The Sharks did not stand much of a chance on the road in Minnesota, as San Jose has now dropped six of their last seven games in a 4-1 loss to the Wild.
The Wild struck first early in the opening period on a 2-man advantage goal from Kirill Kaprizov. The Sharks responded later in the second period, when Macklin Celebrini redirected a shot from Dmitry Orlov to score his seventh goal of the season, which initially hit the crossbar, then went off the back of Jesper Wallstedt and into the back of the net. Will Smith assisted on this Celebrini Sharks equalizer as well. Soon after, the Wild went back ahead on a power play goal from Maxim Shabanov. Relatively early in the third period, Quinn Hughes scored to extend the Wild’s lead to two, followed by another from Zach Bogosian later in the third to make it 4-1 Minnesota.
Yaroslav Askarov received more support from his defense tonight compared to the other night against the Kings in LA, stopping 25 of 29 shots he faced in St. Paul. In addition, Adam Gaudette is back in the Sharks lineup tonight on the fourth line, while Filip Bystedt was a healthy scratch.
Considering their recent struggles, I fully expected the Sharks to not perform well against one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season in the Wild on the road, and it went exactly how I was expecting it to. Despite the Sharks’ play in this contest being mostly lifeless and uninspiring, at least Macklin Celebrini currently has goals in consecutive games, and their first matchup against the Wild this season was not a complete defensive disasterclass like the other night against the Kings in LA. Another big positive in the Sharks potentially snapping out of their funk soon is that Alexander Wennberg is almost ready to return from the injured reserve back to a Sharks lineup that desperately needs his services in the worst way. The Sharks are back in action tomorrow night to conclude their current road trip, when they travel to Dallas to face the Stars for the second time this season at 5 pm PT.
Sources: NBC Sports California, Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, San Jose Hockey Now
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