Copyright The Mercury News
San Jose Sharks forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith were sitting down outdoors in New York City this week when they were approached by a woman holding a camera phone. The individual, whose TikTok handle is @judijupiter, asked Smith and Celebrini one question after another, including a peculiar request to stand up and spin around. Celebrini and Smith mostly smiled, answered the questions, and politely complied with the request in a video that had close to 400,000 views as of early Wednesday. Unfortunately for the Sharks’ organization over the last few days, that’s been one of the few sources of amusement. Over the weekend, on a night in which they celebrated their community’s Hispanic heritage, the team had to apologize for an ‘offensively worded message’ supportive of ICE that was displayed on their SAP Center scoreboard. After the game, a 3-0 Sharks loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, coach Ryan Warsofsky said he’d give up one of his two young children for a win, another viral remark for which he later apologized. On the ice, things haven’t been much better, and it’s starting to take a mental toll. The Sharks talked during training camp about how much more optimistic they felt about this year after the front office upgraded talent at seemingly every position over the summer. But as they prepare to face the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, the Sharks are in the same position they were a year ago, with a 0-4-2 record and in 31st place out of 32 teams in the NHL standings. Three of the Sharks’ losses have been by one goal. And after their 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday, a game in which they felt they should have won, Celebrini smashed his stick before he left the ice, while other players spoke about how frustrating this season has become. The vibes are not so great right now. “I’ve learned that it’s a mental battle, honestly,” said second-year Sharks winger Collin Graf, who had a goal and an assist Tuesday. “I think a lot of the time, you think it’s physical. You play a lot of games, and you get hit, you hit, and stuff like that. But I feel like for me, it’s just mentally making sure that I’m … it’s frustrating. It sucks to lose, and you’ve got to go home and sort of forget about it, basically. “So, I’ve just sort of learned that the mental part of the game is hard as well.” Graf isn’t alone. Every Sharks player, including those who were with the team recently when it fell to the bottom of the NHL standings, knows how tough the constant losing can be. “They’re looking for their first win. I’ve been in that situation before. It’s not fun,” Islanders forward Anthony Duclair, who played 56 games for the 2023-24 Sharks team that won 19 games, said before Tuesday’s game. “I know on the other side, they’ve got a lot of pride. I’ve been in that locker room.” This is a new experience for the Sharks’ rookies, too. Both defenseman Sam Dickinson and center Michael Misa played in the Ontario Hockey League, won a Memorial Cup, and never had a losing record, with Dickinson’s London Knights winning 105 games and losing just 31 over the last two regular seasons. “Everybody who’s ever played hockey wants to win every single game, and everybody in here is the same,” Dickinson said Saturday after the Sharks lost 3-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. “A lot of guys came from winning cultures and successful places before, Stanley Cup winners. A lot of guys had a lot more success at a higher level than I have. “I think it’s just having everybody understand what it takes to win, and just build off those things. I’ve been lucky enough to play on a winning team the last couple of years, but at this point, it’s turning this into a winning team.” The Sharks have shown glimpses of progress, and Tuesday’s game might have been their best of the season from an analytics standpoint. The Sharks, per Natural Stat Trick, out-chanced the Islanders 29-15 at even strength, with the high-danger chances being listed at 18-7 in San Jose’s favor. Every Sharks line made a positive impact. Still, the Sharks are allowing a league-worst 4.83 goals per game. The 18 goals they’ve allowed during 5-on-5 play are the second-worst to the 19 allowed by the Boston Bruins, who have played two more games. They also allowed two more power-play goals on Tuesday, undoing the success they had in 5-on-5 play. San Jose is also 28th in the NHL on the penalty kill at 68.4% (13-for-19) and, per Natural Stat Trick, 31st in Corsi-for percentage (43.25) — or shot share — during 5-on-5 play. “It’s frustrating,” Misa said of the defensive mistakes that led to Tuesday’s loss, “I think we played well overall. We tried to fight back there at the end, but we’re just going to keep pushing.” The Sharks feel they have some positive things to build on as they look for their first win on Thursday against a Rangers team that is 0-4-0 at home. But after a brutal week, on the ice and off, nothing’s guaranteed. “It’s a results-oriented business. It’s just the way it is,” Graf said. “Obviously, there’s going to be better days ahead, but I think that we’re all frustrated, we’re all not happy, and it’s just about sticking together and just finding a way to get one.”
