Disappointment has settled in on the San Jose Sharks after starting the 2023-24 season in an abysmal fashion. Photo by Kim Klement Neitzel
The NHL season has been in full force for almost an entire month now, and the Sharks still have not notched a win.
San Jose lost their 11th straight game to start the season on Saturday, tying an NHL record. Even worse, they lost their last two contests by double-digit figures. Last Thursday, they lost 10-1 to the Vancouver Canucks, and then lost 10-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. They have given up 20 goals in two games.
“I liked our first period, and then all of a sudden we became a different team,” Sharks head coach David Quinn said. “That’s what happened in the game. They kept playing the same way. We give up the third goal, and we’re a fragile group.”
A New Record?
The Sharks currently sit at 0-10-1, with zero wins, ten losses, and one overtime loss. This adds up to an 0-11 skid which currently ties an NHL record, which the Arizona Coyotes own (twice, 2017 and 2021). If the Sharks lose tonight at home to the Philadelphia Flyers, that will break the record.
“We’re losing way too many battles,” Sharks left winger Anthony Duclair said. “It’s way too easy for the opposing team coming in here. And in front of our fans…I think our battle level is just nonexistent sometimes, and it’s costing us.”
MacKenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen, the two starting goalies for the Sharks, do not possess a save percentage over .880. It was worse in the Penguins game, where it was 2-0 after the first period and 7-2 Pens by the end of the second. That’s when Blackwood was pulled from the game and replaced with Magnus Chrona, who was making his NHL debut. He was sent down to the minors shortly after the game, however.
As mentioned, the Sharks will take on the Flyers tonight and try to notch their first win of the 2023-24 season.
