The San Jose Sharks are one of the worst teams in the NHL right now. This was the case prior to their 8-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. That said, that loss certainly didn't help matters. However, head coach David Quinn could look at Nashville as a source of hope for a late-season surge.
Quinn acknowledged as much ahead of the Tuesday night clash. Quinn was speaking rather tongue-in-cheek, though. He invoked a now infamous canceled concert Predators players were meant to attend when speaking with reporters. “I’m trying to schedule a concert where I can cancel and hopefully we’d go on a 14-game run. I think the season is a little too late for that,” the Sharks head coach joked, via Predators reporter Robby Stanley.
Nashville forward Michael McCarron scored twice in the win over San Jose on Tuesday. Franchise mainstays Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg added a goal and two assists each. For the Sharks, they received a two-point performance from defenseman Mario Ferraro in the loss to the Predators.
The story behind the canceled Predators concert
The Nashville Predators were languishing well before meeting David Quinn and the Sharks. Nashville entered play on February 17th with a record of 27-25-2. They had lost eight of their last 11 games, and their playoff hopes were fading. General manager Barry Trotz and head coach Andrew Brunette demanded more from their team.
The Predators were supposed to attend a U2 concert in Las Vegas on February 18th. Nashville had a game against the Vegas Golden Knights that week and hoped to have fun on their off day. However, Trotz and Brunette canceled the team's trip to the concert. The team instead spent their off day back in Nashville.
It was a move that could have hurt team morale. Yet, it had the opposite effect. The Predators won their game before the planned concert gathering. And they went on to win their next seven games. Overall, Nashville has won 13 of their last 15 games, including Tuesday's win over the Sharks.
Sharks, David Quinn have had rough 2023-24 season
David Quinn and his Sharks have had the complete opposite sort of season. San Jose began the year in historically bad fashion. They began the season 0-10-1, with the final two games of that stretch being absolute blowouts. In fact, they allowed 10 goals in each game. They were outscored 20-3 by the Vancouver Cancuks and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
San Jose eventually picked up their first win on November 7th against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sharks went on a bit of a solid run before running into another brutal losing streak. From December 15 to January 16, the team lost every game with the exception of one.
Things have once again hit rock bottom for the Sharks. David Quinn and his team have lost 14 of their last 15 games, including the loss against the Predators on Tuesday. San Jose currently sits in last place in the entire league. In fact, they are the only team in the league with fewer than 40 points.
The Sharks are in the midst of a rebuild, to be fair. However, this has still been a rough season for San Jose and their fans. San Jose has 12 games left to play on their schedule. They take the ice once again on Thursday when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to the SAP Center at San Jose.
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