After gagging up a 5-1 lead against the
Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, the Sharks needed to put together a
bounce back. They responded by falling behind 3-0, before battling back to tie
the game 5-5 by the end of the 2nd period. Then they showed their immaturity by
taking undisciplined penalties in a pivotal 3rd period that would lead to a 6-5
demise at SAP Center on Thursday night.
Some good things, some bad
things in a game that wasn't as hard to swallow as the implosion the Sharks
suffered in Nashville. The Predators opened up a gaping wound in San Jose's
special team's by scoring three times on the power play. The all important game
winner came via a penalty of poor judgment when the Sharks needed to be
disciplined.
The Sharks decided they would show everyone that Tuesday
night's meltdown was an anomaly by going on the penalty kill in the first two
minutes of the game. Fabian Zetterlund was the offender guilty of tripping.
Nashville promptly out a puck past Yaroslav Askarov when former Shark
Gus Nyquist lifted a rebound chance into the Sharks net from the left side.
Askarov was forced to move to the top of the crease to defend a Brady Skjei
chance, which opened up the net behind him.
The Predators lead doubled
just 54 seconds later when Tommy Novak pumped home a shot from the left side
after the Sharks defense got caught standing around and watching the puck. It
wasn't the start that Askarov had hoped for against his former team, but his
teammates did little to support any notion of a payback win.
Filip
Forsberg added to the Sharks misery by bagging his 17th of the season at 6:53.
Askarov didn't do himself any favors by allowing an ultra-soft goal to push the
Predators lead to 3-0. Forsberg was skating away from the net and reached the
right dot when a Justin Barron pass came at him from the right point. Forsberg
got a stick blade on the puck, redirecting it from the dot which then split
Askarov's pads.
That marked 9 consecutive goals by Nashville against
the Sharks in 47 minutes of hockey.
In one of the odder wake up calls,
three different Sharks engaged with Predators with fistcuffs. Luke Kunin locked
up with Cole Smith at 6:54, Barclay Goodrow with Michael McCarron at 6:56 and
Ty Dellandrea with Zachary L'Heureux at 6:58 to fill the penalty box.
It provided some momentary motivation. Newly acquired forward Walker Duehr was
credited with his first goal as a Shark at 8:12, when a Mario Ferraro shot
pin-balled of Nikolai Kovalenko before deflecting off him and past goaltender
Justus Annunen.
Mario Ferraro made it a 3-2 game with 3:26 remaining
in the period by snapping a shot from the inside of the left circle. The
defenseman collected a Mikael Granlund feed as he skated toward the net before
lifting a shot that tucked under the crossbar for his 5th goal of the season.
Forsberg opened the 2nd period by putting his 18th of the season past
Askarov just 1:38 in. The Sharks had 4 defenders around the net, but all of
them stood motionless as the Predators forward skated the puck out of the right
corner then wrapped the puck around the left post.
A Granlund hooking
penalty at 6:49 setup the Predators 5th goal of the night. Steven Stamkos
converted on the ensuing power play on a shot from the right side to make it a
perfect 2-for-2 on the man advantage for Nashville.
Henry Thrun potted
his 1st goal of the season and 4th of his career at 12:39 with a shot from the
high slot. Alexander Wennberg moved the puck out of the left side
Fabian Zetterlund made it a 1-goal game once again 75 seconds later. Granlund
and Will Smith stormed up ice on a 2-on-2 chance. Smith tried to return the
puck to Granlund from the right side, but the puck hit a skate as Nick
Blankenburg was checking the Finnish forward into Annunen. Zetterlund was
trailing on the play and easily lifted the puck into the wide open net.
Things got nasty with just under 6 minutes remaining in the period.
Smith took exception to a hit in front of the Predators bench, so he took out
his frustration on Dellandrea with a check to the Shark forwards head.
Dellandrea never saw Smith and was knocked out of the game by the head shot.
That earned Smith a trip to the showers for the match penalty and the
Sharks then skated on a 5-min power play.
San Jose tied the game when
Macklin Celebrini fired a shot from the slot that beat Annunen for his 15th of
the season. The Sharks worked the puck over to the left side when Granlund sent
a pass to Celebrini who moved between of the circles.
Timothy
Liljegren just missed putting the Sharks in front as the match penalty expired.
The defenseman's shot hit the crossbar, preserving the 5-5 tie.
San Jose decided that the 3rd period would be the
best tie to start playing with fire while soaked in koresene. First Henry Thrun
was sent off for holding the stick 48 seconds in to the period, then Barclay
Goodrow took an poor cross checking penalty at 6:36.
It was Goodrow's
penalty that mattered as Fedor Svechkov converted the 3rd power play goal of
the game at 8:16.
A wild flurry in front of the Predators net with
5:40 to play kept the Sharks from potting the equalizer because Annunen shut
the door and Blankenburg denied a chance by dropping to his knees and stopping
a shot with his chest after his goaltender was caught out of position.
San Jose pulled Askarov with 1:48 to play.
Game Notes:
* Tyler Toffoli returned to the lineup after missing the last 3 games with an
injury. Nico Sturm was moved to the injured reserve.
* The Sharks made
two acquisitions on Wednesday and one paid immediate dividends. Walker Duehr
was claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames and he contributed with his
first goal in teal (technically in black). Duehr scored 9 goals and 10 assists
in 84 career NHL games, all with Calgary.
* San Jose also traded
forward Justin Bailey to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Pavol Regenda. Regenda
has 1 goal and 2 assists in 19 NHL games. Regenda was assigned to the San Jose
Barracuda.
* Macklin Celebrini tied Jeff Friesen's team record for
goals by an 18-year-old. Celebrini has 29 games to move ahead of Friesen.
* Will Smith, Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund extend their point
scoring streaks to 3 games. Granlund had 3 assists in the contest. Mario
Ferraro recorded a goal and an assist.