Sharks season wrapping up; 6 home games remaining with fans allowed

After spending training camp in Arizona and then playing their first 12 games on the road due to Santa Clara county’s COVID guidelines, on Monday the Sharks welcomed fans back into SAP Arena for the first time since March 8th of last year. Last week Patrick Marleau passed Gordie Howe to set a new record for most NHL games played when the Sharks forward reached his 1,768th game in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Howe has held the record since 1961. The 41 year old Marleau, joined the Sharks when he was 17. Since then he’s played 1,596 games in 21 seasons with the Sharks as well as 172 games in 2 seasons with Maple Leafs and Penguins. He hasn’t missed a game since the 2008-2009 season. His family was on hand for a ceremony when the Sharks returned home on Saturday. He is followed closely by former Shark Joe Thornton who currently sits at 1,669 games and is an active member of the Maple Leafs. The 6th place Sharks (19-24-5, 43 points) ended an 8 game losing streak Monday with a win over the Coyotes. They currently sit 5 points behind the Blues for the final playoff spot in the Honda West division and have 8 games remaining including 6 at the Shark Tank where the number of fans allowed will slowly be increased.