Road-heavy start puts SJ in tough spot
Sharks may not play first home game until Feb. 1
The NHL released its regular season schedule Wednesday and as expected, the San Jose Sharks won’t be playing home games at SAP Center anytime soon.
The Sharks’ first eight games of the season will be away from San Jose, as they start the year by playing two games each against Arizona, St. Louis, Minnesota and Colorado from Jan. 14 to Jan 28. It is the Sharks’ longest road trip of their 56-game season.
The first games the Sharks are scheduled to play in San Jose are Feb. 1 and 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights. However, Santa Clara County’s ban on contact sports, as well as its mandatory 10-day quarantine for anyone traveling to the county from more than 150 miles away, may force those games to be relocated.
Santa Clara’s directives are in place until at least Jan. 8, and it is unclear whether they would be
extended further into next month. The Sharks announced Sunday that their training camp will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Sharks said in a news release that the location of those home games in early February will announced at a later date, “in accordance with current local health directives.”
In any case, it is a challenging schedule for a Sharks team that is looking to get off to a good start and return to the
playoffs after they were left out of the NHL’s Return to Play earlier this year. The Sharks haven’t played a game since March 11.
“To me, I just look at as an opportunity,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said Sunday of likely starting the season with a long road trip. “I look at the teams that had success last year that had to live in a bubble for two months. I think it’s all attitude.
“It’s challenging, but to me, it’s a way of proving your mental toughness and your want to get off to a great start.”