Sharks 2022-23 Game 47 Recap: Blue Jackets 5, Sharks 3 (1/21/23)

 The Sharks had great chances in this one, but couldn’t hold it together late as they lose 5-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This has been one of several instances where the Sharks had the lead, blew it, and found themselves chasing the game from behind. The Sharks got off to a fantastic start, scoring first in the first period on a great goal by Timo Meier from Noah Gregor and Tomas Hertl. This marks Meier’s 27th goal of the season. 

Things picked back up in the second period, as Nick Bonino scored a wraparound goal from Nico Sturm and Jaycob Megna to extend the Sharks’ lead to two. Right father the faceoff following that second goal, Jonah Gadjovich and Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves and fought, which was instigated by Olivier to get the Blue Jackets going. Later in the second frame, the Blue Jackets scored two goals in 72 seconds via Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner to tie it at two through two periods of play. 

Early in the third period, the Sharks regained their lead on an unusual goal that went to Nico Sturm for his 11th of the year. This sequence began when Noah Gregor shot one that almost scored but instead hit the post, Sturm got an initial shot on net that was stopped by Joonas Korpisalo, but it ended up being an own goal by Adam Boqvist that he tried to clear but unknowingly went through the five-hole of Korpisalo and found the back of the net. From this point forward, it all went downhill from there. About two minutes later, the Jackets tied the game at three via Patrik Laine, while Gus Nyquist scored about nine and a half minutes later to give Columbus its first lead of the night. Lastly, the Blue Jackets put the cherry on top of their comeback efforts with an empty-netter from Sean Kuraly with about a minute remaining in regulation. 

Kaapo Kahkonen was okay in his start in tonight's game against the Jackets, making 24 saves. 

Overall, the Sharks played well in the first period and early in the second, but some miscues in the later half of the game resulted in more disappointment against a Blue Jackets team who is currently at the bottom of the league standings. This is only the start of a lengthy road trip, and it won't get any easier, with the Sharks heading to Boston to face the Bruins in their next game tomorrow at 4 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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