The San Jose Sharks didn’t wait around after Wednesday night’s mess in Los Angeles. Following a 7-2 loss to the Kings, the team gathered for a players-only meeting as the skid stretched to three straight and the frustration boiled over.
San Jose is now 7-9-1, a record that sits awkwardly against the bigger goal of ending a seven-year postseason drought. The Sharks have dropped four of their last five, with Wednesday’s blowout coming on the heels of a 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators and a 2-1 defeat to the Calgary Flames.
“It’s unacceptable. It’s not good enough.
To a man, to a team. It’s not on the coaches right now,” Sharks forward Kiefer Sherwood said, per NHL.com.
“We’re not winning our battles, we’re not being hard to play against, we’re not making plays, we’re just -- it’s not good enough. We have to turn it here.
We have to stick together here.”
Captain Macklin Celebrini sounded just as blunt after the loss, saying the group has to stop letting the struggles spill over.
“It’s got to change,” Celebrini added. “We can’t let it seep into our game, but I mean, we got to be frustrated and not happy with the way we’re playing.
“We know what we have in this room, and we believe in each other. We’re a team, first and foremost.”
Celebrini said the details of the meeting would stay in the room. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky, meanwhile, welcomed the fact that the players took the lead on trying to fix things.
“That’s up to them. It shows that we’ve got some leadership in here, and we’re all frustrated,” Warsofsky said.
The night got away from the Sharks almost immediately. Adrian Kempe scored less than 90 seconds into the game, then struck again later in the first period. Quinton Byfield added a power-play goal, and Los Angeles was in control with a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Celebrini got San Jose on the board early in the second period with his sixth goal of the season, trimming the gap to two. But the Kings answered with two more goals in the frame, including Kempe’s third of the night to complete the hat trick.
Los Angeles entered the game having dug out of an 0-4-2 start and is now 5-7-2 after the win.
The bad blood showed late, too. Sherwood took issue with the Kings’ approach after they had built a comfortable lead.
“We have to look ourselves in the mirror and do something about it,” Sherwood said. “(The Kings were) up 6-2, put their top power play out.
(Artemi) Panarin’s blocking shots, celebrating to his bench. It’s disrespectful.
Until we do something about it, things aren’t going to change unless we man up and do something about it.”
The Sharks finish their current three-game road trip with visits to the Minnesota Wild on Friday and the Dallas Stars on Saturday. They’ll see the Kings again on Dec. 9, when the teams open a home-and-home with two games in two nights.
In Other News...
Flames Suddenly Have Two Injury Situations Fans Need To Watch
Alex Turcottes status has taken a small step in the right direction for the Kings, with coach Peter Laviolette saying the center is now day-to-day after missing the last month because of an undisclosed injury. It is a welcome development for a Los Angeles group that has had to manage its depth carefully, especially with Kevin Fiala still not close to a return after the broken femur he suffered at the Olympics.
Fialas situation remains the bigger concern for the Kings, since his recovery continues to sit on a much slower track and leaves the club waiting on one of its most dynamic forwards. For now, the best news is simply that Turcotte is moving toward availability again, while the rest of the injury picture still asks for patience. [Read more 🡒]
Reign Face A Brutal Test As Losing Streak Keeps Getting Worse
The Ontario Reign head into a back-to-back with Abbotsford carrying a five-game losing streak, their longest in nearly two years, and the timing hardly helps. A skid like this has a way of exposing every soft spot, and for Ontario the frustration has been compounded by a familiar problem: the Reign have managed to score first in recent games, only to watch those advantages slip away.
With the weekend set to feature different looks in net, the Reign are also trying to steady things in goal as they search for a reset. There is still some uncertainty around Kenta Isogai after a recent injury, which adds another layer of concern for a team already trying to stop the slide before it gets any deeper. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Suddenly Have A Forward Logjam Peter Laviolette Must Sort Out
The Kings had a full practice session Monday in preparation for Pittsburgh, and the forward group suddenly looked crowded in a way that should make Peter Laviolette think hard about his next lineup decision. Sixteen forwards took part, along with seven defensemen and two goaltenders, while Alex Turcotte and Kevin Fiala both skated without restrictions even though they remain on injured reserve and are being monitored day to day.
Laviolette also had reason to like what he saw from the line of Erik Haula, Kenny Connors and Joel Armia, which drew praise after its strong showing against San Jose. With bodies coming back into the mix and a few forwards making a case to stay in the lineup, the Kings are at the point where good health could create as many questions as answers. [Read more 🡒]