The San Jose Sharks welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to SAP Center.
William Eklund scored, but the Sharks lost 4-1.
period 1
It wasn't the start the San Jose Sharks were hoping for. When Hagel got behind Thran, Thran slashed at Hagel to stop his chance at Grade A. The NHL's best power play will soon get a chance.
3 inches: Mott seems to pull MacDonald down and get away with one.
When Duclair appears on the scoreboard, he receives warm applause.
Paul's Goal: SAP Center is also against the Sharks. Hedman, trying to rim the ball from the corner, hit something and it bounced in front of Paul, the only man who saw the puck.
It looks like the judge was right.
Eklund's goal: Great pass from McDonald. McDonald pounces on Cernak NZ's unforced turnover. It was good for the two, who had been on a rough outing in Nashville.
9 inches: Addison hits a nice hard shot there.
Left 9: A small, subtle give-and-go in the DZ between Granlund and Kostin. Good job Costin.
It probably sounds like hindsight now, but we already knew during the trip that Eklund needed a change, at least positionally. The most obvious would have been to put him next to Granlund, but Kostin is getting attention there. Zetterlund probably also tried hard enough to defend his position. Maybe swap the positions of Eklund and Kunin? I don't think it would collapse Sturm's line, but it was actually pretty effective in Nashville as well. I think that's why Quinn landed Eklund on the fourth line.
And Kostin just scored a penalty.
Addison-Granlund-Kostin-Zetterlund-Bordeleau in PP1. It appears that Kostin has been appointed in place of Eklund as the top unit. Eklund is in PP2 along with McDonald, Kunin, Zadina and Balabanov.
Kunin Penalty: Mott went down very easily, didn't he? I think Mott threw his head back. That's a bad no call.
2 left: Rutta could have saved the goal there? Rutta beat Paul one-on-one, loosening the puck and opening the net. These are Rokuta's values, and he is strong in battle.
period 2
1 inch: Looks like a dead giveaway from Dumba to Costin. Bad pass. Kostin almost connects with Granlund for a tap-in.
2 inches: Kostin fires a missile and hits a soft pass to Zetterlund into the slot. An impressive sequence.
3 inches: Eklund shakes and bakes F1 sialy with ease, love. Sheary obviously isn't the most intimidating player, but if he can do that to a lower-level NHL player in essentially his rookie year, that's a good sign.
8 minutes: Zadina shoots, Kunin rebounds big, but Vasilevskiy! The San Jose Sharks continue to play with great spirit.
9 mins: Sharks have to be careful. I think Ferraro leaked Kucherov first. He had some recovery, but like he did against Nashville, he played solid. I don't think I can track my encounters with all my opponents all of a sudden.
10 inches: As I type that, another beautiful MacDonald feeds a Grade A Carpenter.
Bordeaux checked on Sheary, who was injured, but is still on the bench.
8 left: Rokuta has to get it out. He's good in battle, but his puck play can be very rough and has been the case over the last few games.
7 left: Eklund releases Cernak, then Essimont in the corner. This was fun to watch.
Five left: Ground game, 1 minute along the wall. There was a play there that I think Bordeaux needed to bring out. Something small but big. It's good that he wasn't the first to hold the ball against the wall, but was quickly focused by Sealy and didn't lose the ball there. But then Kunin gave him a tight pass and he tried to get out and lost the pass. Glendening also hit him.
Vlasic then fights Siari. The San Jose Sharks are getting engaged tonight.
2 left: Zadina's good Kunin setup.
Unfortunately, that would be the end of a very San Jose Sharks sequence. Bordeaux comes up with the ball along the wall and passes quickly to Bailey, who is probably not ready. I don't think he expected a good pass. Turnover, counter attack, Rutta penalizes Cirelli. This is the season when good things lead to bad things. There will be another big murder.
This looks like a setup for the Lightning to power through here at the end and win, which is a shame because through 40 points the San Jose Sharks definitely deserved the win.
period 3
Point Goal: Yes.
1 inch: Addison was hurt. Maybe that's why he didn't realize Blackwood had lost his stick. The sharks need to respond here. They don't need to win many games going forward, that's understandable, but they need to win once in a while when they play a good game. We will strengthen our efforts. Let's see if they can finish strong.
Duclair's goal: That's what Duke can do. Tonight I didn't notice him at all, but then he beat the checker (I think Kostin, who ironically took the position next to Granlund) on the ice, creating an inferior situation. It's not that Costin didn't have a chance to catch Duclair, but I think he didn't try hard enough there. His shifts there aren't that long. As I've noted, he's skilled, but if he's serious about the NHL, he'll probably have to be lighter and faster.
Point Goal: Another disappointing loss for the Sharks on the road. I don't know what Quinn said to the team after the game. We should have had a 40-point lead, but the referee literally got in the way? But then an unremarkable third. However, you could argue that the Sharks should have had a 2-0 lead after two games. But whatever. Such a season. As I've said many times, whenever a team wants to step up against the Sharks, they can.
Bordeleau played until the end and drew a call from Stamkos. I think the coaches will notice that too.
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