The San Jose Sharks and Utah Hockey Club will meet in Salt Lake City on Monday night, looking to end their respective losing streaks.
Utah returns home for a short two-game homestand, looking to avoid a four-game losing streak.
On Saturday afternoon, the Utah Hockey Club lost 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 a good spurt,” said Utah center Nick Vigstad, who returned to action after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. “This is a one-goal game. We had to find a way to win it, especially the last few games. Good teams find a way to win in those particular situations.”
Keller leads Utah with five goals and nine points through nine games, while Dylan Gunther has five goals and two assists this season.
Goaltender Connor Ingram has started seven games this season and is 4-2-1 with a 3.71 points per game and .862 save percentage. Ingram has played in two career games against the Sharks and is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .958 save percentage.
“It’s not ideal. It’s not ideal to go here three times in a row, but you can’t press the panic button,” Bjugstad said. “We’ve got the tools, we’ve got the people there, and at the end of the day, we’re going to have some kind of killer instinct.”
The Arizona Coyotes swept all three meetings between the two teams last season, defeating the Sharks 11-4 and moved their home base to Utah in the offseason.
The Sharks now travel to Utah, looking for their first win of the season. San Jose remains the only winless club in the NHL, going six straight years without a win.
San Jose lost 7-3 to the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Saturday and ends a four-game road trip in Salt Lake City on Monday.
“We had to find a way to weather the storm with a building full of energy,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. “We’re chasing too many games right now. There’s a lot of other reasons why 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 is ever happy. There’s a lot of emotion in that locker room,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Frustration, anger. It’s tough.”
Granlund has led the team with 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) through nine games this season. Center Tyler Toffoli has four goals and seven points this season.
Goaltender Vitek Vanecek has started four games this season and is 0-4-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .869 save percentage. Vanecek has played in two career games against the Arizona Coyotes and is 2-0-0 with a .917 save percentage and 1.99 GAA.
Monday is the first of three meetings between the Sharks and Utah Hockey Club this season. The teams will meet in San Jose on Dec. 14 and conclude the season series in Salt Lake City on Jan. 10.
–Field level media
