Sharks Game 2 Recap: Coyotes 5, Sharks 3 (1/16/21)

 The Sharks lost to the Arizona Coyotes 5-3 yesterday afternoon, splitting their first two-game series with Arizona. 

San Jose struck first in the first period on a redirection by Ryan Donato for his first goal of the season and first as a Shark. Timo Meier recorded three points in this game, scoring the Sharks' second goal of the game and assisting on the other two Sharks' goals. Tomas Hertl scored the Sharks' third goal of the game on a redirection with less than one minute remaining in the third period, but it wasn't enough to catch the Coyotes after Arizona scored five of their own, two of them from Phil Kessel. Mario Ferraro recorded one apple on the Donato goal, while Erik Karlsson recorded one apple on the last goal by Hertl. 

Yesterday's game marked Stefan Noesen's 200th NHL game, recording two hits and two penalty minutes for cross-checking. 

Martin Jones 19 of 24 shots on goal by the Coyotes before getting pulled in the third period in favor of Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk recorded two saves in 12 minutes in his first game as a Shark. 

The Sharks struggled in the faceoff circle and on defense in their second game of the 2021 season, especially with Jake Middleton and Nikolai Knyzhov on ice. Their defense is expected to improve once Radim Simek returns from injury.

Games like these are bound to happen during any given season not just for the Sharks, but for any team. They will need to regroup, move on from the loss, and improve their play and strategies in their next game and going forward. 

Team Teal is now 1-1-0 after two games, good for two points and fourth place in the West Division in a four-way tie with the Avalanche, Blues, and Kings. 

San Jose's next two-game series begins on Monday, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, against the Blues in St. Louis, who are coming off an 8-0 blowout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. Puck drop is at 5 pm PT. 

In other news, Joe Thornton scored his first goal away from the Sharks since 2005 and added one helper in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 win over the Senators in Ottawa yesterday. Like many Sharks fans, I still haven't gotten used to Jumbo Joe playing for a team other than the Sharks yet. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN