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Sharks come back to
earth
SJ falls flat in 4-2 loss to
Panthers
The Sharks play 15 games in the month of March, and
had won their first six entering play on Thursday night. The Sharks looked like
a team that is letting that heavy schedule take its toll as the Florida
Panthers took a 4-2 decision from San Jose who returned home to start a three
game home stand. The Panthers came back from a 2-1 deficit by scoring three
straight goals on a Sharks team that ran out of gas in the second half of the
game.
Every pass was off. Every bounce seemed to go the other way.
With tired legs and an opponent that was playing loose, the deck was stacked
against San Jose. The Panthers are far enough out of playoff contention that
they cleared the decks at the trade deadline, so they had nothing to lose.
The Sharks looked like the Sharks for 20 minutes, then the wheels fell
off.
Melker Karlsson staked the Sharks to a 1-0 lead 7:22 into the
contest by snapping a shot from the bottom of the right circle. Karlsson
carried the puck up the right win, but was checked to his knees by defenseman
Keith Yandle. The Sharks forward regained his feet, before whipping a shot that
beat rookie goaltender Sam Montembeault.
Former Sharks Jamie McGinn
tied it 4 minutes later after the sharks failed to clear their own zone. The
Panthers pressed with a strong forecheck, that ended when Aaron Ekblad sent a
shot in from the right point that Martin Jones knocked down, but couldn't
control. McGinn was in the vicinity as the rebound landed in front of him for
the put back goal.
Kevin Labanc helped San Jose reclaim the lead with
5:24 remaining in the period. The Sharks forward one-timed a Justin Braun feed
from the top of the left circle, scoring his 13th goal of the season. Braun was
setup on the right point, where he sent a diagonal pass to Labanc. The shot
knuckled on Montembeault, who allowed it to cross in front of him and into the
net.
Dryden Hunt was gifted his 2nd career goal 1:25 into the 2nd
period by Jones who simply misjudged the path of the puck. Dryden uncorked his
shot from the high slot that Jones made little attempt to defend. The puck
tucked in between Jones' right shoulder and the left post to knot the game at
2-2.
A massive disparity in penalty calls for Florida would catch up
with the Sharks later in the period. San Jose allowed 5 power play chances,
including a too many men infraction at 18:26 of the period. The Panthers 2nd
ranked power play would eventually bite the Sharks.
Mike Hoffman
converted on the San Jose bench minor with a blast from the blueline that
evaded Jones. The goal would give the Panthers a lead they would not
relinquish.
The Sharks didn't do themselves any favors by allowing
the Panthers to take a 2-goal lead 8:16 into the 3rd period. Frank Vatrano
collected a Hoffman feed en route to the net, before lifting a shot past Jones.
Brent Burns didn't help by giving up on the play, floating behind Vatrano with
stationary skates.
A late power play by the Sharks failed to pull them
any closer and the game ended, as did the win streak.
Game
Notes:
* Evander Kane revealed over social media that his unborn
daughter had passed away last weekend. Kane's wife miscarried the couple's
daughter Eva at 26 weeks. Kane is expected to rejoin the team on Saturday.
* The Panthers are 7-1-0 in their last 8 games at SAP Center.
* The Panthers have a league worst -21 goal differential in the 3rd period, but
they have scored the Sharks 5-0 this season.
* Melker Karlsson is one
goal from matching his career high of 13 set when he was a rookie in 2014-15.
* Logan Couture would probably like to forget this one. Couture was a
-2 with 6 penalty minutes and did not record a point. He was also 2 of 6 on
faceoffs.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| FLA |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| SJ |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ, M.
Karlsson 12 (Vlasic, Heed), 7:22. 2, FLA, McGinn 4 (Ekblad, Hawryluk), 11:45.
3, SJ, Labanc 13 (Braun, Dillon), 14:36. |
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| 2nd period - 4, FLA,
Hunt 2 (Brouwer, Sheahan), 1:25. 5, FLA, Hoffman 32 (Yandle, Barkov), 18:49
(pp). |
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| 3rd period - 6, FLA,
Vatrano 22 (Hoffman, Trocheck), 8:16. |
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| 1st period - Couture, SJ
(tripping), 0:18. |
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| 2nd period - Braun, SJ
(hooking), 7:35; Trocheck, FLA (slashing), 9:48; Couture, SJ (high sticking -
double minor), 10:54; Bench, SJ (too many men), 18:26. |
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| 3rd period - Hawryluk,
FLA (interference), 1:41; Trochek, FLA (tripping), 18:53. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| FLA - Montembeault |
28 |
26 |
| SJ - Jones |
27 |
23 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| FLA |
7 |
15 |
5 |
27 |
| SJ |
8 |
8 |
12 |
28 |
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| Referees: Kozari,
O'Halloran. Linesmen: Alphonso, Berg. |
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