The clock struck midnight on 2024 for the
Sharks a few hours earlier on Tuesday night. Hosting a rare New Year's Eve game
at SAP Center, the Sharks ended the calendar year with another loss, extending
their streak to 8 games by losing to the Philadelphia Flyers by a resounding
4-0 score. The Flyers scored in each period and clamped down on San Jose's
offense to help them win their second straight game.
The Sharks ring
in the new year with more questions than answers. The team has allowed losing
to become the norm and their dismal showing to the mid-pack Flyers showed that
they have much to offer at the NHL level.
Flyers defenseman Nick
Seeler carried the puck along the left wing boards and around Barclay Goodrow
before lifting a shot at Alexandar Georgiev from the end line. The shot banked
off the goaltender and into the Sharks net for the game's opening score and his
3rd goal of the year.
The Flyers thought they had doubled their score
with 6:44 to play after Morgan Frost tipped a Travis Konecny shot past Georgiev
while Ty Dellandrea sat in the box for high sticking, but the Sharks
successfully challenged that the Flyers entered the zone offside.
The
Sharks did generate 7 shots on goal in the opening period, but did little to
generate a lot of pressure on Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson other than a Luke
Kunin short-handed breakaway chance in the second half of the period.
San Jose's struggles carried into the 2nd period when they would again only
generate 7 shots in the period. None really challenged Ersson, because the
Sharks couldn't get the puck down low or in tight.
Ryan Poehling gave
the Flyers the 2-0 lead 12:09 into the 2nd period after Philadelphia forced the
issue in tight. The puck was pin-balling in front of the net when it kicked
over to the right side. Poehling skated over to retrieve it and carid it away
from the slot as Georgiev went down to try and cut off the angle. Timothy
Liljegren lost track of the puck and was late to get over to defend against
Poehling's backhand lift over Georgiev's outstretched glove.
A Mikael Granlund tripping penalty aided in Travis
Konecny's 17th goal of the season at 13:44. Konecny ripped a shot from the left
wing boards, beating Georgiev to the near side as the Sharks netminder was late
to cover the left post.
Alexei Kolosov entered the game in net for
Philly to start the 3rd period.
The Flyers left no doubt that they
would leave San Jose with 2 points when Igor Zamula potted his 3rd goal of the
season 2:30 into the 3rd period. The defenseman was farther past the end lone
than Seeler was on his goal, when he threw the puck to the front of the net.
The shot hit a defender out front and deflected past Georgiev for the 4-0 lead.
The oddity of the play was Macklin Celebrini getting hauled down with
a hook right in front of the net, but referees TJ Luxmore and Justin Kea deemed
it irrelevant to the play.
Celebrini had a golden scoring chance
midway through the period when he found himself facing Kolosov with the puck
and no defender within 15 feet of him. Kolosov denied the chance from in tight,
pushing the puck wide of the left post.
Game
Notes: * The Sharks placed William Eklund on the injured reserve on
Monday. His roster spot was taken by Collin Graf who was recalled by the
Sharks. Graf was a scratch for the game.
* Down 3-0 in the 3rd period,
the Sharks were out-shot 14-7 in the 3rd period. Not sure that shows any
evidence of fight in the dog.
* San Jose tried to get physical, laying
out 38 hits in the game.
* One highlight for San Jose was a 5 faceoff
conversion percentage. Luke Kunin won 6 of 9 draws. Macklin Celebrini won 9 of
14.
* The Sharks finished the month of December with a 2-10-1 record.
Even after the horrific start of the season, the Sharks managed to win 3 games
in October.
