{"id":17777,"date":"2025-10-22T13:21:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/17777\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:21:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:21:21","slug":"san-jose-sharks-trying-to-stay-positive-face-new-york-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/17777\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks, trying to stay positive, face New York Rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Jose Sharks forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith<\/a> were sitting down outdoors in New York City this week when they were approached by a woman<\/a> holding a camera phone. The individual, whose TikTok handle is @judijupiter,<\/a> asked Smith and Celebrini one question after another, including a peculiar request to stand up and spin around.<\/p>\n

Celebrini and Smith mostly smiled, answered the questions, and politely complied with the request in a video that had close to 400,000 views<\/a> as of early Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the Sharks\u2019 organization over the last few days, that\u2019s been one of the few sources of amusement.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, on a night in which they celebrated their community\u2019s Hispanic heritage, the team had to apologize for an \u2018offensively worded message\u2019<\/a> supportive of ICE that was displayed on their SAP Center scoreboard. After the game, a 3-0 Sharks loss<\/a> to the Pittsburgh Penguins, coach Ryan Warsofsky said he\u2019d give up<\/a> one of his two young children for a win, another viral remark for which he later apologized.<\/p>\n

On the ice, things haven\u2019t been much better,<\/a> and it\u2019s starting to take a mental toll.<\/p>\n

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,<\/a> with a 0-4-2 record and in 31st place out of 32 teams in the NHL standings.<\/p>\n

Three of the Sharks\u2019 losses have been by one goal. And after their 4-3 loss<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

The vibes are not so great right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s a mental battle, honestly,\u201d said second-year Sharks winger Collin Graf, who had a goal and an assist Tuesday. \u201cI think a lot of the time, you think it\u2019s physical. You play a lot of games, and you get hit, you hit, and stuff like that. But I feel like for me, it\u2019s just mentally making sure that I\u2019m \u2026 it\u2019s frustrating. It sucks to lose, and you\u2019ve got to go home and sort of forget about it, basically.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I\u2019ve just sort of learned that the mental part of the game is hard as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graf isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re looking for their first win. I\u2019ve been in that situation before. It\u2019s not fun,\u201d Islanders forward Anthony Duclair, who played 56 games for the 2023-24 Sharks team that won 19 games,<\/a> said before Tuesday\u2019s game. \u201cI know on the other side, they\u2019ve got a lot of pride. I\u2019ve been in that locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a new experience for the Sharks\u2019 rookies, too.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s London Knights winning 105 games and losing just 31 over the last two regular seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody who\u2019s ever played hockey wants to win every single game, and everybody in here is the same,\u201d Dickinson said Saturday after the Sharks lost 3-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. \u201cA 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just having everybody understand what it takes to win, and just build off those things. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to play on a winning team the last couple of years, but at this point, it\u2019s turning this into a winning team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks have shown glimpses of progress, and Tuesday\u2019s 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\u2019s favor. Every Sharks line made a positive impact.<\/p>\n

Still, the Sharks are allowing a league-worst 4.83 goals per game. The 18 goals they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

San Jose is also 28th in the NHL on the penalty kill at 68.4% (13-for-19) and, per Natural Stat Trick,<\/a> 31st in Corsi-for percentage (43.25) \u2014 or shot share \u2014 during 5-on-5 play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating,\u201d Misa said of the defensive mistakes that led to Tuesday\u2019s loss, \u201cI think we played well overall. We tried to fight back there at the end, but we\u2019re just going to keep pushing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a results-oriented business. It\u2019s just the way it is,\u201d Graf said. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s going to be better days ahead, but I think that we\u2019re all frustrated, we\u2019re all not happy, and it\u2019s just about sticking together and just finding a way to get one.\u201d<\/p>\n

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