Despite two tough losses to start the season, the San Jose Sharks — at least for the moment — appear to have improved from 2023-24. Their new players are improving the team’s offense and the defense. While still a weak point, this can provide stronger stretches than last season. At a minimum, the Sharks seem as though they’ll be able to remain respectable with most teams in the NHL. However, a lot can change very suddenly. San Jose missed opportunities in each of their first two games, and they don’t want the start of this season to resemble last season when they lost their first 11 games. They need to focus on getting a win within their next few games, or else they risk the possibility of a copy of last season.
Sharks’ Losses Have Similarities to Last Season’s
Just like last season, the Sharks have one point through two games. Also just like last season, that one point should probably be two. In 2024-25, they opened their season by blowing a three-goal lead in the third period to lose in overtime to the St. Louis Blues. In 2023-24, they wasted a 51-save performance from Mackenzie Blackwood in the second game of the season to take a shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Losing such a winnable game last season set a bad tone for the rest of the campaign. The Sharks were unable to shake off the pressure of needing a win, and it sent them into a freefall. When they could have grabbed a victory just two games into the season and played more relaxed, they instead tightened up while pushing for a win, which partially prevented them from winning until game 12.
Saturday’s (Oct. 12) frustrating loss to the Anaheim Ducks, which resembled multiple games from last season’s losing streak, shows that wins won’t be easy to come by this season either. They hope their season-opening streak doesn’t get to the point it did last season, but the entire team will need to put forth a concerted effort to keep the losses from piling up.
Sharks’ Losses Can Spiral Quickly
While the 2023-24 Sharks season will be best remembered for that 11-game season-opening losing streak, it’s worth noting that they didn’t go truly off the rails until the seventh game, a 6-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That game signified that the losing streak had snowballed into something the Sharks couldn’t fully control anymore, and the downward tumble only went further until they lost consecutive games to the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins by a combined score of 20-3.
Related: Takeaways From Sharks’ 5-4 Loss to the Blues
If the Sharks aren’t careful this season, something very similar could happen. Close losses like the ones to the Blues and Ducks can happen again, and before long, they could be right back to losing blowouts, the result of a losing streak having crept up on them. Between the frustrating nature of their first two losses and the uncertainty surrounding Macklin Celebrini’s health, a win would release the pressure that will continue to build in San Jose with each passing day.
Sharks Can Relieve Significant Burden with Win
Although the Sharks were never going to be good last season, the losing streak prevented them from even reaching a place of respectability. It also created a negative feeling around the team, which the players did their best to handle professionally, but it undoubtedly weighed on them throughout the season.
The Sharks need to get a win not only to get this season off to a better start than their last but also for the sake of the individual players. Young skaters like Celebrini and Will Smith face enough difficulties simply adjusting to the NHL, and a long losing skid to begin their rookie seasons will only make that transition more difficult. Newly acquired players want their time in San Jose to begin on the most positive note possible, and players who were on last season’s team want to avoid a repeat of the streak.
When the Sharks finally did get a win last season, they immediately followed it up with another and went on to win three more that month, still a below-average team but finally able to play hockey on their own terms. Their first win this season will provide the same sort of relief and will allow them to get back to being the intriguing squad they were when the puck dropped on opening night.
