After the Sharks allowed 10 goals on back to
back games in early November, the Sharks seemed to take note and started to
show signs of rebounding from those setbacks. A scolding by GM Mike Grier
seemed to hit home. After dropping a 7-1 decision to the Seattle Kraken on
Wednesday night, Grier may be getting ready for another tongue lashing. More
than a handful of players were simply late to the party and the Sharks paid for
it with another embarrassing loss.
Similar to the 10-1 loss to
Vancouver on November 2nd, the Sharks fell behind 4-0 to the Kraken. The lack
of effort was blatantly obvious and Seattle pounced.
San Jose recorded
a single shot in the 2nd period and didn't generate their first shot of the 3rd
period until the 7:47 mark. I was an about face from the progress the team
showed in their win over St Louis and their 3-1 loss to Vancouver on Monday
night.
The Kraken grabbed the lead just 88 seconds into the game when
Brandon Tanev converted on a break up the ice. The Kraken forward was even with
defenseman Jan Rutta at the midline, but he accelerated past the Sharks
defenseman before angling to his left in the slot and dragging the puck past
goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen for his 2nd goal of the season.
Seattle
appeared to score goal when Matty Beniers beat Kahkonen in tight, but the
Sharks elected to challenge the play for offside. A video review confirmed that
Beniers was early to cross the blueline, negating the goal.
Oliver
Bjorkstrand would get the Kraken their 2nd goal, scoring at 10:36. Eeli
Tolvanen and Yanni Gourde found themselves on a 2-on-1 break after goaltender
Joey Daccord ffired a puck up ice by banking it off the right wing glass.
Gourde's shot attempt skipped past the Sharks goal, bouncing off the end boards
and floating towards the right post. Rookie defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk
over-skated the puck, allowing it to find Bjorkstrand's stick for an easy
deposit into an unattended net.
A Jordan Eberle pass to Jared McCann
in front of the Sharks net missed its mark, but the puck deflected out to Adam
Larsson who lifted a shot over Kahkonen's glove for a 3-0 lead just 31 seconds
after Bjorkstrand's goal.
Seattle really broke the Sharks back with
1:15 remaining in the period when Gourde converted for his 4th of the season on
a fortuitous deflection. Will Borgen fed Gourde down low on the right side,
preceding what appeared to be a pass through the crease. Problem is, the puck
clipped Kahkonen on the inside of his right leg pad and redirecting into the
Sharks net for a 4-0 lead.
With few motivational options at his
disposal, Sharks head coach David Quinn inserted MacKenzie Blackwood in net to
start the 2nd period.
Filip Zadina took the 2nd of his two penalties
at 2:12 of the 2nd period after he allegedly hooked Beniers. The Kraken made
quick work of San Jose on the power play when Jared McCann ripped a shot from
the top of the left circle, beating Blackwood.
The Sharks would keep
the Kraken from scoring over the remaining 16 minutes of the period and
actually held Seattle to a paltry 4 shots in the period. The issue is they only
generated a single shot themselves in the period. Kraken goaltender Joey
Daccord might have been confused for a lampshade, as he had to make little
effort to move in his barren Seattle defensive zone.
Tolvanen added a 6th goal 2:22 into the 3rd period.
Bjorkstrand fired a shot from the high slot, but it kicked off the end boards
and bounced right to Tolvanen who squeezed a backhand chance between Blackwood
and the right post.
Mike Hoffman ruined Daccord's night by snapping
the shutout bid when he snapped a rebound from the right end line at 15:32.
The Sharks got to celebrate for 14 seconds, once Tolvanen put his 2nd
goal of the night past Blackwood to make a 7-1 contest.
Game
Notes: * Jan Rutta was injured in the 1st period, when he went into
the corner boards. He did not return.
* Tomas Hertl went awkwardly
into the boards in the 3rd period with the Sharks down 6-0. He tangled skates
with Matty Beniers before going injuring what appeared to be his left
knee.
* San Jose has been outscored 82-28 this season. The Washington
Capitals have scored 41 goals this season, which is the second worst output in
the league. Columbus and Edmonton have both allowed 72 goals this season.
* Oliver Bjorkstrand had a 4 point night with a goal and 3 assists.
Eeli Tovanen had a 2 goal, 1 assist night. Ty Emberson had a -4 night for the
Sharks. San Jose was a collective -25
* The Sharks are now 0-4 all time
at Climate Change Arena.