Better effort, same result as San Jose Sharks remain winless on season

SAN JOSE After dismal performances in their previous two outings the San Jose Sharks needed a response Saturday night in their match against the Pittsburgh Penguins They got it but their first win of the season remains elusive Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made saves including in the first period but Sidney Crosby s second-period goal proved to be the winner as the Penguins handed the Sharks a - loss at SAP Center Penguins forward Anthony Mantha added an insurance goal at the mark of the third period and Evgeni Malkin scored an empty-netter with seconds to go as the Sharks - - remained the NHL s last winless club The Sharks open a four-game road trip on Tuesday against the New York Islanders Ugly starts are nothing new for San Jose as the unit started - - in - - in and - - last season They finished with the NHL s fourth-worst record in - and have ended the previous two years at the bottom of the league standings The Sharks began this season with overtime losses to both the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks but were altogether outclassed in their last two games before Saturday The Sharks lost - to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in which they didn t manage a shot on net in the third period and - to the Utah Mammoth on Friday in which they were badly outchanced in the first period The accomplishment will come with the way we work and the way we compete Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky declared before Saturday s championship The meeting is a humbling match We can t beat ourselves We have to be disciplined in certain situations Right now we just want to win the contest You ve got to put the work in to the get the outcome So we ve got to worry about the process and the way we have to work and the way we have to play and the success will come with that The Sharks created a handful of scoring chances in an up-tempo first two periods but were unable to beat Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry who finished with saves On the Penguins goal Rickard Rakell took the puck around the Sharks net and discovered defenseman Kris Letang at the blue line His shot toward the net was then redirected past Nedeljkovic for his third goal of the season The Penguins later took a - lead as Justin Brazeau danced around Macklin Celebrini and fed Mantha for his second goal this season Celebrini scored his first goal of the season on Friday and stil leads the Sharks with five points in five games His childhood idol Crosby has seven points in six games Related Articles Penguins rookie says Sharks Macklin Celebrini helped prepare him for NHL Yaroslav Askarov can be great but his Sharks teammates need to shape up first Another goalie puck-handling gaffe costly as Sharks remain winless on season Sharks update Another defenseman injured first schedule quirk arrives Gushchin agreement tree grows Sharks place one defenseman on IR claim another off waivers from Capitals In his first career event against the Penguins last season Celebrini had the game-winning goal at the mark of the third period as the Sharks earned a - win in San Jose Celebrini s goal came after Crosby tied the battle -