The San Jose Sharks and Utah Hockey Club meet on Monday night in Salt Lake City, looking to snap their respective losing streaks.
Utah returns home to open a brief two-game homestand, trying to avoid a fourth straight loss.
On Saturday afternoon, the Utah Hockey Club dropped a 3-2 decision to the Kings in Los Angeles. Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley scored for Utah, which has lost five of its last six games.
“I thought we had some good spurts,” said Utah center Nick Bjugstad, who returned to the lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. “It’s a one-goal game, we got to find ways to win that, especially the last couple games we had. The good teams find ways to win in certain situations like that.”
Keller leads Utah with five goals and nine points through nine games, while Dylan Guenther has five goals and two assists this season.
Goaltender Connor Ingram is 4-2-1 in seven starts this season with a 3.71 goals-against average and an .862 save percentage. In two career appearances against the Sharks, Ingram is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .958 save percentage.
“Not ideal, going three in a row here, but can’t hit the panic button,” Bjugstad said. “We got the tools, we got the guys in there, and it’s just going to come down to kind of having that killer instinct.”
The Arizona Coyotes swept all three meetings between the two teams last season, outscoring the Sharks 11-4, before relocating to Utah in the offseason.
The Sharks now travel to Utah, where they are still looking for their first win of the season. San Jose remains the lone club in the NHL without a win and has gone six straight without a point.
San Jose fell 7-3 in Vegas to the Golden Knights on Saturday and conclude a four-game road trip in Salt Lake City on Monday.
“We got to find a way to weather the storm in energetic buildings,” said Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro. “We’re chasing the game far too much right now. There are a lot more reasons that we’re not good enough. That’s definitely something that’s not helping our cause.”
Mikael Granlund, Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks in the loss to Vegas.
“I don’t think anyone’s happy by any means. There are a lot of emotions in that locker room,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky. “Frustration, anger. It’s tough.”
Granlund has a team-leading 10 points (four goals, six assists) through nine games this season. Center Tyler Toffoli has four goals and seven points this season.
Goaltender Vitek Vanecek is 0-4-0 in four starts this season with a 4.00 GAA and an .869 save percentage. Vanecek is 2-0-0 with a .917 save percentage and a 1.99 GAA in two career appearances against the Arizona Coyotes franchise.
Monday is the first of three meetings between the Sharks and Utah Hockey Club this season. The two teams meet Dec. 14 in San Jose before concluding the season series on Jan. 10 in Salt Lake City.
–Field Level Media