October 10, 2024; Elmont, New York, USA; Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) skates against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagen Images The San Jose Sharks and Utah Hockey Club will face off on Monday night in Salt Lake City looking to break their respective losing streaks.
Utah returned home to open a brief two-game homestand, trying to avoid a fourth consecutive loss.
On Saturday afternoon, the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Kings 3-2 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 bounces,” said Utah center Nick Bjugstad, who returned to the lineup after missing eight games due to an upper-body injury. “It’s a one-goal game, we have to find ways to win it, especially the last few games. Good teams find ways to win in some situations like this.”
Keller leads Utah with five goals and nine points in nine games, while Dylan Guenther has five goals and two assists this season.
Goaltender Connor Ingram is 4-2-1 with a 3.71 goals-against average and .862 save percentage in seven starts this season. In two career starts against the Sharks, Ingram is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .958 save percentage.
“Not ideal, having three in a row here, but can’t press the panic button,” Bjugstad said. “We’ve got the equipment, we’ve got the people there, and it’s just going to get to that killer instinct.”
The Arizona Coyotes won all three meetings between the two teams last season, defeating 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 only club in the NHL without a win and its sixth consecutive season without any points.
San Jose lost 7-3 to the Golden Knights in Vegas on Saturday and concludes a four-game road trip in Salt Lake City on Monday.
“We have to find a way to weather the storm in energetic buildings,” said Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro. “We’re chasing the game too much right now. There are other reasons why we’re not as good. It’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.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said, “I don’t think anybody is happy either way. There’s a lot of emotions in that locker room.” “Frustration, anger. It’s hard.”
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 with a 4.00 GAA and .869 save percentage in four starts this season. Vanecek is 2-0-0 with a .917 save percentage and 1.99 GAA in two career appearances against the Arizona Coyotes franchise.
Monday marks the first of three meetings between the Sharks and the Utah Hockey Club this season. The two teams will meet in San Jose on December 14 before concluding the season series on January 10 in Salt Lake City.
–Field Level Media