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The San Jose Sharks fell 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes last night, for their third straight home loss to begin the year.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic was out for the Sharks, so Henry Thrun returned to the lineup to play with Matt Benning. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Blackwood got a second consecutive start, after an excellent performance against the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend.
The Sharks were able to strike early, as Tomas Hertl found Fabian Zetterlund with a great stretch pass for a breakaway, and Zetterlund was able to beat Frederik Andersen with a nice shot. The lead didn’t last long though, as under a minute later, the Hurricanes were able to tie the game on a power play off a goal from Seth Jarvis, quickly making it a 1-1 game.
After Frederik Andersen left the game for the Hurricanes following a puck to the head, the Hurricanes then had a great chance to take the lead on a 2-on-1, but Blackwood robbed Jordan Martinook with a glove save. Carolina really took over from there though and had some great chances on a power play soon after, but Blackwood continued to be a star for the Sharks, keeping the game tied through 20 minutes, despite San Jose being outshot 18-5 in the opening frame.
The Sharks got into penalty trouble in the second frame, but managed to kill off the ensuing power plays, only to be scored on shorthanded later in the period, as Mike Hoffman turned the puck over and Jaccob Slavin beat Blackwood on a breakaway. However, despite San Jose being outplayed fairly badly, Filip Zadina tied the game only 17 seconds later, beating Raanta through traffic on the very same power play. The Sharks were then nearly able to retake the lead shortly after, but Raanta managed to slide over to make a huge save on a shot from the slot.
On a power play a little later though, William Eklund was able to get to Henry Thrun’s shot off the end boards and put it past Raanta, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead. While Carolina did use a coach’s challenge on the play, the goal stood.
However, things fell apart for the Sharks in the third period. First, the Hurricanes managed to tie the game on a power play midway through the third frame, as Stefan Noesen snuck a shot through Blackwood. Then the penalty trouble continued for San Jose, and so did the special teams goals allowed, as Seth Jarvis beat Blackwood to make it a 4-3 game for Carolina.
A little later, Martin Necas then came in with a ton of speed on a zone entry, then went around the net and beat Blackwood with a nice wraparound. Only about 15 seconds after that, Brett Pesce just threw the puck on net and it somehow got through Blackwood as well for Carolina’s fourth goal of the period, on route to a 6-3 loss for the Sharks.
It seemed like the Sharks may be able to hang on in this one and rely on Mackenzie Blackwood to bail them out again. However, it’s going to be hard to win games when you’re outshot 42-16.
Blackwood was great through the first 40 minutes, almost single-handedly preserving San Jose’s lead. However, it was almost as though the goal allowed to Noesen, which he probably could’ve had, may have shook his confidence. After nearly two full games of rock solid netminding, all of the goals he allowed in the third period ranged from stoppable to downright weak.
Of course, you certainly can’t blame goaltending. This is now the third game in a row where the Sharks didn’t even reach 25 shots, and are now averaging just 20 shots per game so far this season.
Some key forwards just aren’t getting much done. Anthony Duclair and Mike Hoffman, two of the bigger offseason additions, each have just three shots on goal through three games. Meanwhile, Alexander Barabanov (who scored at a pace of 57 points per 82 last season), has yet to register a single shot on goal.
Perhaps the best part of the forward group has been the team’s fourth line of Nico Sturm, Givani Smith and Fabian Zetterlund. The trio has been able to bring a spark when they’re on the ice, which is something that really can’t be said about a lot of the forward group. Separately, it’s worth noting Filip Zadina has been a nice addition so far as well though.
It’s also not going to help the Sharks’ chances when they’re giving up seven power play opportunities. They allowed three goals on the Hurricanes’ man advantages, and while the Sharks did manage to bank two power play goals themselves, they also gave up a shorthanded goal.
The Sharks also opted to assign Henry Thrun to the AHL. While there’s certainly a logjam on the blue line and Thrun is exempt from waivers, he’s also the only defenseman on the team capable of adding fairly high-level offense. It'll probably help Thrun's development, but for a team that can’t generate much offense, sending Thrun down could hurt them more than help them this year.
So overall, last night was another fairly tough outing and while the Sharks did hang around, it’s clear they’re struggling to keep up. San Jose will wrap up their four-game homestand tomorrow, when they face the Boston Bruins.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
- Sharks announce 23-man roster
- Sharks fall 4-1 to Golden Knights in season opener
- Sharks fall to Avs in shootout but Mackenzie Blackwood steals the show 
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