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On Thursday night, the Sharks and the Oilers will face off in San Jose for a meeting between two teams that are currently (and respectively) the worst and second-worst teams in the NHL. You might not think many people would circle that contest on their calendar, but it’s actually managed to become the most anticipated matchup of the season for all of the wrong reasons.
There weren’t many hockey fans who expected much out of the San Jose Sharks prior to the start of the current campaign. The team is currently in the midst of a rebuild after spending the past couple of decades as perennial Stanley Cup contenders, and it’s struggled to bounce back after losing almost all of its core.
However, it was hard to predict the beginning of their season would be as abysmal as it has been. The franchise lost eleven consecutive games (with ten of those losses coming in regulation) and became the laughingstock of the NHL after losing 10-1 to the Canucks two days before a 10-2 defeat at the hands of the Penguins (which obviously contributed to their league-worst goal differential of -42).
The Flyers had the opportunity to do the funniest thing possible on Tuesday night, but sadly, Philadelphia was not only unable to hit double digits in the goal column but gave the Sharks their first win of the year in the 2-1 showdown.
The Edmonton Oilers, on the other hand, have seemingly no business being just above San Jose in the basement of the Western Conference standings.
While there were plenty of concerns about the team’s lack of depth prior to the season, most people assumed they’d be able to make up for it with the help of superstar Connor McDavid and the wildly talented Leon Draisaitl. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.
Fans who were worried about lackluster goaltending quickly saw their fears realized. Stuart Skinner has posted a .856 save percentage and allowed an average of 3.99 goals in the seven games he’s appeared in, and Jack Campbell was sitting at .873 and 4.5 in those categories before he was placed on waivers on Tuesday.
While the netminders have understandably become the primary scapegoats, it’s hard to place all of the blame on their shoulders. They haven’t gotten a ton of help from their defense, and while McDavid is obviously still recovering from an injury that sidelined him for a couple of games, the fact that he’s not at 100% is far from the only reason the Oilers are boasting a .227 winning percentage.
So, why are NHL fans amped for a game that will begin at 10:30 PM on the East Coast on a Thursday between a 1-10-1 team and a club that comes into the contest at 2-8-1? Well, much like Road House or The Room, it’s so bad that it’s good.
The fact that the Sharks secured their first win of the season on Tuesday means the showdown isn’t as hilarious as it could’ve been, but we’re essentially being treated to a game someone has to win even though both teams have repeatedly shown they don’t deserve to win almost every single time they’ve stepped onto the ice this season.
At this point, you can’t help but root for the Sharks, as seeing a team that had no shot at winning the Stanley Cup beat a team that, by most accounts, should at least be in the running is easily the funniest possible outcome (although the Oilers becoming the latest opponent to score 10 goals against San Jose is a close second).
As things currently stand, it seems pretty unlikely this game will have any major implications when it comes to determining how the playoff picture looks at the end of the year (although Edmonton obviously needs as many wins as it can get in order to salvage things).
However, you don’t need to have a dog in the fight to be intrigued by a tilt that’s tailor-made for hockey sickos.