There are those nights when you just don't
have what it takes. That was Thursday night for the Sharks, who dropped a 5-2
decision to the Minnesota Wild. San Jose faced a lineup that has been built
over time, led by superstar Kirill Kaprizov who recorded 3 assists on the
night. The Sharks were overmatched from the opening faceoff, learning there is
still loads of development on the to do list.
Minnesota drew first
blood just 2:22 into the game when a Zach Bogosian shot from the right point
hit Sharks forward Will Smith in the leg before deflecting past Vitek Vanecek.
Smith had his back to the shot as he was busy defending Marcus Foligno in the
slot.
San Jose would only generate 5 shots in that opening frame, with
their best scoring chance coming off a Tyler Toffoli shot from the slot.
Macklin Celebrini setup the play with a blind backhand pass off the right wing
boards.
Joel Eriksson-Ek appeared to extend the Wild lead early in the
2nd period after beating Vanecek, but the Sharks challenged the play for
offside. The challenge was successful and the goal was negated.
Brock
Faber was sent off on the next shift for tripping after he upended Toffoli just
outside the left post. San Jose sputtered on the power play, never challenging
Marc-Andre Fleury.
Celebrini tied the game at 4:36 of the middle frame
after he fired a shot on net from the slot, deflecting it off Fleury's right
pad. The Wild goaltender was in the butterfly in the crease so the puck
technically hit off the outer edge of the pad, but there was enough pepper on
the shot that it continued forward and into the net. Mikael Granlund setup the
play by skating the puck past the right post before backhanding back out front
to Celebrini.
Minnesota countered 3 minutes and change later when Mats
Zuccarello put a Kaprizov feed past Vanecek after the Sharks turned the puck
over in their own zone. Kaprizov gathered a loose puck at the bottom of the
left circle then snapped a pass through the slot to Zuccarello on the off wing.
Luke Kunin was sent off for slashing at 12:28,
setting up the Wild's 3rd goal of the night. That coming off the stick of Matt
Boldy, who pumped a shot through traffic from the high slot.
Jonas
Brodin sealed the game for Minnesota 6 minutes into the 3rd period with a shot
from the blueline that found its way through traffic. As has become a trend
this season, the opposition scored after the Sharks turned the puck over in
their own zone.
Celebrini converted his 2nd of the night with 4
minutes to play. The rookie circled over the top of the circles and lifted a
shot from the high slot, beating Fleury just under the crossbar.
Boldy
added an empy net goal late to cap the game's scoring.
Game
Notes: *The Sharks honored cancer survivors along with the entire
league in the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. 12 year old Ezra Valentin
dropped the ceremonial first puck and rang a bell celebrating his recent
cancer-free diagnosis.
* Marc-Andre Fleury played in the 1,029th game
of his NHL career, tying Patrick Roy for third-most in NHL history among
goaltenders. It may have been the last time Sharks fans will see Fleury who
will retire at the end of the season. Minnesota will return to San Jose on
January 11th but there's no guarantee that Fleury will play.
* Will
Smith's line in the contest: 0 points, 0 shots, 12 shifts, 11:29 TOI, 0 hits, 0
blocks, 1/4 (20%) FOs. A "development day of rest" may be in the kids future
soon.
* Macklin Celebrini led all skaters with 7 shots on goal. Jared
Spurgeon had 6 shots for Minnesota.
* The loss capped a 5-game home
stand for San Jose, who will now hit the road for 4 straight. They will play in
New Jersey on Sunday
