbus won for the 6th consecutive game, while the Sharks continue to set up shop in the NHL basement.

The Sharks kicked of a 5-game road trip with a stop in the Motor City on Tuesday night. San Jose received goal scoring for 6 different skaters to snap the Detroit Red Wings 7-game winning streak. The Red Wings were vying to set a league high for consecutive wins this season, but the Sharks had other plans. San Jose scored a pair of 1st period goals and then fended off several comeback attempts by the Red Wings to start the trip in the win column.

Marc-Andre Fleury has made it clear that he will retire at the end of this season. Barring an unlikely trade, Fleury played his last game at SAP Center on Saturday night and he stuck it to the Sharks one last time. The Minnesota Wild netminder made 36 saves to beat the Sharks 3-1, sending the Sharks to their 32nd loss in 45 games this season. San Jose made a game of it, trailing by a lone goal for most of the 3rd period until Minnesota scored what was unofficially an empty-net goal.

The last time the Sharks played the Utah Hockey Club, San Jose blew a 3rd period lead, had their star rookie cross checked within inches of spending more time on the injured reserve and had their head coach cough up $25,000 after expressing himself to the officials with ultra-colorful language. The Sharks did little to avenge any of that on Friday night, as they would surrender a go-ahead goal with 1:32 left in regulation, then allowed their hosts to bully Celebrini in the waning seconds of the game.

The Sharks continue to enjoy 2025. Two games into the year, the Sharks are playing their best hockey of the season. After beating Tampa Bay on Thursday to snap an 8-game losing streak, they knocked off the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on a late Cody Ceci goal on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center. The Sharks still have some work to do to crawl out of the Western Conference basement, but the last two games are hopefully a preview of more to come from the young Sharks.

It wasn't the cavalry riding to save the day, but the Sharks received some help in the form of Marc-Edouard Vlasic's return to the lineup after missing the first 40 games of the season. After a rough start to his 2023-24 season, Vlasic returned to the lineup on a more regular basis in January of last year only to sustain an injury that made him miss the first-half the current campaign. Vlasic provided an upgraded on the defensive side of the puck, which helped San Jose fend off the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 win at SAP Center on Thursday night.

The clock struck midnight on 2024 for the Sharks a few hours earlier on Tuesday night. Hosting a rare New Year's Eve game at SAP Center, the Sharks ended the calendar year with another loss, extending their streak to 8 games by losing to the Philadelphia Flyers by a resounding 4-0 score. The Flyers scored in each period and clamped down on San Jose's offense to help them win their second straight game.

The Sharks finally figured out how not to blow a 3rd period lead. Unfortunately their solution included never holding a 3rd period lead to blow. Skating just 24 hours after losing 6-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks dropped a 3-1 decision to the Calgary Flames. While San Jose had to play on tired legs, the Flames hit the ice for the first time in 7 days and were able to use those fresh legs to their advantage.

Tomas Hertl and his fun must be always flair made his return to SAP Center for the first time since being traded by the Sharks to the Vegas Golden Knights. Hertl spent parts of 11 seasons in San Jose, arriving a bright-eyed kid from the Czech Republic in 2013. Hertl played in 37 games his first season, scoring 15 goals in his inaugural season. On Friday night, he returned as a veteran and father, but still carrying his infectious positivity. The Sharks found a way to rain on the vibe.

The Sharks rolled the dice on Tuesday night and lost. In what was a tightly contest game between them and the host Vancouver Canucks, the Sharks challenged a Canucks goal with 3 minutes remaining in the 2nd period that should have been overturned. The hard luck Sharks didn't get the benefit of the doubt on the call and what was a 2-1 game ballooned into a 4-1 contest after the Canucks then scored on a power play they were awarded for the Sharks unsuccessful challenge.

The Sharks got a glimpse of their future in net with Yaroslav Askarov making his 3rd start of the season in place of Vitek Vanecek who is nursing a head injury. Starting a quick 2-game road trip with a stop in Edmonton, Askarov made 41 saves, including 23 in the 2nd period, but San Jose would fall 3-2 in overtime. The hockey gods were unjust to Askarov who all world in the Saturday matinee.

The prodigal goaltending son, Mackenzie Blackwood, made his return to SAP Center on Thursday night as he and the Colorado Avalanche came calling. The Sharks played on rewind, blowing a 3rd period lead for all three games of their home stand, including another letdown against the Avalanche. Colorado scored 3 goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest to take a 4-2 decision over the host Sharks.

Good teams find ways to win and bad teams find ways to lose. Holding a 3rd period lead against arguably the best team in the NHL in the Winnipeg Jets, the Sharks couldn't hold the fort, as their guests scored a pair of 3rd period to fall 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Sharks played one of their more complete games of the season, but the Jets and their record that tops the NHL found a way to win.

It may be safe to say that Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky is not a big fan of referees Chris Rooney and Riley Brace. Returning home for the first time in more than 2 weeks the Sharks were looking to leverage a little home cooking. Rooney and Brace extended more hospitality to the visiting Utah Hockey Club in a game that could be best described as lopsided in the officiating department. Utah took full advantage, scoring a pair of power play goals, including the game winner with 44 seconds left after defenseman Cody Ceci was called for high sticking. The Sharks would fall 4-3 after grabbing a 3rd period lead.

Playing the last game of a 6-game road trip, it would have been easy for the Sharks to pack it in. Entering play on Thursday night, the Sharks opponent, the St Louis Blues, have gone 5-1-1 since inserting former Shark Jim Montgomery as head coach. All the cards were stacked against them but the Sharks found a way to grind out a tough 4-3 win over the Blues at Enterprise Center. Macklin Celebrini had 2 goals and an assist in the victory to help San Jose secure 6 of 12 standings points on the trip.

After getting their tails kicked in during a Florida swing over the weekend, the Sharks headed north to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Following the trade of goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Givani Smith on Monday it would have been easy for the Sharks to feel sorry for themselves, but head coach Ryan Warsofsky emphasized that trades are part of the business and the campaign marches on. With a focus on defense, the Sharks turned in a better effort against a Hurricanes team that has struggled their last 5 games, but the result was still the same. Carolina overcame a 3rd period deficit to beat San Jose 3-2 at Lenovo Center.

The Sharks have seen enough of the state of Florida. After spending the last 4 days in the sunshine state, they are more than happy to not spend any more time in the land of citrus and theme parks. Their 2-game strip to the state resulted in a pair of lopsided loses that negated some of the positive vibes the team had built over the pervious two weeks. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers gave the Sharks a crash course in championship caliber hockey by beating the Sharks 3-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.

One year ago, the Sharks traveled to Tampa Bay to play the Lightning and limped out of Amelie Arena after losing 6-0. A year later, many of the names on Shark jerseys are different, but the California boys endured a worse outcome on Thursday night as the Lightning blitzed them in a 8-1 pasting. Tampa Bay jumped on the Sharks for 5 goals in the 1st period, then added 3 more for good measure to snap the Sharks 3-game winning streak.

The Sharks made their way east to take on the Eastern Conference's best team in the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Tuesday night. San Jose played one of their more consistent games of the season, going toe-to-toe with the Capitals throughout the night. San Jose capitalized on a power play chance in overtime to stun Washington 2-1.

The Sharks picked up right where they left off on Saturday night. After beating the Seattle Kraken 8-5 on Friday afternoon, San Jose jumped on the Kraken for a 4-2 victory at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Four different Sharks scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 36 saves to earn his 5th win of the season. The Sharks jumped out to a 4-0 lead then held on for their 3rd victory in the last 4 games.

Fans of 1980's NHL play got a glimpse of what that form of hockey was like at SAP Center on Friday afternoon. The Sharks and visiting Seattle Kraken combined for 13 goals in a game devoid of much defense. The Sharks cashed in with 8 goals in the game beat the Kraken by 3 in a wild matinee affair. 7 Sharks recorded 2 points in the game including defenseman Jake Walman who added 2 goals.

Sometimes the stats line doesn't tell the whole story. On a night when the Sharks out-shoot their opponent 38 to 11, it's unrealistic to this they won by a big margin. that wasn't the case on Thanksgiving-eve as they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Otawa Senators at SAP Center. The Sharks haven't been great at keeping the opposing shot totals low, but they held Ottawa to single digit shot counts in each period. Those limited shots all seemed to be meaningful though as the Sharks couldn't build off their big win on Monday night over Los Angeles.

It's no secret that wins have been hard to come by for the Sharks this season. So it was a breath of fresh air to see them pound an opponent for once. Make that opponent the Los Angeles Kings and it was like Christmas in November. San Jose erupted for 5 goals in the 3rd period to beat the Kings 7-2 at SAP Center on Monday. It was the second win in three tries over the Kings for the Sharks, but it was an opportunity to win a game by a healthy margin for the first time this season. The Sharks were led by the youngsters, including Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Yaroslav Askarov.

With the celebratory mood of Joe Thornton's number retirement ceremony still fresh in the SAP Center air, the Sharks let a sellout crowd down on Saturday night with a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Facing a Sabres team that played an overtime game less than 24 hours earlier, the Sharks blew a 2-1 3rd period lead, allowing the fatigued Sabres to score three 3rd period goals. It was another reminder that this version of the Sharks is miles away from the Thornton heyday rosters.

You could describe Joe Thornton many ways. Listening to all the things former teammates had to say on Saturday left no doubt that there are few people like him. The Sharks organization and the community got a chance to celebrate the legend on Saturday afternoon, as Thornton's #19 was raised to the SAP Center rafters in a ceremony that will be remembered for a long time. In typical Thornton style, he made the day about his family and teammates.

Joe Thornton. First off, Joe is cool. Very cool. Not only was he good at what he did, he was at ease and made other people feel good and at ease, too. That is very hard in any line of endeavor. Where to begin? For me it was November 2005. I'm in the Boston area for work and the Bruins are playing the Penguins that night. The NHL owners locked out the players and cancelled the 2004-05 season so there was not much to talk about for months other than the Pens' first-overall draft pick Sidney Crosby.

This Saturday, the Sharks will retire the number 19, which of course was Joe Thornton's number. While I usually don't think much of number retirements, this one is on the mark. Thornton has been the greatest Shark ever. I remember hearing the shocking news, on November 30, 2005, that he'd been sent to the Sharks, for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau. It seemed as if the Boston Bruins' GM at the time just wanted to send Thornton some place far away, where Thornton couldn't come back to haunt them. Thornton immediately starred for the Sharks, racking up 92 points in just Sharks 58 games that season.

The Yaroslav Askarov era has started in San Jose. The much heralded goaltending prospect made his Sharks debut as San Jose wrapped up a quick 2-game road trip in St Louis on Thursday night. Askarov made 29 saves but the game was book-ended with a pair of pucks crossing the Sharks goal line, one in regulation and one in the shootout. San Jose would fall 3-2 in the shootout. Alexander Wennberg scored a pair of goals, including one with 8.8 seconds left in regulation to get the game to the shootout.

The Sharks kicked off a quick 2-game road trip on Wednesday night, but an absentee gap in the game would cost them as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the host Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. San Jose surrendered a pair of goals in the middle peroid, which backed them into a corner that they couldn't fight their way out of. The Sharks dropped their 11th game in regulation and 15th overall in 21 games this season.

The Sharks have had issues scoring this season but they may have provided a glimpse of the future on Monday night as the Sharks held on for a 5-4 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings at SAP Center. William Eklund scored a pair of goals and Macklin Celebrini potted the game winner 46 seconds into the overtime period on a highlight reel play.

The Sharks wrapped up their 4-game road trip with a frustrating 4-3 loss in the shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins. San Jose got off to a slow start, allowing the Penguins to grab a 3-0 lead. San Jose fought back to first get the game to overtime and then to the shootout before dropping the game in the 5th round of the skills competition.

As the Sharks continue to develop their identity along with their gaggle of young players, the steps forward will be offset by steps backward. Thursday night was a step backwards for a San Jose lineup that played a decent opening period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, but they followed that up with an awful 2nd period that would cost them a 3-2 defeat to the defending Easter Conference Champions.

The Sharks had little time to relish their big win over New Jersey on Sunday night as a date with the Philadelphia Flyers was on Monday's schedule as the Sharks continue with their 4-game road trip. San Jose was late out of the gate, allowing the Flyers to establish a 3-0 lead. They found their legs and battled back to get the game to overtime, but they missed on a golden opportunity to win in the extra period when the Flyers took a penalty at the end of regulation. The Sharks didn't score and Philadelphia won it in the shootout 4-3.

The New Jersey Devils entered Sunday's game with the Sharks having scored 20 goals in their last 4 games. The Devils were however playing on less than 24 hours rest, while the Sharks hadn't played since last Thursday. The Sharks made a single goal stand up in a 1-0 win after goaltender shutout his former team with a 44 save performance.

There are those nights when you just don't have what it takes. That was Thursday night for the Sharks, who dropped a 4-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild. San Jose faced a lineup that has been built over time, led by superstar Kirill Kaprizov who recorded 3 assists on the night. The Sharks were overmatched from the opening faceoff, learning there is still loads of development on the to do list.

The Sharks got a shot in the arm with the return of Macklin Celebrini on Tuesday night as San Jose hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at SAP Center. The spotlight has been in the rookie forward but on this night goaltender Vitek Vanecek was the man of the hour. Vanecek made a career high 50 saves to help the Sharks take a tight 2-1 overtime win.

When Mike Grier and Ryan Warsofsky drew up the kind of wins they expected their team to win, Thursday night may have been a blueprint for that plan. Playing in a rare home game on Halloween, the Sharks had one of the young prospects show his teeth by scoring the first goal of the game and then bag the game winner, while their defense held off a tenacious opponent in a gritty 3rd period to take a tight 3-2 win.

The Sharks made a trade on Wednesday, sending defenseman Matt Benning to the Toronto Maple Leafs, along with a conditional 2025 3rd round draft pick and a 2026 6th round pick in exchange for defenseman Timothy Liljegren. The Sharks get a younger blueliner who was a former 1st round pick (17th overall) of the Maple Leafs in 2017.

On paper, Tuesday nights Sharks match up with the Los Angeles Kings favored the guests from Southern California. San Jose hasn't been exactly lighting it up and their first win of the year less than 24 hours earlier on the road setup a tall order for the Sharks. The Kings hadn't played since Saturday and sit in the 5th spot in the Western Conference. So go figure when the Sharks outplayed the Kings in the 3rd period and sweated out a 4-2 victory to extend their win streak to two games.

When the Sharks became the first team in NHL history to open a season winless through their first 9 games in consecutive seasons, it was easy to throw in the towel. When they went down 4-1 to the Utah Hockey Club on Monday night it was almost a given that the streak would reach 10 games. San Jose surprised everyone in Salt Lake City with an improbable comeback that included 3 goals in a span of 110 seconds late in the contest, followed by a game-winning goal in overtime to take a 5-4 decision.

The Sharks painful start to the season continued down the path of misery on Thursday night. Their Southern California sojourn ended with their 8th loss of the season and second to start their 4-game road trip. The Los Angeles blitzed the Sharks in the opening period by scoring 3 goals in the frame, then held on for a 3-2 victory after a late push by San Jose. The Sharks continue to struggle as they try and lose the distinction of being the only team in the NHL without a win this season.

Over the past two October's, the Sharks are a combined 0-13-3 after they dropped a frustrating 3-1 decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. San Jose lost all 9 games in the opening month of play last year, and have started their current campaign with a 7th consecutive defeat. That bad news is magnified by the fact that the latest loss came to a team that isn't expected to make any noise in the Pacific Division this season.

It took last season's Sharks team 12 games to win their first game of the season. This year's roster may be on their may to matching that underachievement. The Sharks hit the halfway point of that mark by dropping a 4-1 decision to the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center on Sunday night. The Sharks misfired on a handful of power play chances which took the pressure off a Colorado team that has been slow out of the gate themselves.

The Sharks wrapped up their 3-game road trip on Friday night with a game less than 24 hours after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks. While it may be hard to understand how players can have tired legs 5 games into the new season, but the Sharks played like they had tired legs tied together. The host Winnipeg Jets scored 4 times on the power play and pummeled the Sharks 8-3 at Canada Life Centre in the most lopsided contest of the season.

The Sharks did not win their first game last season until their 6th contest of the campaign. They dropped their 4th straight to open the current season with a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night following a lifeless start that would doom them early. San Jose gave up the first 3 goals of the season and sputtered the rest of the night in catch up mode.

The Sharks hit the road for the first time this season, starting with a stop in Dallas on Tuesday night. Having won their fist three games to start the season, Dallas looked to extend their winning ways against a team still learning how to compete in the NHL. San Jose played a controlled game, extending a 2-2 tie to overtime and eventually a shootout before dropping the game in the skills competition.

After a wild opening night loss the Sharks tightened things up defensively on Saturday night as the Anaheim Ducks came calling. That focus allowed them to limit the opposition's scoring, but that defensive focus also translated to a lack of offensive chances that they could capitalize on. In the end, Anaheim was able to solve the Sharks defensive posturing and hold on for a 2-0 win in their season debut.

The Sharks could not hold onto a three-goal lead Thursday night and ended up losing in OT to the Saint Lous Blues in the season opener. Still, a great time was had by the fans in the stands, for the most part. At least that’s how I saw it, despite the Shars wilting late in the game.

The Macklin Celebrin and Will Smith era is underway in San Jose. After the Sharks selected the pair with their first draft picks in each of the last two NHL Draft events, San Jose fans finally got a chance to see the offensive pairing on NHL ice in a game that counted. Celebrini did not disappoint, but the rest of the Sharks wasted a big 2-point night by the rookie. San Jose failed to protect a 3-goal lead, allowing the St Louis Blues to convert three scoring chances in the 3rd period before Brayden Schenn scored in overtime to stun the SAP Center crowd 5-4 on opening night.

With the start of the 2024-25 NHL Season, the staff writers at LetsGoSharks.com submit their predictions for each division race, playoff qualifiers, conference finalists, conference champions and Stanley Cup Champion. Some surprises, some not so much. Whatever the case, this how we think the season will play out. Check back in June to see how we did.

Sharks General Manager Mike Grier has had a tall task the past two seasons, trying to revive his team from the depths of the NHL's standings basement. It's been tough sailing on the west coast the past four seasons and a botched reset three seasons ago finally forced Grier's hand into diving into a full scale rebuild. The moves Grier has made the last 24 months have been hit or miss, but the move to chasing the rebuild with a youth movement got a big injection of adrenaline when the Sharks acquired goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov on Friday.

The worst kept secret in hockey was exposed on Friday night when the SanJose Sharks selected top prospect Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick in the NHL Draft. Celebrini has been the consensus number one pick for months and the Sharks used their selection to bring home their former Junior Shark by taking him at the Sphere Las Vegas.