Another game, another tough lesson for the San
Jose Sharks on Friday after at SAP Center. The Montreal Canadiens erased 2-0
deficit, before beating the Sharks 3-2 in the shootout. San Jose carried a 2-1
lead into the 3rd period, but couldn't hold the lead. The Sharks had given up a
goal late in the 2nd period, allowing the comeback feasible against a team that
simply doesn't know how to put opposing teams away. This one was another
example of a team that really doesn't know how to win, but the loss came
against a marginal opponent.
The Canadiens controlled the first 10
minutes of play, out-shooting San Jose 6-3 through the first half of the
opening period. The Sharks turned things around after killing a delay of game
penalty to Mike Hoffman. The Sharks seemed to find their legs and leveraged a
Mike Matheson holding penalty at 16:29.
San Jose did everything but
score on the ensuing power play, and finished the period by putting 8 of their
11 shots on goal over the final 3 minutes of the period.
Mike Hoffman
put the Sharks in front 5:06 into the 2nd period with a one-time chance from
just inside the right circle. William Eklund skated the puck out of the left
corner, cruising behind the Montreal net before sliding a pass out front to
Hoffman.
A Justin Barron tripping penalty on Fabian Zetterlund setup a
second Sharks goal at 12:30. Eklund converted his 3rd power play goal of the
season and 4th overall just 4 seconds into the ensuing power play. The equation
was simple. Tomas Hertl wins the faceoff on the left side, pulls it back to
Calen Addison, who then slides it over to the top of the right circle where
Eklund one-timed it past Primeau for the 2-0 lead.
Montreal turned up
the heat late in the period and cashed in when Jonathan Kovacevic scored with
1:58 remaining in the frame. The defenseman collected a Jayden Struble pass
along the blueline, then walked the puck to a spot between the circles and
fired a shot that found the upper left corner.
The Canadiens tied the
game 3:26 into the 3rd period when Cole Caufield converted on a counter attack
after the Sharks missed on a scoring change deep in the Montreal zone. Juraj
Slafkovsky collected a rebound in the right corner, then sent a long pass up
ice to Caufield who had Christian Dvorak on his left side as part of a 2-on-1
break. Nikita Okhotiuk split the two Canadiens forwards, so Caufield picked the
same spot as Kovacevic and beat MacKenzie Blackwood high to the left.
The game would go to overtime where things started
precariously for San Jose. Montreal could have easily ended things within the
first 10 seconds of the extra period when Caufield had only daylight between
him and Blackwood, but the Sharks goaltender bailed out his teammates.
The game would go to the shootout where Eklund started things off with a goal,
then San Jose sent 5 more shooters to the ice to fail. Canadiens captain Nick
Suzuki matched Eklund in the 1st round, then Jesse Ylonen ended the game in the
6th round by deeking Blackwood left and firing a shot home.
Game
Notes: * The Sharks celebrated long time radio play-by-play man Dan
Rusanowsky in a pre-game ceremony recognizing his receipt of the Foster Hewett
Memorial Award and subsequent enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
* Montreal goaltender is the nephew of former Shark forward Keith Primeau. The
elder Primeau is best known by Sharks fans as being one of the outgoing pieces
in the trade that brought Joe Thornton to San Jose in November of 2005.
* The loss wasn't the 7-1 embarrassment that the Sharks took on the
chin on Wednesday night, but it was still a loss. The Sharks have lost both
games that have gone beyond regulation play. They dropped a 2-1 shootout loss
to Colorado in early October.
* Tomas Hertl had the secondary assists
on both Sharks goals. Hertl has 3 goals and 6 assists over his last 10 games.
* In a rarity this season, the Sharks out-shot their opponent 33-24.
Fabian Zetterlund led the Sharks with 7 shots. Cole Caufield led Montreal with
6 of their 24 shots.
