LetsGoSharks.com - Inside San Jose Sharks Hockey
Support this community by becoming a Sponsor
  
Little mistakes add up in OT loss
Sharks outwork Vancouver but fall 4-3
11/27/2022 - By Mike Lee

The Sharks closed out their brief homestand with a frustrating overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks, which was their 12th loss on home ice in 14 chances this season. Their inability to win at home is bewildering, given that they've been a .500 team on the road. The familiar confines of SAP Center should be a safe haven for the fledgling Sharks, but it continues to be a house of horrors.

The Sharks outworked their guests, but in the end, little mistakes turn out to be catastrophic. The overtime period was not immune from that. San Jose held the puck in the Canucks zone, but a ill-timed line change and a miscommunication on coverage resulted in a breakaway chance for Andrei Kuzmenko, who buried it to propel the Canucks to their 6th straight win.

For San Jose, it meant a 3rd consecutive loss, after returning from a promising road trip that netted them 3 wins in 4 games. They are simply playing like a team that is unfamiliar with each other. Add the fact that they are being forced to play some players who likely are not ready for the NHL and you have a bottom dwelling team that doesn't know how to win.

The Canucks grabbed the initial lead 7:26 into the contest when Kyle Burroughs stepped into a shot from the Sharks blueline that beat goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen. Sharks defenseman Jaycob Megna stepped into Khakonen's sight line as Burroughs was releasing the puck, partially screening him on the shot.

San Jose tied the game at 1-1 with 3:48 remaining in the 2nd period when Luke Kunin was hit by a Nick Bonino shot that bounced off his shoulder and rainbowed over Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demkko and into the Vancouver net.

The Sharks claimed the lead 7:05 into the 3rd period after Burroughs was sent off for cross checking Kunin. Logan Couture ripped a shot that was deflected by Canucks defenseman Ethan Bear. The puck changed directions on Demko, giving Couture his 12th goal of the season.

Vancouver answered 69 seconds later when Ilya Mikhlyev who fired a deflection of Kahkonen home for his 6th of the season. The Canucks forced the puck deep in the Sharks zone and were lurking around the net, when Elias Pettersson tried to force a shot past Kahkonen from behind the end line. The puck kicked out to the space between teh slot and the right circle for the put back by Mikhelyev.

Pettersson then helped the Canucks reclaim the lead at 10:44 when he slipped behind the Sharks defense and tipped home an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot from the high slot. It was an example of more miscommunication by the Sharks, allowing Pettersson to roam freely and pick how he would attack Kahkonen.

Kunin added his 2nd of the night at 14:45 when he one-timed an Erik Karlsson feed from the left post, beating Demko through the 5-hole. Karlsson carried the puck up the right wing and fed Kunin through the slot from the bottom of the right circle.

Game Notes:

* The Sharks are battling the injury an illness bug. Goaltender James Reimer is suffering from a lower body malady, which may explain his performance on Friday night in Seattle. Mario Ferraro joins Nico Sturm also with lower body injuries. Jonah Gadjovich has been under the weather.

* With James Reimer on the shelf the Sharks recalled Aaron Dell from the Barracuda. Defenseman Scott Harrington was also recalled in order to fill th evoid created by Mario Ferraro's injury.

* Logan Couture and Alexander Barabanov were both a -4 on the night.

* Kaapo Kahkonen is cementing his role as a #2 in the league. The Sharks acquired him last season as a potential replacement for James Reimer, but he's struggled to establish consistency in net. After giving up 7 goals on 26 shots in Seattle, the goaltender allowed 4 goals on 20 shots on Sunday night.


SHARE THIS STORY:



What did you think of this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums

 
What did you think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums
Scoring
1 2 3 OT T
VAN 1 0 2 1 4
SJ 0 1 2 0 3
1st period - 1, VAN, Burroughs 2 (Horvat, Miller), 7:26.
2nd period - 2, SJ, Kunnin 4 (Bonino, Benning), 16:12.
3rd period - 3, SJ, Couture 12 (Karlsson, Barabanov), 7:05, (pp). 4, VAN, Mikheyev 6 (Pettersson, Kuzmenko), 8:14. 5, VAN, Petterson 12 (Ekman-Larsson, Mikheyev), 10:44. 6, SJ, Kunin 5 (Karlsson, Bonino), 14:45.
Overtime - 7, VAN, Kuzmenko 10 (Miller), 1:12.
Penalties
1st period - Kunin, SJ (cross checking), 13:53.
2nd period - Labanc, SJ (tripping), 3:14.
3rd period - Burroughs, VAN (cross checking), 7:00.
Overtime - None.
Goaltending
Shots Saves
VAN - Demko 35 32
SJ - Khakonen 20 16
Shots On Goal
1 2 3 OT T
VAN 7 6 6 1 20
SJ 11 5 19 0 35
Power Play Conversion
VAN 0 of 2
SJ 1 of 1
3 Stars of the Game
Andrei Kuzmenko
Luke Kunin
Bo Horvat
Attendance
SAP Center - 11,307
Officials
Referees: #21 TJ Luxmore, #47 Carter Sandlak. Linesmen: #88 Tyson Baker, #80 Jonathan Deschamps .





Privacy Statement   |   Contact Us   |   Advertise
Copyright 1997-2022 LetsGoSharks.com. All rights reserved.
This website is an unofficial and independently operated source of news
and information not affiliated with the San Jose Sharks, any team, or league.