Coming off their big 6-3 win over New Jersey
on Friday night, the Sharks continued with their New York Metropolitan tour but
ran into a buzz saw in Artemi Panerin. The Rangers forward recorded a hat trick
to propel his team to a close 6-5 victory over San Jose at Madison Square
Garden. San Jose fought back from a 6-3 deficit in the 3rd period to make it
close, but they would drop their 2nd game on their current 6-game road trip.
Accepting losses isn't something the Sharks should tolerate, but
Sunday night's affair was a step in the right direction for a team that's going
through some growing pains and is still learning how to win after turning over
a roster that is in the middle of a rebuild.
San Jose surprised the
Rangers by grabbing a pair of leads early. It was something to note given the
offensive firepower that New York possesses.
Anthony Duclair picked up
from where he left off in New Jersey by scoring the game's first goal at the
3:50 mark. The Sharks forward collected a lead pass from Kyle Burroughs and
raced up ice on a breakaway chance. Duclair beat former Los Angeles Kings
goaltender Jonathan Quick with a deek from right to left. It was Duclair's 3rd
goal in the last 2 games.
San Jose backed themselves into a corner by
taking back to back penalties later in the period. The Sharks were unscathed by
Jacob MacDonald high sticking penalty, but a hooking infraction on William
Eklund would bite them.
Panerin fired a shot from the high slot that
wove through several bodies before finding the back of the Sharks net.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood never saw the shot as it zipped past him glove
side.
Ryan Carpenter put the Sharks back in front at 12:19 after Jan
Rutta slid the puck off the right wing boards. Carpenter collected the pass
from between he circles and whipped a shot that Quick got a piece of, but
couldn't stop from continuing on into the goal. It was Carpenter's 1st goal of
the season and his 3rd career goal for San Jose.
The lead would last
34 seconds after Panerin punched home his 2nd goal of the game from the top of
the crease after Vincent Trocheck's wraparound attempt kicked out to the
Rangers sniper. Blackwood was dead to rights with Panerin pumping home the puck
from point blank range.
Mika Zibanejad pushed the Rangers out front at
16:42 after Chris Kreider skated the puck around the back of the sharks net
then slid a pass out to the Rangers centerman. The quick put back shot beat
Blackwood top shelf over the netminder's left shoulder.
Zibanejad was
called for tripping Tomas Hertl 7:17 into the 2nd period, much to the ire of
the Rangers who felt it was a poor call. They were likely incensed when Jacob
MacDonald scored on the power play at 9:16 to re-tie the game at 3-3.
Blackwood came up big on a pealty shot attempt after Alexis Lafraniere
was hooked by Matt Benning on a breakaway chance.
Will Cuylee put the
Rangers back on tap with 4 minutes remaining in the period. The young forward
collected a feed from former Shark Nick Bonino then raced past Nikita Okhotiuk
and Jan Rutta on his way to the net and lifting a shot past Blackwood.
The Rangers scored a back breaking goal 4:41 into
the 3rd period when Panerin beat Fabian Zetterlund to a loose puck in front of
the Sharks net. Trocheck had just put a shot on net that Blackwood stopped, but
he couldn't handle the rebound which dropped right in front of him. Panerin
crashed the net and pushed the puck home as he Zetterlund went bulldozing into
the net.
K'Andre Miller seemingly iced the game with his 4th goal of
the season at 13:03. The defenseman gathered a Jacob Trouba pass on the left
side before whistling a shot past Blackwood for the 6-3 lead.
Zetterlund bagged his 7th goal of the season at 14:35 by chipping home a
rebound after Duclair sent a pass to the slot where Mikael Granlund put a shot
on Quick. The puck kicked out to the left side where Zetterlund was slicing in
toward the net.
Alexander Barabanov scored his 1st goal of the season
74 seconds later.
San Jose pulled Blackwood with 2 minutes to play,
but the Sharks couldn't get the equalizer past Quick. Granlund made one last
attempt on a zone entry play that ended with a shot sailing over the crossbar
as time expired.
Game Notes: * Alexander Barabanov made
his return to the lineup after missing the last 18 games with a broken finger.
Jan Rutta also returned from an undisclosed injury. He missed 5 games.
* Nico Sturm and Ty Emberson were scratched with what was described as lower
body injuries to both players.
* Former Sharks prospect Jonny
Brodzinski recorded a pair of assists in the game. Brodzinski appeared in 3
games for San Jose during the 2019-20 season, recording a lone assist.
* Mikael Granlund led San Jose with 7 shots on goal. The biggest non-shot came
at the final buzzer when his scoring attempt sailed over the crossbar, denying
San Jose a 6th and tying goal.
* The attitude in this game is head and
shoulders above where this team was a month ago. After a handful of wins,
including a big 6-3 victory on Friday night, the Sharks are suddenly playing
with more confidence. Losing by a single goal to the NHL's best team is
evidence of a resurgence in NHL caliber play by San Jose.
