San Jose Sharks to begin hosting home games on Feb. 13

A Santa Clara County health order that prohibited team contact sports has affected entities such as Stanford Cardinal athletics, the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, and the NHL's San Jose Sharks for months. 

That order has been lifted, however, and the Sharks now know when they'll begin hosting opponents at SAP Center in San Jose. 

According to Sportsnet, the Sharks will play their first true home game of the season on Feb. 13 against the Anaheim Ducks. San Jose had trained in Glendale, Arizona, and the club is playing eight consecutive road games to open the campaign. 

From there, the Sharks will play "home" contests against the Vegas Golden Knights at Gila River Arena in Glendale next Monday and Wednesday. The Sharks are not permitting fans to attend any home games in San Jose as of the posting of this piece but are selling “a limited number of tickets” for the Arizona contests. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the St. Louis Blues announced that up to 1,400 fans will be welcomed to home games in early February. The Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators are the only NHL teams, to date, to welcome spectators to games held amid the pandemic-altered season.