Sharks set NHL record with historic losing streak to begin season

Sharks set NHL record with historic losing streak to begin season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Sharks wen’t into the NHL record books Saturday night — but not the way you’d hope to be.

San Jose’s 7-3 loss to the Las Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Center made the Sharks the first team in NHL history to lose nine consecutive games to begin consecutive seasons.

After a promising opening night that saw San Jose nearly usher in a new era on a high-note, it has been all downhill for the Sharks as they dropped their ninth consecutive game, with their most recent defeat coming at the hands of one of the franchise’s biggest rivals.

This comes one season after San Jose began the 2023-24 NHL season with 11 consecutive losses, tying the league record for most defeats to begin a campaign.

It has been a particularly rough start for first-year coach Ryan Warsofsky, who is two losses shy of tying the NHL record for consecutive defeats to begin a coaching career.

Injuries certainly have played their part, as No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini hasn’t played a game since his stellar NHL debut while nursing a lower-body ailment.

While the team success hasn’t arrived yet this season, Mikael Granlund continued his strong road trip with another goal in Saturday’s loss.

It always was going to be a bumpy ride for the Sharks as they integrated a nucleus of young talent with a handful of newly acquired veterans, but it would have been hard to predict a historically poor start like this. Particularly after San Jose led 4-1 in the third period of its opening-night loss to the St. Louis Blues.

The Sharks will seek their first win of the season in their inaugural regular-season matchup with the Utah Hockey Club at 6 p.m. PT on Monday night.

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