PITTSBURGH — Rarely have the Sharks arrived at the halfway point of the season in the last 20 years such a noxious state.
The Sharks are last in the Western Conference, 27th in the NHL goals scored per game and 29th in goals allowed per game. Their power play, so often a source of organizational pride, is 2-for-49 over their last 20 games and entered 2020 third-last in the league at 14.3 percent (their penalty kill is the NHL’s best at 87.9 percent).
A coaching change has done little to provide a spark, as the Sharks fell to 2-5-1 under interim coach Bob Boughner with Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the worst team in the league record-wise by a wide margin.