The season long 7-game road trip made top
number three in Montreal on Thursday night. The Sharks played out their 2024-25
script to a tee. Take a lead into the 3rd period, lose that lead, then lose the
game. This one ended in overtime when Cole Caufield lifted a puck over
goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for the game winner in a 4-3 decision at Bell
Centre.
The loss was San Jose's 31st by a single goal and stung like
all the rest. San Jose's inability to close out 3rd periods and overtime
periods continues to be the theme of the season. Thursday's lesson was a repeat
of countless games that everyone has seen game after game.
The loss
was San Jose's 7th in a row. They last won a game on January 27th. They finish
the abridged month of February with an 0-3-3 record for the month.
Fabian Zetterlund staked the Sharks to the 1-0 lead 3:56 into the game after
jamming home a loose puck near the left post. Will Smith tracked the puck out
of the left corner then flipped it to Zetterlund who was parked on the post.
The Swedish forward took a couple of hacks at the puck before forcing it past
goaltender Sam Montembeault.
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki tied the
game less than 3 minutes later after Macklin Celebrini coughed up the puck at
the Montreal blueline. Cole Caufield carried the puck up the right side on a
2-on-1 before slipping it to his left for a one-time chance that Suzuki buried.
Collin Graf setup the Sharks second goal of the period at 12:38 after
evading Owen Beck with a nifty skating move on the right side. As the rookie
forward skated past the right post, he dropped a backhand feed out front. The
puck clipped a Canadiens skate, deflecting to the left side where Nico Sturm
was crashing. The German forward punched home the puck for this 6th of the
season and a 2-1 lead.
Suzuki re-tied the game with 56 seconds
remaining in the opening period with a shot from the left dot. Montreal won a
faceoff in the Sharks zone before rookie defenseman Lane Hutson fed the puck to
Suzuki, who pivoted 180 degrees to face the net an whipped a shot over
Alexandar Georgiev.
The Sharks controlled the flow of the 2nd period
and held a 7-2 edge in shots through the first 14 minutes of the frame.
Montreal started to turn up the heat over the last 5 but the Sharks extended
their lead late.
Smith found himself skating up ice on a 2-on-1 with
Zetterlund after Shakir Mukhamadullin sent a long lead pass out of the right
corner. The Sharks rookie centerman skated at Montembeault and snapped a shot
over the goaltender's left shoulder for his 9th goal of the season.
A defensive lapse by Graf allowed Alex Newhook to
tie the game 2:22 into the 3rd period. The Sharks forced a turnover along the
end boards on the left side, but Klim Kostin lost track of the puck. That
allowed Patrick Laine to spot Newhook cutting to the right post before making
the feed for a tap in goal.
A tripping penalty to Graf setup a hairy
moment for San Jose with 11 minutes to play. Wennberg lost his stick and Mario
Ferraro shattered his twig. San Jose killed the penalty, but were immediately
put back on the penalty kill following an extremely questionable call by
referee Peter MacDougall.
Mukhamadullin and Josh Anderson were
pursuing a loose puck that deflected into the Sharks zone, but Anderson either
fainted or conned MacDougall with an Academy Award winning performance, falling
to the ice.
The San Jose penalty killers negated the poor call to keep
the game deadlocked.
In the overtime, Celebrini made a nifty backdoor
feed to Wennberg, but the Swede couldn't control the puck. The lack of finish
would bite the Sharks when Caufield ended it 3:21 into the extra period.
Game Notes: * Marc-Edouard Vlasic played at Bell Centre
for the 13th time in his career, tying Patrick Marleau for most games played
there by a Shark. The Montreal native played in only his 8th game of the
season. Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky had Vlasic on the ice for the opening
puck drop.
* The Sharks hadn't lost in Montreal since February of
2015.
* Will Smith became the youngest Shark to record a multi-point
game in Montreal with his goal and assist.
* Henry Thrun was on and
off the Sharks bench during the 2nd and 3rd periods. It was not clear if the
defenseman suffered an injury. He was on the ice during Alex Newhook's goal,
then vanished to the locker room.
* Christian Dvorak pasted Macklin
Celebrini with a check from behind with 3 minutes left in regulation that both
referees elected to ignore. Josh Anderson's dive however was worthy of a
penalty. Hard to defend NHL officiating with situations like that.
*
The winning percentage when leading after 2 periods fell to .579, which is the
worst in the league by a country mile.
