Sharks 2021-22 Game 45 Recap: Hurricanes 2, Sharks 1 (1/30/22)

 The Sharks were able to hold the Hurricanes to two goals but couldn't get much going offensively as they dropped their second consecutive game 2-1. 

The Canes got on the board early in the first period via Vincent Trocheck. Radim Simek was hit pretty hard and Alexander Barabanov got hurt, but both remained in the game. 

Carolina held on to their 1-0 lead until the third period when Rudolfs Balcers tied the game for the Sharks, getting assists from Jonathan Dahlen and Nicholas Meloche. Late in the third, the Sharks allow Andrei Svechnikov to score the game-winner for the Canes. 

Despite the loss, James Reimer was great in his second-straight start, going 27-for-29 on save opportunities. The Sharks' defense also stepped up against the Hurricanes as well. Both Reimer and the Sharks defense were the biggest factors keeping the Sharks in this game against a tough Carolina Hurricanes team, who has been one of the best teams in the NHL this season. 

I don't have much else to say about this game since I had to be at work when this game was taking place, preventing me from watching it. Hopefully Alexander Barabanov doesn't have to miss any extended time dealing with injury issues. The Sharks' next game is not only the conclusion of their current road trip, but their last game before the all-star break, which takes place in Tampa against the Lightning on Tuesday at 4 pm PT. 

Source: NHL App

Sharks 2021-22 Game 44 Recap: Panthers 5, Sharks 4 (OT) (1/29/22)

 The Sharks set the tone early, but blew their lead late in the game as they fell to the Florida Panthers 5-4 in overtime. 

Despite how great the Panthers are this season, Team Teal made things interesting to say the least. San Jose scores the first goal of the game in the first period via Tomas Hertl, with Rudolfs Balcers assisting on the play. The Sharks extended their lead to two late in the first on the power play on Jonathan Dahlen's first goal of the game, which was an absolute sniper with assists from Noah Gregor and Nick Bonino. The Panthers get on the board a few minutes later with about a minute remaining in the first period on a goal from Gustav Forsling. On the other hand, Mario Ferraro had to exit the game in the first period and is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury. 

The Sharks get back to a two-goal lead in the second period on Matt Nieto's fourth goal of the season. Nick Bonino picked up his second assist of the night, while Marc-Eduoard Vlasic picked up the secondary assist on the Nieto goal. 

The final frame was when the Panthers came back and demonstrated how great they are this season. Aleksander Barkov scored early in the final frame to get Florida within one. The Sharks regained their two-goal lead early in the third on the man advantage on Jonathan Dahlen's second goal of the game and eleventh goal of the season. Nick Bonino recorded his third assist of the game while Brent Burns was credited with the primary assist on Dahlen's second goal of the game. The Panthers answered back with two goals towards the midway point of the third by Mason Marchment and Jonathan Huberdeau to tie the game at four and force OT. It only took about a minute into overtime for Sam Bennett to score the game-winner and complete the Panthers' comeback against the Sharks.

One of the biggest factors that kept the Sharks in this game for the most part was James Reimer, who made a total of 45 saves, some of which were incredible. Since Joe Thornton is now on the Panthers' roster, it only made sense for him to be in their lineup against his former team. 

San Jose can't be too upset with this one since the Panthers were a difficult opponent and perform incredibly well at home this season. The Sharks' next stop on their current road trip is in Raleigh where they face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second game of a back-to-back set this afternoon at 2 pm PT. 

Source: NHL App

Evander Kane Signs with Edmonton Oilers

 Former Sharks forward Evander Kane and the Edmonton Oilers have verbally agreed to a contract for the remainder of this season valued at a total of $2.094 million. A full no-movement clause is also attached to the deal. Kane will wear number 91 for the Oilers.

On the other hand, Kane won't face any additional discipline for his violations of COVID protocol. This will have no effect on the grievance filed on behalf of Kane by the NHLPA following the termination of his contract by the Sharks.

The Sharks have yet to face the Oilers this season, so they will be facing off against Evander Kane four times starting in SAP Center on Valentine's Day. 

I'm happy that Evander Kane is mainly the Oilers' problem now. There's no denying that he can score goals and produce on offense, but there's no guarantee that he will behave himself and not disrupt another team's locker room culture. 

In other news, goalie Adin Hill is currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Sources: San Jose Hockey Now, Yahoo Fantasy

Sharks 2021-22 Game 43 Recap: Sharks 4, Capitals 1 (1/26/22)

 The Sharks begin their final road trip on the East Coast and before the all-star break on a high note as they get a huge win over the Washington Capitals 4-1. 

This is a much-needed win for the Sharks after they dropped their previous two games and seemed to be trending in the wrong direction. The Sharks scored the first goal of the game in the first period by Noah Gregor breaking his 20-game scoring drought, with assists from Brent Burns and Alexander Barabanov. 

The Sharks extended their lead to two in the second period on Nicolas Meloche’s first NHL goal, which was assisted by Matt Nieto. 14 seconds into the third period, the Capitals scored their only goal of the game via Daniel Sprong right off of the face-off. Later in the third, the Sharks added two more via Jonathan Dahlen and an empty-netter from Andrew Cogliano. Timo Meier, Nick Bonino, and Logan Couture each collected assists on the Sharks’ last two goals of the game. The Sharks are now 15-0-0 when leading after two periods.

Right as the game ended, Jonah Gadjovich and Garnet Hathaway dropped the gloves and began throwing haymakers at each other, which went on a little longer than I had expected. 

James Reimer was absolutely fantastic against the Capitals, stopping 32 of 33 shots. Some of these saves were incredible, and Optimus Reim was one of the main factors that kept San Jose in this game. In addition, Team Teal was able to get more depth scoring from their bottom-line forwards and bottom-pairing defensemen. This was a significant benefit to the Sharks, and if the depth skaters can step up more often, they will win more games. 

On the other hand, the Sharks announced yesterday that Erik Karlsson underwent successful surgery on his left forearm and will be out for the next 6-8 weeks. This stinks as Karlsson was having his best season in teal so far. However, everyone else on the Sharks will need to step things up so the impact of Karlsson’s absence won’t be felt as greatly and negatively affect the Sharks’ performance down the stretch. 

The Sharks’ current road trip is one of their toughest yet, and with their win over the Capitals to start this road trip, they have more momentum on their side, and the road trip has already been deemed a success. San Jose’s next stop on this road trip is in Sunrise, where they will face the Florida Panthers on Saturday at 3 pm PT in the first of a back-to-back set of games this weekend. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

Sharks 2021-22 Game 42 Recap: Lightning 7, Sharks 1 (1/22/22)

 The Sharks didn’t stand a chance against the defending champs as they get blown out by the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-1 and drop their second-straight contest. 

San Jose allowed four unanswered goals in the first period and was playing catch-up ever since. One bright spot for the Sharks in this game is that Jaycob Megna scored his first goal with the Sharks late in the first period, while Ryan Merkley recorded his first NHL assist. 

The Bolts proceeded to add one goal in the second period and two goals in the third. Ross Colton scored two goals, while Steven Stamkos, Mathieu Joseph, Corey Perry, Brayden Point, and Alex Killorn each scored a goal against the Sharks. A total of 14 players each recorded at least one point for the Lightning Saturday night. 

James Reimer received the starting nod in net and was less than stellar, making nine saves and giving up four goals before Adin Hill took over in net in the second period. Hill made 15 saves and gave up three goals in relief of Reimer. 

I can’t be too upset about the result of this game because the Lightning are my second-favorite NHL team, and the 49ers won a thriller of a playoff game against the Packers in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Team Teal’s next game isn’t until Wednesday, when they embark on their last road trip to the east coast this season and face the Capitals in Washington, D.C. at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Sharks Audio Network, NHL App 

Sharks 2021-22 Game 41 Recap: Kraken 3, Sharks 2 (1/20/22)

 The Sharks drop their first game in Seattle 3-2 and have yet to win a game against the newest NHL team, the Kraken. 

One bright spot was that Tomas Hertl scored the first goal of the game 38 seconds in, with Alexander Barabanov assisting on the play. Most of this game was disappointing to say the least, with the Sharks not executing on most of their power play chances yet again and playing down to their competition. The Kraken proceeded to score three unanswered, two by Carson Soucy in the second period and one by Calle Jarnkrok in the third. The go-ahead goal for the Kraken in the second period almost went to Ryan Donato, but it was overturned due to the Kraken going offsides on the ensuing play. 

The Sharks were able to get within one in the final frame via Timo Meier's 21st goal of the season on the power play from Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. Meier and Hertl each have 21 goals on the season, leading the Sharks and making San Jose the only team to have two players with at least 20 goals. 

Adin Hill was given the start in net and had an okay performance, stopping 14 of 17 shots against. 

Overall, the Sharks had a less than stellar performance against the NHL's newest team. The Kraken are currently next-to-last in the Western Conference, and I don't fully understand why the Sharks tend to play down to their level every time these two teams face off so far. In addition, the Sharks wasted a perfect opportunity to move up the Pacific Division standings with the Kings losing to the Avalanche Thursday night. 

Team Teal is back at home for their next game on Saturday as they take on the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks News & Notes (1/19/22)

 A few recent and significant headlines affecting the Sharks have announced. Here they are: 

• The NHL announced that it will stop testing asymptomatic players and team staff members after the All-Star break. The NFL and NBA already stopped testing asymptomatic players, and now the NHL plans to follow suit. They are heading in the right direction if you ask me. 

•  The Sharks activated Alexander Barabanov off of COVID protocol but added Rudolfs Balcers to COVID protocol. In addition, Joachim Blichfeld and Adam Raska were recalled from the Barracuda. 

• The NHL also announced the rescheduling of 95 games during the three weeks in February that were initially planned for the players to participate in the Olympics. How does this affect the Sharks? They have 12 days off from February 2 to February 13, and had three of their games postponed this season due to pandemic-related disruptions. The Sharks vs. Oilers game originally scheduled for December 21 has been moved to February 14; Sharks vs. Canucks originally scheduled for December 23 has been moved to February 17; Sharks @ Ducks originally scheduled for December 27 has been moved to February 22. In addition, the SHarks-Golden Knights game that was initially slotted for April 10 has been moved to February 20. Like I have previously mentioned, my friend and I were supposed to attend the Sharks @ Ducks game in Anaheim on December 27, but the NHL postponed all games scheduled for that day. Now that it has been rescheduled, it is too early to know if he and I can still attend that game. The game takes place on a Tuesday, which may allow for school to get in the way for me, plus something may come up with my friend to where he wouldn't be able to go after all. If possible, I'll try to work things out so that my classes don't interfere with my ability to attend that game. 

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for more Sharks updates. 

Sources: NHL App, Multiple sources via Twitter

Sharks 2021-22 Game 40 Recap: Sharks 6, Kings 2 (1/17/22)

 Timo Meier has undoubtedly the best performance of his career as the Sharks take down the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 Monday afternoon. 

What made this Timo’s best performance of his career? He scored five goals, becoming the first player in Sharks franchise history to score five goals in a game. He also scored the fastest hat trick in Sharks history, which took place entirely in the first period (19:09). The other two goals Timo Meier scored in this game were in the second period, and two of his five goals scored in this game were on the power play. 

Besides Timo Meier having the biggest game of his life, the only other goal-scorer for the Sharks in their first matchup against the Kings this season was Rudolfs Balcers. 

Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson each recorded three assists, with Karlsson hitting 500 assists on his career. In addition Brent Burns added an assist on Timo’s first goal of the game. 

The Kings were able to salvage two goals while getting shelled by one of their biggest rivals. These two goals came via Anze Kopitar in the first period and Mikey Anderson in the third period. 

James Reimer was back in net for the Sharks and returned to form, saving 39 of 41 shots against. 

There was also a fight that went down between Jeff Viel and Brendan Lemieux in the second period. Viel has been making a statement in the Sharks’ past few games, trying to cement his spot in the lineup as an enforcer-type player. 

What an amazing, unbelievable, and historic performance from Timo Meier. The fact that it took place against one of the Sharks’ biggest rivals made it even more satisfying. I sure would love to see more performances like this from Sharks players in more games this season. 

San Jose travels to Seattle for the first time ever for its first-ever game at Climate Pledge Arena against the Kraken on Thursday at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

Sharks 2021-22 Game 39 Recap: Penguins 2, Sharks 1 (OT) (1/15/22)

 The Sharks held their ground for the most part but couldn’t capitalize on their power play opportunities as they drop this one in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1. 

San Jose performed fairly well in this game but couldn’t get get the result they wanted. Both teams found the back of the net in the first period via Rudolfs Balcers for the Sharks followed by Kris Letang for the Penguins. Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier each recorded assists on the Sharks’ only goal of the game. 

Both the second and third periods were scoreless. The Sharks had three power play opportunities in both the second and third periods, one of them being a four-minute double minor after Jonathan Dahlen drew blood after taking a high stick to the face from Jake Guentzel. They couldn’t execute on any of them. 

The game remained tied at one until overtime, when Sidney Crosby found Jake Guentzel in front of the net to put it away for the game winner and extra point. 

Despite taking the loss, Adin Hill had another great performance in net, making 25 saves. 

In other news, the Sharks got assistant coach John MacLean back from COVID protocol, and the Sharks have made a contract offer to Tomas Hertl. We'll have to wait and see if Hertl accepts the contract offer, and I sure hope he does because he is such a valuable member of this Sharks team in terms of his production on offense and his personality. 

The Sharks face one of their biggest rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, for the first time this season in their next game on Monday, with an afternoon start time of 1 pm PT due to it being observed as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks 2021-22 Game 38 Recap: Rangers 3, Sharks 0 (1/13/22)

 The Sharks were able to keep the Rangers at bay for the most part, but the offense fell flat as they were shut out by the New York Rangers 3-0. This snapped the Sharks’ three-game win streak. 

It basically came down to the Rangers executing on some of their scoring chances and the Sharks not doing so. Chris Kreider scored two goals for the Rangers, one in the first period while the Rangers were shorthanded and the other being an empty-netter late in the third. In addition, Braden Schneider scored his first NHL goal in the second period his first NHL game. 

Despite the final score, Adin Hill performed well in net, stopping 28 of 30 shots against. As for the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin was perfect after returning from COVID protocol, stopping all 36 shots he faced. 

On the brighter side, the Sharks got Nick Bonino back from COVID protocol and Rudolfs Balcers back from the injured reserve, and Andrew Cogliano skated in his 1,100th NHL game. However, Alexander Barabanov was added to COVID protocol on Wednesday. 

In other news, the NHL All-Star Game rosters were announced. Timo Meier was named to the Pacific Division roster and is currently the Sharks' lone representative for the All-Star Game, while Tomas Hertl was snubbed. Timo earned his recognition as an all-star this season as he currently leads the Sharks in assists and points. Logan Couture was named a finalist for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game Final Vote, where one additional player from each division gets added to the All-Star rosters. 

The Stealth jerseys still remain cursed this season, and teams can't win games if they can't score any goals. The Sharks will look to bounce back as their current homestand continues on Saturday when the Pittsburgh Penguins make a visit to SAP Center. Puck drop for Saturday's game is at 7:30 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks 2021-22 Game 37 Recap: Sharks 3, Red Wings 2 (OT) (1/11/22)

 The Sharks continue to roll as they defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime to win their third-straight game. 

Every aspect of the Sharks' game performed well against the Red Wings at the Tank. Early in the first period, Jeff Viel fought Givani Smith, mainly to retaliate for Smith knocking out Jake Middleton in the Sharks previous match-up against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena last week. Later in the opening frame, the Sharks get on the board first via Timo Meier on the power play, finding a wide open area of the net and burying it on an incredible pass from Jonathan Dahlen. 

The Red Wings went on to score the next two goals via Tyler Bertuzzi on the power play in the second period and Nick Leddy early in the third period. A few minutes later, the Sharks tie it at two on Jeff Viel's second goal of the year, which ultimately forced overtime. 

The overtime period began when a Red Wings fan threw an octopus onto the ice, but it ended up not being good luck for the Red Wings. Logan Couture returned from COVID protocol and scored the game-winning goal a minute into overtime for the Sharks' third consecutive win. Jonathan Dahlen picked up his second assist of the game on the OT winner, and this also improved the Sharks' OT record to 6-0 this season. The officials and NHL situation room in Toronto reviewed the Cooch OT winner after it was scored longer than they should've, but there was no definitive evidence to overturn it.

Brent Burns picked up three assists in the win over Detroit for his second-straight three-assist night and increasing his total to six assists over the past two games. 

Adin Hill was excellent in his latest start, stopping 17 of 19 shots against. Besides Logan Couture, Lane Pederson was activated off COVID protocol before this game, but didn't play in it. 

Erik Karlsson returned from injury and was back in the lineup, while Adam Raska became the tenth player to make his NHL debut for the Sharks this season. 

In other news, reports suggest that now former Sharks forward Evander Kane will sign with the Edmonton Oilers for the remainder of this season.

The Sharks are looking great right now. As for the standings, San Jose is currently tied for third place in the Pacific Division and holds the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks face the New York Rangers in their next game on Thursday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App

Sharks 2021-22 Game 36 Recap: Sharks 3, Flyers 2 (OT) (1/8/22)

 The Sharks come from behind in the third period to take down the Flyers in overtime 3-2 to close out their current road trip with a 2-2 record. 

The first two periods were scoreless, but Jonah Gadjovich had to exit the game after taking a few shifts and feeling discomfort in the first period. Other than that, it was mainly a goaltending duel between Adin Hill and Martin Jones. 

The scoring affair began in the third when James van Riemsdyk scored the first two goals of the game. The Sharks followed those up with two goals from Tomas Hertl. Each goal by Hertl in the third period was assisted by Timo Meier and Brent Burns. 

Seconds into overtime, Tomas Hertl completes the natural hat trick with his third consecutive goal to win the game for the Sharks. With the Hertl OT GWG, Brent Burns adds another assist for a total of three assists on the night. 

Adin Hill recorded 29 saves, while Martin Jones tallied 44 saves against his former club. 

In other headlines, the Sharks announced this morning that they placed Evander Kane on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. This was due to breach of contract by violating AHL COVID protocols. The Sharks have continued to distance themselves from Evander Kane, and they have finally ended their relationship. His $22.8 million over this season and the next three seasons will come off the books, which should certainly help the Sharks’ cap situation. 

In addition, Nick Bonino and assistant coach John MacLean were added to health and safety protocols earlier today. 

Now that Evander Kane is off the books, and Tomas Hertl had an incredible performance and is having an amazing season, the Sharks should go all out in re-signing Hertl to a long-term extension. This game had a crazy, unexpected, and phenomenal finish to it, and I couldn’t be happier. 

Team Teal returns home to face the Detroit Red Wings in their next game on Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT, which will be aired exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

Sharks 2021-22 Game 35 Recap: Sharks 3, Sabres 2 (1/6/22)

 The Sharks bounce back from their previous two games and hang on to take care of the lowly Buffalo Sabres 3-2. 

San Jose's dominant first period set the tone for this game, scoring three goals via Matt Nieto, Timo Meier, and Tomas Hertl respectively. Hertl added an assist in the first period, and Andrew Cogliano, Nick Bonino, Mario Ferraro, and Alexander Barabanov each recorded assists on the three goals in the first period. 

The Sabres tried to make things interesting in the second and third periods, scoring one from Jeff Skinner in the second and another from Zemgus Girgensons in the third. Although the Sabres performed better in the second and third periods, the three-goal first period was all the Sharks needed to hold on and earn the victory in Buffalo. 

Adin Hill made his first start in net since December 16 and performed well, recording 37 saves on 39 shots against. It was also great to have Mario Ferraro back in the lineup after his stint on the health and safety list, as he has a positive impact on the Sharks' team defense and locker room atmosphere. 

On the other hand, Jake Middleton, Erik Karlsson, and James Reimer have been dealing with injuries lately and will be out for some time. 

I'm glad the Sharks got the win in Buffalo, and I hope this game allows the Sharks to overcome their recent struggles, continue to perform well, and win games. Team Teal's next game is Saturday in Philadelphia to round out its current road trip and season series against the Flyers at 4 pm PT. 

Source: NHL App

Sharks 2021-22 Game 34 Recap: Red Wings 6, Sharks 2 (1/4/22)

 The Sharks suffer their second-straight one-sided loss as they fall to the Detroit Red Wings 6-2. 

This game was disappointing, embarrassing, upsetting, and overall not good. It all began when Jake Middleton and Givani Smith fought early in the first period. In the later half of the first, the Sharks proceeded to give up the first goal of the game to Tyler Bertuzzi. With about a few minutes remaining in the first, Givani Smith laid a dirty, high hit on Jake Middleton into the boards, which knocked out Middleton to the point that he was unable to return to the game after the hit. Smith was given a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct for boarding. 

This set up the Sharks to go on a five-minute power play late in the first period and continuing into the beginning of the second period. This five-minute power play for the Sharks was awful as they gave up two shorthanded goals on that power play to Pius Suter and Tyler Bertuzzi, which were the first shorties for the Red Wings in over 100 games. After that disaster of a power play, the Sharks finally got on the board via Jasper Weatherby from Brent Burns and Jeff Viel to cut their deficit to two. The Red Wings extended their lead back to three later in the second frame on Pius Suter's second goal of the game. 

Early in the final frame, Alexander Barabanov redirected a shot from Tomas Hertl to get the Sharks back in this game, who still found themselves trailing by two. Timo Meier was credited with the second assist on the Sharks' last goal of the contest. The Red Wings then added two more from Dylan Larkin and Robby Fabbri to make it a 6-2 game. The later half of the third period saw a large scuffle break out between the Sharks and Red Wings, with Tyler Bertuzzi and Jeff Viel both receiving game misconducts for roughing and getting ejected from the game.

James Reimer recorded 20 saves and gave up four goals before getting pulled after the second period in favor of Adin Hill, who made five saves and gave up two more goals. The blame should be shifted more towards poor team defense rather than Reimer himself for why he was pulled in two consecutive games.

Aside for the two goals they were able to salvage in their lopsided loss, the Sharks were a complete mess against the Red Wings. It didn't help that Logan Couture and Lane Pederson were added to the COVID list before the Sharks' match-up against the Red Wings, in addition to losing Jake Middleton early in the game and not having a few more of their regulars in the lineup. Marc-Eduoard Vlasic was a healthy scratch ahead of this game, which was the first time this occurred in what seemed like forever. 

Hopefully the Sharks can put their recent struggles behind them and turn things around when they face the Sabres in their next game in Buffalo on Thursday at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks 2021-22 Game 33 Recap: Penguins 8, Sharks 5 (1/2/22)

 The Sharks came back and made things interesting in the third period, but it wasn’t enough as a disastrous first period ultimately led to their 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins to begin the road trip and the 2022 calendar year. 

This game was off to a rough start as the Sharks gave up four goals quickly in approximately the first six minutes. Two of the first four goals were from Evan Rodrigues, while the other two were from Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. The Sharks were able to salvage one in the first period via Alexander Barabanov, getting assists from Timo Meier and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic. The Pens continued to fire on all cylinders, scoring two more from Kasper Bjorkvist and Bryan Rust to make it 6-1 Pittsburgh through one period of play. 

James Reimer recorded 11 saves and gave up six goals before getting replaced by Zach Sawchenko in net, who made his NHL debut to start the second period. The Sharks got another goal back on the power play in the second period via Brent Burns, getting assists from Nick Bonino and Noah Gregor. This was the first of four unanswered goals from the Sharks to storm back into the game. The next three came early in the final frame via Matt Nieto, Jake Middleton, and Logan Couture. The Nieto goal was banked off of the boards, deflected off of Casey DeSmith, and into the net. Jake Middleton deflected a shot from Erik Karlsson to cut the Sharks’ deficit to two. Couture then buries one to get the Sharks within one on his 800th NHL game. 

However, Evan Rodrigues and Bryan Rust each scored late in the third period to complete their hat tricks and thwart any further comeback efforts from Team Teal. 

Timo Meier added two more assists in the third period for three assists against the Penguins in this game. Jake Middleton and Andrew Cogliano each added assists on the third period goals as well. 

Zach Sawchenko was solid in relief of James Reimer in his NHL debut and almost performed like a veteran NHL goalie in the last two periods, recording 20 saves. 

Despite being on the wrong end of this game, this wasn’t as bad of a loss as it would’ve been had there been a repeat of the first two periods in the third period. This Sharks team showed plenty of resiliency in the third period, and if they can keep this up, this will set them up well to win more games against tough opponents. I applaud the Sharks for their comeback efforts in this game, but the Pens were simply better in this one, especially right out of the gate. 

In other news, Adin Hill is now out of COVID protocol and plans to make a start with the Barracuda in the AHL before rejoining the Sharks later in their current road trip. 

San Jose continues its current Eastern road trip with the next stop in Detroit against the Red Wings on Tuesday at 4:30 pm PT.