The San Jose Sharks did nearly every little thing they needed to do within the first interval of Thursday’s sport towards the New York Rangers.
Then, because the second interval wore on, they started to do the precise reverse.
The Sharks scored first at Madison Sq. Backyard however couldn’t overcome their errors within the second, permitting three unanswered objectives in a irritating 3-2 loss to the Rangers within the third sport of a four-game highway journey.
Defenseman Timothy Liljegren scored his first objective of the season on the 2:51 mark of the primary interval to offer the Sharks a 1-0 lead. However after some missed alternatives, the Sharks grew to become their very own worst enemy later within the second, as Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey, and Vincent Trocheck all scored.
On Zibanejad’s tying objective on the 11:41 mark of the second interval, Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood backhanded a move behind the web alongside the boards meant to Cody Ceci. However Chris Kreider retrieved it as an alternative, and two seconds later, Zibanejad tipped a move from Adam Fox previous Blackwood for his third objective of the season.
The Sharks have been caught puck-watching on the following two objectives they allowed, significantly on Trocheck’s objective on the 16:21 mark of the second. After the Rangers retrieved the puck of their zone, it solely took three passes earlier than Panarin discovered Trocheck open contained in the Sharks’ zone, as he redirected the move previous Blackwood for a 3-1 Rangers lead.
The Sharks appeared to lack communication on the play, being outshot 16-6 within the second interval and 11-4 by means of the primary 10 minutes of the third.
With the additional attacker out, Fabian Zetterlund scored a power-play objective with 26 seconds left in regulation time to chop the Rangers result in 3-2, however the Sharks couldn’t discover the equalizer.
Blackwood completed with 32 saves because the Sharks fell to 1-1-1 on this highway journey, which ends Saturday night time in Pittsburgh.
The Sharks additionally introduced close to the beginning of the third interval that Nico Sturm had an upper-body harm and wouldn’t return.
The Sharks had possibilities to attain a second objective. Nonetheless, they have been both foiled by Rangers goalie and Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin or shot themselves within the foot, like within the second interval once they didn’t get a shot on objective on a 3-on-1 with Mikael Granlund, Fabian Zetterlund, and William Eklund.
Eklund additionally had a shot try ring off the put up, and Barclay Goodrow missed the web on a shorthanded breakaway.
The Sharks efficiently challenged Fox’s objective on the 14:32 mark of the second interval. It was decided that Trocheck, coming from behind the web, induced Blackwood to lose his stick, which impaired his capacity to play his place. The Sharks are actually 3-for-3 on coach’s challenges this season.
Blackwood was coming off a 44-save efficiency within the Sharks’ 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, persevering with a pattern of strong play.
In his final six begins earlier than Thursday, beginning with an Oct. 23 begin in San Jose towards the Anaheim Geese, Blackwood was 3-3-0 with a strong .927 save proportion. Among the many 37 NHL goalies who’ve performed in a minimum of eight video games this season, Blackwood, per moneypuck.com, was thirteenth in objectives saved above anticipated per 60 minutes (.346) earlier than enjoying the Rangers.
Earlier than Thursday, Blackwood is 3-4-2 with a .910 save proportion.
Blackwood, a pending unrestricted free agent, had been 6-8-0 with a .887 save proportion in 15 profession video games towards the Rangers.
NEW-LOOK POWER PLAY: The Sharks tweaked their energy play items for Thursday’s sport, with Macklin Celebrini becoming a member of the second unit alongside Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Goodrow, and Liljegren. It marked the primary time Celebrini and Smith, the Sharks’ prime two rookie forwards, had been on the identical power-play unit in an NHL common season sport.
The Sharks’ prime power-play unit featured forwards Granlund, Eklund, Zetterlund, Alexander Wennberg, and defenseman Jack Thompson.
It did little to no good, because the Sharks went 0-for-2 with the person benefit. Earlier than Thursday, the Sharks had transformed simply considered one of their final 20 energy play alternatives. They got here into Madison Sq. Backyard on a 0-for-15 streak with the person benefit, with their final energy play objective approaching Oct. 31 when Smith scored towards the Chicago Blackhawks in a 3-2 win at SAP Heart.
WALMAN OUT: Jake Walman missed his fifth straight sport. Walman, who practiced Wednesday, has or had been coping with an upper-body harm he sustained on Nov. 2 when he was hit by Vancouver Canucks ahead Brock Boeser.
