24 hours after dropping their season opener in
Prague, the Sharks looked to redeem themselves in the back half of the NHL's
Global Series with the Nashville Predators. The level of play improved for San
Jose, but the results were the same as San Jose dropped a 3-2 decision at O2
Arena in the Czech Republic. San Jose grabbed an early lead, but another
miserable middle frame doomed the Sharks, who dropped both games of the series
and limp home for games in their own barn next Friday.
Not
surprisingly, the absence of enough NHL caliber talent on the Sharks roster
just leaves them under-powered against a lineup like Nashville's. They
generated some positives, but in the end it was simply another loss.
Things started auspiciously for San Jose who were forced to kill a penalty just
5 seconds into the game. Tomas Hertl was sent off for high sticking after he
was caught retaliating to a cross check by Ryan Johansen after the two took the
game's opening faceoff.
Nashville would not capitalize on the early
advantage, which extended San Jose's penalty kill streak to a perfect 5-for-5
this season.
Luke Kunin bagged his 1st goal as a Shark 14:24 into the
game on a power play opportunity. Tanner Jeannot was sent off for hooking Logan
Couture, and San Jose converted on man-advantage for the first time in 6
chances this season. Oskar Lindblom fired a shot from the left side, which
bounced off Predators goaltender Kevin Lankinen. Kunin scopped up the rebound
and took two shots from the slot, burying the latter attempt as he skated
toward the right corner.
Nino Niederreiter tied the game 4:35 into the
2nd period on a put back from the doorstep after Johansen bounced a shot off
goaltender Kaapo Khakonen. Niederreiter fed Johansen out of the right corner,
then collapsed on the net, finding himself in the perfect spot to scoop up the
rebound.
Logan Couture countered just 10 seconds later. The
Sharks captain snapped a shot from the high slot after pivoting to receive a
pass from Steven Lorentz from the left wing before Couture's finish.
Filip Forsberg re-tied the game less than 2 minutes later by gathering his own
rebound off the right post, then circling around the back of the net and
sweeping home a shot inside the off post. Khakonen was late to get a skate over
to the left side, and Forsberg's shot deflected off the goaltender's pad and
into the Sharks net.
Niederreiter bagged his 3rd goal of the series
right after exiting the penalty box for a boarding penalty had take minutes
earlier. The Predators raced up ice on a turnover when Eeli Tolvanen found
Niederreiter on the right side. The Predators forward picked a spot and snapped
a wrist shot that beat Khakonen while Matt Benning and Nick Bonino took poor
lines to try and defend the play.
The Sharks took a key penalty 6
minutes into the 3rd period, which was another fatal trend that plagued the
Sharks on Friday. They would generate few chances in the period and were forced
to pull Khakonen with 2:26 left in regulation.
That proved fruitless,
as San Jose could not get the equalizer past Lankinen.
Game Notes:
* Scott Harrington and Noah Gregor were scratched after making
their 2022-23 debuts on Friday night. Gregor was a -1 with a single shot on
goal in the Sharks 4-1 loss on Friday. Harrington only saw 16 minutes of ice
time on Friday, but had a giveway that may have cost him a repeat visit to the
lineup on Saturday. Evgeny Svechnikov and Jaycob Megna replaced them in the
lineup.
* The second game of the NHL's Global Series was once again
shy of a sellout, although Saturday's attendance of 17,023 beat Friday's
16k+
* Defenseman Matt Benning had a rough game. He was -2 on the night
and was bodied off pucks constantly. His misplay on Nino Niedereiter's second
goal was a fatal mistake that cost the Sharks dearly.
* Timo Meier led
all players with 6 shots on net, but none of them would find the back of the
net. Meier was held to a single assist in the two-game series.
* The
middle period is turning out to be the frame of horrors for San Jose. They've
given up 5 goals in the twp 2nd periods to date, but more importantly
surrendered the lead in both games in that period. They're also showing an
inability to generate any scoring in the second half of games.
