The San Jose Sharks fell behind by two goals midway through the second period and never fully recovered in a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday at American Airlines Center.
Early in the second period, with the game tied 1-1, the Sharks turned the puck over at the Stars’ blue line. A few seconds later, an uncovered Wyatt Johnston streaked into the Sharks’ zone, took a pass from Roope Hintz, and beat goalie Mackenzie Blackwood high glove side 56 seconds after intermission.
Exactly 10 minutes later, the Stars took advantage of another Sharks turnover in their own end, as Jamie Benn knocked the puck away from defenseman Jake Walman. After the puck came back to Dallas forward Logan Stankoven, he slid a pass past Cody Ceci right to Benn, who beat Blackwood for a 3-1 lead.
“We shoot ourselves in the foot, and there are goals that we give up that are completely preventable,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Until we learn how to play in the National Hockey League against really good second-period teams, which most teams, and know how to transition in the second period, we’re going to be fighting this uphill battle in games.
“We have to learn how to manage pucks in the neutral zone, how to line change, how to play with more detail in our game, and just be smarter throughout our shifts.”
The Sharks struggled with breakouts, which is not surprising given how the Stars use their speed to swarm pucks.
The Sharks did well in that area in their 5-4 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings, but Wednesday was a step back.
“It was a big issue. We’ve got to be better,” Warsofsky said. “Our defense, individually, needs to improve. Whether you’ve been here for one year or you’ve been in the league for 10 years, you need to improve. That’s kind of the message.”
Blackwood finished with 26 saves, Walman scored, and Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who lost in regulation time for just the second time in six games.
“Just those little parts in the game, we’ve got to hold each other accountable,” Walman said. “If you want to be a good team, and compete with these other good teams, we’ve got to hold each other accountable and make the right plays at the right times.”
Granlund’s assist on Walman’s goal at the 13:25 mark of the third period, which cut Dallas’ lead to 3-2, was the 400th assist of his NHL career.
The Sharks had a chance to tie the game after Stars forward Mason Marchment was given a delay of game penalty with 6:07 left in regulation. The Sharks only got one shot on the man advantage and were 0-for-3 on the power play for the night.
The Sharks had been 3-for-11 with the man advantage in their last three game before Wednesday. But the unit was mostly ineffective in Dallas.
“It’s just not where it needs to be. It’s not a threat,” Warsofsky said of the power play.
In the final two minutes of the third period, Granlund could not join the Sharks in their effort to tie the game as he was sent off the ice to go through concussion protocol. Granlund was elbowed in the head by Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin in the Dallas zone, but no penalty was called.
Warsofsky did not have a health update on Granlund, who was unable to speak with reporters after the game.
The Sharks play the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Thursday, then return home to play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday to begin a four-game homestand.
The Sharks will have a ceremony Saturday afternoon to officially retire Joe Thornton’s No. 19, which will be raised to the rafters at SAP Center. The event will begin at 2:30 p.m., with the game against the Sabres starting at 5 p.m.
On Thursday, the Sharks took three penalties in the first period against the Stars but were still tied 1-1 with Dallas after 20 minutes.
Less than two minutes after allowing an even-strength goal to Jason Robertson at the 15:33 mark of the first period, Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun was called for high-sticking Dallas captain Jamie Benn.
But with the puck inside their own zone, the Sharks forced a Stars turnover. William Eklund then chipped the puck ahead to a streaking Granlund, who fought off a check from Dallas forward Roope Hintz and beat goalie Jake Oettinger with a backhand to forehand move for his ninth goal of the season at the 18:44 mark.
It was just the second shorthanded goal of the season for the Sharks, as it extended Granlund’s point streak to three games and Eklund’s point streak to five games.
Attention now turns to Thursday’s game in St. Louis, where rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov might play his first game in a Sharks uniform. Askarov backed up Blackwood on Wednesday for the second straight game, as Vitek Vanecek, who is also on the road trip, remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Warsofsky wouldn’t say who would start against the Blues. But it would be unusual to start the same goalie on back-to-back nights on the road, and it wouldn’t seem prudent to play Vanecek if he wasn’t 100% healthy.
Although nothing is official, that would seem to leave Askarov as the Sharks’ top option in St. Louis.
“Vitek’s day-to-day here,” Warsofsky said, “and we’ll play it as we go.”
