Editor's Note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
This is a different kind of nadir for the San Jose Sharks.
When they started the season 0-10-1, rock-bottom was back-to-back contests giving up 10 goals apiece, a 10-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 2 and a 10-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins two days later.
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They responded with a surprising 9-7-2 run.
Now, they’re on yet another epic losing streak, dropping their ninth straight to the Detroit Red Wings.
But this is a different despair, the frustration from doing (almost) everything right, but still everything goes wrong.
Fabian Zetterlund, Justin Bailey, and Alexander Barabanov scored — Barabanov’s goal, his second of the season, gave the Sharks a brief 3-2 lead in the third period. For once, San Jose dominated at even strength, with a 17-7 Slot Shots and 19-5 High-Danger Chances advantage, per SPORTLOGiQ.
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But their unforced errors and some Red Wings bounces turned a one-goal lead into a 5-3 defeat.
“They get a lot of bounces that we don’t get right now,” a dejected William Eklund said.