Sharks' Struggles Continue in the State of Hockey, Allow Wild to Hit Major Milestone with 4-1 Loss

After a players-only meeting in Los Angeles, the San Jose Sharks were hoping to bounce back against the Minnesota Wild, who they swept the season series against last season.

Unfortunately for the Sharks, they were unable to overcome the dynamic duo of Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes, both of whom had multipoint nights as the Wild picked up a 4-1 victory.

The Sharks didn't do themselves any favors early on. Ty Dellandrea took a holding penalty seven minutes in then 28 seconds later, Collin Graf joined him in the penalty box after tripping up Kirill Kaprizov. As a result, Minnesota had a lengthy 5-on-3 power play before the halfway point of the first period. Very quickly, the Wild capitalized as Kaprizov scored his 16th of the season. The Sharks had a couple power plays of their own toward the end of the period, but didn't equalize. 

Macklin Celebrini deflected a Dmitry Orlov shot past Jesper Wallstedt at 12:11 of the second period to tie things up for the Sharks. It was Celebrini's seventh goal of the season and just his fourth even-strength tally on the season. 

Shortly after the goal, Jacob Trouba took a penalty for interference, giving the Wild another opportunity on the power play. Maxim Shabanov would quickly score his sixth of the season, restoring the Wild's lead. 

Quinn Hughes then doubled the Wild's lead at 6:54 in the third period, giving both Hughes and Kaprizov their third point of the night.

Zack Bogosian then put the final nail in the Sharks' proverbial coffin with just over six minutes remaining in the third period, scoring his first goal of the season while Kaprizov recorded his fourth point with an assist.

With their 4-1 win, the Wild organization recorded its 1,000th victory and became the fastest team in NHL history to hit that milestone. The Sharks, on the other hand, have now extended their losing streak to four games.