Sharks Game 49 Recap: Sharks 4, Coyotes 2 (4/28/21)

 The Sharks take advantage of a struggling Coyotes team and win 4-2 to sweep the two-game set versus Arizona at home. 

Like the previous game on Monday, it didn't take long for the Sharks to get on the scoreboard, this time from Evander Kane for his 20th goal of the season. This is now the sixth-straight season in which Kane has scored at least 20 goals. Assisting on the first goal of the game were Alex Barabanov, who provided an amazing setup for Kane and has been great for the Sharks ever since joining their roster thus far, and Tomas Hertl. Towards the midway point of the first period, Rudolfs Balcers makes a nifty backhanded shot to give the Sharks a two-goal lead, with Logan Couture and John Leonard getting the assists on the second goal. Balcers has been a very impactful player for San Jose ever since he was picked up on waivers back in February. Kevin Labanc returned to the lineup Wednesday night and scored at approximately the 14-minute mark to make it 3-0 Sharks, with Noah Gregor and Alexander True setting up the play nicely for Labanc to bury it in the mostly empty net. About a minute later, Phil Kessel gets the Coyotes on the board to make it 3-1 through one period of play. 

Early in the second period, the Coyotes got within one after Johan Larsson took advantage of Tomas Hertl mishandling the puck in front of Josef Korenar. Lastly, Tomas Hertl finds the empty net to put this one away for good, getting assists from Mario Ferraro and Logan Couture.

A few weak points for the Sharks in this game were their power play and some bad officiating not going their way, but these factors didn't have a huge effect on the outcome of this game. 

Josef Korenar performed well in this one and better compared to Monday night, getting his second NHL win and stoping 28 of 30 shots against. In addition, Brinson Pasichnuk made his NHL debut for the Sharks Wednesday night, recording one hit and two penalty minutes in roughly eight-and-a-half minutes of ice time. 

Patrick Marleau hit yet another milestone Wednesday night: his 1,600th game in Teal. He becomes only the second player in NHL history alongside Gordie Howe to play 1,600 games with one franchise. 

Another great win by the Sharks, and it's awesome to see the further development of their younger players. They are looking to carry their momentum into Colorado Friday and Saturday for their next miniseries against the Avalanche. Friday's game in Denver is at 6 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App