Improving Sharks show they’re still capable of a stinker

The San Jose Sharks’ recent success exemplified how far they’ve come this season.

The Sharks’ lopsided loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday showed how much they still need to improve.

Looking listless from the opening, the Sharks allowed five goals in the first period and never recovered in an unsightly 8-1 loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena.

“We just weren’t ready from the start,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Didn’t skate, didn’t compete, didn’t do anything well.”

The Sharks and goalie Vitek Vanecek allowed five goals on 12 shots in the first period, as the Lightning, in 86 seconds, turned a 1-0 lead into a 4-0 advantage by the 8:55 mark on a goal by Conor Geekie and two from Brandon Hagel.

“I thought our guys were excited for the challenge tonight,” Warsofsky said. “But we got … a reality check of when you don’t skate, when you don’t compete against really good hockey teams — or any team in the National Hockey League — this is what’s going to happen.”

Vanecek was pulled after the first period in favor of Mackenzie Blackwood. However, it still didn’t prevent the Sharks from enduring their most lopsided loss since a 9-2 thrashing at the hands of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on April 15 of last season.

“We can’t give up chances that we did,” Sharks forward Luke Kunin said. “We definitely left our goaltenders out to dry, so that’s on us. It’s not on them, and we’ve all got to be better, just as a forward group.”

The Sharks’ three-game winning streak was snapped, and they have not won four straight games since going 4-0-0 to begin the 2021-2022 season. San Jose entered Thursday 14th in the Western Conference in point percentage (.446) but was just three points out of a playoff spot.

Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the rested Lightning, which was without injured leading scorer Nikita Kucherov as it played for the first time since a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 30. Seven Lightning players had at least two points, with forward Brayden Point collecting three assists.

“We didn’t play to our identity tonight at all,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. “We kind of took our foot off the gas. A lot of little things that’s allowed us to have some success here. It just wasn’t our new brand of Sharks hockey tonight.”

Alexander Wennberg scored the only goal for the Sharks, who had won four of five games before Thursday, including a 2-1 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.

The Sharks are now 2-1-0 on this six-game road trip, which continues with games against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Saturday, the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday, and the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

Vanecek’s last start came last Friday when he stopped 26 shots in the Sharks’ 8-5 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Before Thursday, Vanecek had a 3-5-1 record and a .894 save percentage in 11 games this season.

Rookie center Macklin Celebrini was swarmed by the Lightning and held off the scoresheet for the first time since the Sharks’ 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 23.

Multiple NHL coaches have sung the praises of Celebrini in recent days, and the Lightning’s Jon Cooper was no different Thursday morning, saying he was looking forward to watching the teenage sensation play.

Before Thursday’s game, Celebrini had a five-game point streak with four goals and four assists. Since his return to San Jose’s lineup on Nov. 5 after he missed 12 games with a hip injury, Celebrini has 13 points in 15 games, with the Sharks owning a 7-5-3 record in that time.

“Celebrini has really added a dimension they haven’t had in some time, and I think the (12) games he missed probably hurt their team a little bit,” Cooper said. “But with him back, and for that young of age to be doing what he’s doing, really bodes well for that organization.

“It’s impressive to watch him.”

On Tuesday, Celebrini assisted on William Eklund’s game-winning power-play goal, driving into the Capitals zone with the puck and backing off defenders before he found Mikael Granlund with a behind-the-back pass. Granlund then slid the puck over to Eklund for a one-timer that got past Capitals goalie Logan Thompson.

Celebrini also drew the four-minute high-sticking penalty to Capitals forward Tom Wilson, giving the Sharks a crucial late power play.

“He’s a young player, and so he’s still learning this league, and there’s a skill to learning the league,” Cooper said of Celebrini. “Until you start playing all the teams, and you start getting a feel for the pace of the game and what you can and can’t do. But to me, he seems like somebody that’s got it way before most players in this league have been able to grasp that.”