The Sharks in all probability deserved a greater destiny than the one they have been dealt Saturday evening in opposition to the host Dallas Stars.
However regardless of making a handful of high quality scoring possibilities and enjoying a fair recreation whereas 5-on-5, the Sharks as soon as once more couldn’t discover the additional objective they wanted in a 2-1 loss to the Stars at American Airways Middle.
Sharks winger Timo Meier scored his thirty third objective of the season on the 19:23 mark of the second interval to chop the Dallas result in 2-1. However the Sharks couldn’t overcome a first-period, even-strength objective by Tyler Seguin and a shorthanded marker within the second interval by Michael Raffl, as they misplaced their ninth straight recreation.
On Raffl’s objective, he was fed an ideal saucer cross from Luke Glendening on a 2 on 1 over Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, who in all probability slid to cease the cross a tad too early.
“You'll be able to’t hand over a short-handed objective in a decent recreation like this, and that’s the distinction within the recreation tonight,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner mentioned. “In any other case, I’m proud of the way in which we got here out and proud of the way in which we performed. There was numerous good to take out of that recreation.
“No extra victories. I perceive that. We’re trying to get out of the outlet right here and get again within the win column. However all in all, with the lineup that we had, it’s a reasonably strong effort.”
5 of the Sharks’ 9 losses on this streak have been by one objective. The Sharks end their highway journey Sunday in Minnesota in opposition to the Wild.
“Shedding’s shedding, nobody desires to lose,” Sharks ahead Nick Bonino mentioned. “Personally, I’m pleased with the way in which now we have battled the final eight. We don’t appear to be a group that’s out of the playoffs. Our starvation, our effort, and our execution — we’re enjoying effectively, we’re simply not scoring as many objectives as the opposite group is.”
Kaapo Kahkonen made 24 saves for the Sharks, and his counterpart, Dallas’ Jake Oettinger, made 23 saves, together with six within the third interval.
Kahkonen is now 0-4-1 with a .914 save proportion with the Sharks since he was acquired from the Wild on March 21 for defenseman Jake Middleton.
“That’s one of many worst components of this stretch as a result of he’s performed effectively sufficient to earn wins. Similar with (James Reimer),” Bonino mentioned, “and we haven’t given him the objective output he wants. That’s simply on the ice. Off the ice, Kaapo is a good child and tremendous good, very mature. He’s enjoyable to be round. Positively an incredible man to have in your group.”
The final time the Sharks misplaced greater than eight video games in a row was over 16 years in the past after they went 0-7-3 from Nov. 5-30, 2005. Joe Thornton was acquired from the Boston Bruins in a franchise-altering blockbuster commerce on the ultimate day of the shedding streak, joined the group for its subsequent recreation in Buffalo and the Sharks started a six-game win streak to resurrect their season.
The Sharks had an eight-game shedding streak final season, going 0-7-1 in April within the shortened 56-game season to fall out of the playoff race.
The Sharks fell to 0-5-3 since March 26 with a 5-4 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
On the nine-game shedding streak, the Sharks have been outscored 32-18.
“t’s only a matter of being a group that tries to attain just a little extra to cowl up the odd mistake,” Boughner mentioned. “We’ve been like this for 2 years. Nothing’s modified. We’re in video games, we compete exhausting, now we have younger lineups, simply acquired to seek out offense.”
The Sharks dressed seven rookies Saturday as they have been hit with a rash of accidents in Thursday’s recreation.
Defensemen Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek have each returned to San Jose for additional analysis. Karlsson aggravated an present lower-body damage and Simek was damage late within the first interval after he hit Chicago ahead Philipp Kurashev.
Winger Alexander Barabanov, fifth on the Sharks with 37 factors in 65 video games, was additionally injured Thursday however has remained with the group, which is flying to Minneapolis late Saturday evening.
On account of the accidents, the Sharks solely had 12 forwards and 6 defensemen obtainable for Saturday’s recreation. Seven of these gamers have been rookies, together with their whole fourth line of Scott Reedy, Jeffrey Viel, and Jasper Weatherby, who was known as up from the Barracuda on Friday.
First-year NHL participant Jonathan Dahlen, who was a wholesome scratch Thursday, began Saturday’s recreation on a line with Meier and Tomas Hertl.
The Sharks may have one other rookie in Sunday’s lineup because the group introduced Saturday that heart Thomas Bordeleau, one of many group’s second-round draft picks in 2020, had signed a three-year, entry-level contract.
Bordeleau joined the Barracuda on an newbie tryout on Tuesday and performed his first AHL recreation on Wednesday, the place he had three assists in a San Jose loss to Bakersfield.