The Sharks lose to the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 in their final game at Gila River Arena in Glendale.
San Jose got off to a good start to this one but let things slip away towards the end. It first began when Scott Reedy deflected a shot from Ryan Merkley on the power play for his second NHL goal. John Leonard also got a piece of the first goal, but Reedy was the last to touch it before it found the back of the net. The Coyotes tied it a few minutes later to get on the board via Nick Ritchie, leading to a 1-1 score through one period of play.
The Coyotes' scoring picked back up near the middle of the second period, as Ryan Merkley blew a tire behind the Sharks net and allowed Jan Jenik to score his first goal of the game. Fortunately the Sharks found a way to tie the game a bit later on Brent Burns' seventh goal of the season, which was assisted by Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier.
The Sharks had plenty of chances to increase their scoring throughout this game, but they either hit several posts or couldn't figure out Karel Vejmelka. Arizona then proceeded to score three unanswered goals in the third period via Jan Jenik's second goal of the game, Barrett Hayton, and an empty-netter from Nick Schmaltz. Jan Jenik has scored four NHL goals so far, and each of them have come against the Sharks. Also, Phil Kessel currently has a six-game point streak against the Sharks, recording two assists on each of the Jenik goals as the Coyotes avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Sharks.
In addition, late in the final period, a scary incident occurred as Clayton Keller was turning a corner and lost his balance, causing his ankles to buckle and his body to crash full speed into the boards. Play had to stop as Keller was in a ton of pain and laid there immobilized with both of his legs pointing in opposite directions. Crews had to bring a stretcher onto the ice and carry him off, and as Keller was being carted off, he gave a thumbs up to let everyone know that he is conscious and everything was going to be okay. His legs and ankles appeared to take the brunt of the collision. The conditions and status of Clayton Keller's injury weren't officially released, but he is anticipated to be out long term. My thoughts and prayers are with Clayton Keller, and I hope he has a speedy recovery. It is never good when players get injured like that and have to leave the game on a stretcher.
James Reimer didn't have his best performance in net last night, but it wasn't entirely his fault either, recording 19 saves on 23 shots against.
Although the Sharks' young players continue to step up, this game didn't end well for Team Teal, and the injury to Clayton Keller paints a dark cloud over the Coyotes' victory. The Sharks travel to Denver for their next game tonight as they face the Colorado Avalanche in the second game of a back-to-back slate at 6 pm PT.
Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App
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