The San Jose Sharks remain the last team in the NHL without a win, as they lost to the Washington Capitals 3-1.

The San Jose Sharks remain the last team in the NHL without a win, as they lost to the Washington Capitals 3-1 on Sunday night.

Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson, and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Caps, and Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves. 

Mackenzie Blackwood was steady throughout, making 39 saves. Luke Kunin scored his first of the season. 

The Sharks held the lead into the third period, but the Capitals were able to score twice for their third win in a row.

Mikael Granlund returned to the lineup for the first time since opening night. He played in the middle with William Eklund and Kunin on the wings. 

"When you add a center of that magnitude, it really changes your lineup," Sharks head coach David Quinn said. "I've talked to all of you guys off the record about not having Granlund and Couture, and we just look like a completely different team. I really feel if we had those two guys that we'd have a few wins under our belt."

The Sharks activated the forward off IR and sent Jacob Peterson and Thomas Bordeleau to the AHL in a corresponding move.  

"We felt like it's going to be best for their development," Quinn explained. "Get more puck touches down there and get their confidence back."

Ty Emberson got the primary assist on Kunin's goal for his first NHL point.

"[The puck] went low to high, up to [Ferraro], [who made a] good play to get the puck over to me, and I just tried to try to sift on through just get it to the net," Emberson said. "Kunin did a good job getting the puck and putting in the rebound."

San Jose started the game strong and controlled most of the play in the first period. After that, however, the Capitals began to influence play more. San Jose was outshot in the third period, 17-9.

Despite the late-game struggles, Quinn felt the team broke the puck out better.

"We just got to do a better job supporting each other, and I thought we did a much better job tonight," Quinn said. "There was a lot more awareness. We would get to a puck, and there'd be people available. We worked harder for each other on breakouts." 

The Sharks take their 0-8-1 record back home to face the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

Make sure you bookmark THN's San Jose Sharks site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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