The San Jose Sharks were in Denver, Colorado to take on the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday (Dec. 17). Eventually, they ended up losing 6-2, but it was quite a journey to get there.
Jacob MacDonald got a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding less than three minutes into the game which gave the Avalanche an early advantage with a long power play. A week ago, that hit likely would’ve been a minor penalty at most, but following the events of last weekend, including the David Perron and Erik Gudbranson incidents, it seems like the officials are cracking down on certain things.
Colorado got a great scoring opportunity with 1:12 remaining on the power play, but Mackenzie Blackwood made a strong cross-crease save to keep the game scoreless. About 40 seconds later, the Avalanche were able to get one on the board before the power play as Valeri Nichushkin redirected a Jonathan Drouin pass behind Blackwood. The Sharks were fortunate though, as that would be the only goal they’d give up during MacDonald’s penalty. Despite the goal, their penalty kill played well given the amount of pressure they faced early on.
Colorado got a second power play after Mario Ferraro had an altercation with Kurtis MacDermid, who hit Mike Hoffman. Mikko Rantanen converted this time and the Avalanche had an early 2-0 lead. The Sharks got their first man advantage when Miles Wood went to the penalty box for tripping William Eklund. Despite some solid scoring opportunities, the power play ended prematurely as Calen Addison was sent to the box for high-sticking. During the same sequence, Addison also made contact with Blackwood who seemed to experience some discomfort in his right arm as a result. After Wood’s penalty expired, the Avalanche had an abbreviated power play of their own. For the first time during the game, the Avalanche power play was unsuccessful. The Avalanche wouldn’t take much longer to extend their lead though, as Wood made the lead 3-0 with about a minute and a half remaining in the first period.
The Avalanche would make it 4-0 on a Nathan MacKinnon shot that resulted from a Henry Thrun turnover in the defensive zone. Nearly halfway through the second, the Sharks got another power play opportunity as Wood went back to the box. Tomas Hertl got the Sharks on the board with a power-play goal with a deflection on a Mikael Granlund shot. The Avalanche lost Andrew Cogliano to injury near the end of the second period following a hit from the debuting Jack Studnicka. Filip Zadina got taken down by a trip from Caleb Jones and the Sharks got another chance on the power play with 2:13 remaining in the second period. The Sharks weren’t able to convert though and went into the locker room trailing 4-1.
Addison didn’t return to start the third period, which certainly did not help the Sharks’ comeback chances considering they were already missing MacDonald. Meanwhile, Cogliano did return for the Avalanche to start the period. Ryan Johansen made it 5-1 with a goal on a wide-open net. Blackwood was playing the puck behind the net and a lack of communication resulted in a turnover that led to a goal. MacKinnon would go to the box, giving the Sharks another power play opportunity that they’d convert on. Eklund took a one-timer and the rebound fell to Hertl who scored his second of the night. David Quinn decided to pull his goaltender with just over five minutes to go in the period and MacKinnon scored an empty net goal almost immediately. The Sharks ended up falling 6-2 when all was said and done.
Studnicka Given Immediate Opportunity
Studnicka was making his debut for the Sharks, following his acquisition via trade earlier this week from the Vancouver Canucks. He immediately started as the third-line center alongside Luke Kunin and Mike Hoffman. With about two minutes remaining in the first period, he helped create a solid scoring chance following a pass to Fabian Zetterlund, however, Georgiev was able to make the save.
Although a majority of the Sharks’ time was spent on the penalty kill, he actually had the sixth most ice time for Sharks forwards in the first period. He didn’t end up making a major impact and after the game, according to Sheng Peng of SJ Hockey Now, both Studnicka and Quinn said that his legs weren’t there last night.
Bad Decisions and Bad Penalties
The Sharks’ downfall in this game can be categorized in two different ways. There were goals caused by bad decisions and goals caused by bad penalties. The first two goals against would fall under the bad penalties category. Although the five-minute major call for MacDonald’s wasn’t popular on social media, it’s no secret the NHL is upset with the recent amount of hits from behind. If there’s a questionable hit, they’re not going to give a light punishment at this point. Ferraro’s penalty made some sense, of course, you want to stand up for a teammate, but at the same time, you have to be smart about it. Taking a penalty in a game that has already tested your penalty kill quite a bit wouldn’t be the right way to handle it.
The fourth and fifth goals against were the result of bad decisions as Thrun misplayed the puck which directly resulted in an easy goal for the opposition. He’s still young so growing pains are expected, but something like that simply can’t happen. Meanwhile, Blackwood’s turnover wasn’t entirely his fault as it seemed like a lack of communication from the players on the ice, but it’s never great to see a goaltender turnover the puck and have it immediately result in a goal.
Injury Woes Continue
Addison left before the third period and did not return to the game. We’ll likely get more information in the coming days as the Sharks are heading home to play against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (Dec. 19). Unfortunately for the Sharks, it’s the latest in a series of injuries that have arisen lately. Their current injury list includes Nico Sturm, Ty Emberson, Oskar Lindblom, and the captain Logan Couture. At the time of writing, it’s unknown how long Addison will be out if he’ll miss games at all, but it’s certainly difficult for the team to succeed with the number of injuries they’ve suffered this season.
Related: San Jose Sharks Being Rewarded for Patience with David Quinn
The Sharks head back home to the SAP Center for a couple of games and will hope to regain the confidence they’ve been lacking the last couple of nights. They face off against their rivals, the Kings on Tuesday, then play the Arizona Coyotes for the second time in a week on Thursday. Although their two-game road trip didn’t go as planned, they can’t dwell on it for too long and need to bounce back as quickly as possible.