Sharks open David Quinn era with loss to Predators despite Tomas Hertl’s goal in hometown Prague

The start of the David Quinn era with the San Jose Sharks looked strikingly familiar to the end of the previous regime.

Tomas Hertl provided the only offense for the Sharks, who allowed two even-strength second-period goals in a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Friday in the season opener for both teams at O2 Arena in Prague.

Hertl’s even-strength goal in front of his hometown fans came at the 8:36 mark of the first period, as he beat Nashville goalie Juuse Saros from just outside the crease and tied the game 1-1.

The Predators, though, found a rhythm and retook the lead early in the second period as Eeli Tolvanen beat a screened James Reimer with a shot from outside the circles at the 1:24 mark.

Nashville later scored on a 2-on-1, as Dante Fabbro saucered a pass over Radim Simek’s stick to Nino Niederreiter, who one-timed it past Reimer to put the Sharks in a 3-1 hole at the 15:14 mark, helping to spoil Quinn’s debut as coach.

Reimer had 24 saves in the first two periods and Saros, who has owned the Sharks in recent years, had 21.

The Sharks and Predators play again Saturday to conclude the NHL’s Global Series in Prague, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Saros back in the net for Nashville.

Saros, in his last five starts against San Jose prior to Friday, had a 4-0-1 record, a .977 save percentage and a 0.59 goals-against average.

Quinn was named the Sharks’ head coach July 26, roughly four weeks after Bob Boughner and his staff were dismissed by the organization.

Quinn and his staff had less than two weeks for training camp before they left for Europe.

“It’s certainly not your normal starting point in an organization, but it’s certainly an exciting time,” Quinn said before Friday’s game. “It’s been a short training camp for both teams, but I think both teams are pretty anxious to see where we’re at.

“We’ve been very happy with the way things have gone in training camp, but we’re going to find an awful lot about our team today.”

Thanks in part to a thin and inexperienced lineup, the 2021-2022 Sharks were the worst team in the NHL in 5-on-5 scoring with an average of 1.73 goals per game. Not surprisingly, the Sharks missed the playoffs for a third straight season, leading to the coaching overhaul.

The Sharks’ offseason changes, of course, included widespread front-office moves, with Mike Grier being named general manager in early July. Grier made a handful of roster changes and six of the players he added — forwards Luke Kunin, Oskar Lindblom, Nico Sturm, and Steven Lorentz, and defensemen Matt Benning and Scott Harrington — were in Friday’s lineup.

Hertl’s goal came with an exuberant celebration, as he and Simek were playing an NHL game in the Czech Republic for the first time. Hertl appeared to have tears in his eyes as he sang along with his country’s national anthem.

Hertl, who was born in Prague, had his family in attendance, including his wife and young son.

“I was kind of seeing my family there, and it’s a special moment to represent my country in NHL at home in Prague,” Hertl told the Sharks Audio Network during the first intermission. “So a lot of emotion, and it was just a special moment. I’m so proud I can be even here.”

Hertl also mentioned how warm it was at ice level, saying it felt like it was “200 degrees” as play was going on in front of a near-capacity crowd of around 17,000. That caused the puck to bounce more often than usual in an NHL arena and might have affected the pegs that keep the nets in place.