The Sharks took a step back and had two game-tying goals disallowed in a 1-0 shutout loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
The Coyotes struck first in the second period via Mattias Maccelli in what would end up being the only goal scored and needed to win this contest for Arizona. The Sharks made efforts to tie this game in the third period and almost did so twice, the first time by Mikael Granlund and the second time by William Eklund, but both goals were overturned due to offsides and goaltending interference respectively. A combination of bad luck and not enough coordination by Team Teal.
Kaapo Kahkonen had another quality start in net, but his offense couldn’t bail him out, recording 23 saves on 24 shots against.
Prior to this game, Nico Sturm was placed on the IR with a mid-body injury and didn’t travel with the Sharks on their current two-game road trip. In a corresponding move, the Sharks acquired center Jack Studnicka from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Nick Cicek and a 2024 sixth-round pick. Studnicka will be joining the Sharks on their current road trip ahead of their next game on Sunday and was added to their roster. He is a 24-year-old two-way center who has one goal in five games with the Canucks along with one goal and six assists for seven points in nine games with the Abbotsford Canucks this season. In total, Studnicka has six goals and ten assists for 16 points in 90 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, along with five Stanley Cup playoff games. In addition, Studnicka has 35 goals and 68 assists for 103 points in 126 AHL games with the Providence Bruins and Abbotsford Canucks, and was named to the AHL All-Star Game and AHL All-Rookie Team during the 2019-20 season.
On the other hand, Cicek had a brief stint at the NHL level with the Sharks during the 2022-23 season, recording four assists in 16 games. In addition, Cicek has a total of seven goals and 24 assists for 31 points in 108 AHL games with the Barracuda after joining the Sharks organization on an AHL contract for the 2021-22 season. Overall, this trade is a solid and necessary one, especially with injuries piling up for the Sharks and concerns that Nico Sturm could miss a significant amount of time, leaving the Sharks’ center depth pretty thin.
The Sharks conclude their current brief road trip on Sunday in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche at 5 pm PT.
Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Sharks + SAP Center App
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