With the NHL Trade Deadline hours away, the
Sharks got some clarity on their roster situation by learning that winger
Anthony Duclair had been dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday
afternoon. They then proceeded to play like half the team had been traded,
losing to the New York Islanders by a 7-2 tilt at SAP Center.
Duclair's move wasn't surprising as the Sharks are in full rebuild mode and
their season ended before it really started when they started the year off with
11 consecutive losses. San Jose will likely allow more prospects to see NHL
ice, as was the case with Thomas Bordeleau who played for the first time as a
Sharks since he was returned to the San Jose Barracuda at the end of October.
Young goaltender Magnus Chrona was just looking to keep the score
close to the 5.20 goals against average he entered play with. That didn't
happen as San Jose would surrender 7 in the contest.
If Chrona had any
dreams of a shutout, that was quickly dispatched by Noah Dobson who scored just
19 seconds into the contest. What looked like a harmless pass, kicked off
defenseman Kyle Burroughs' skate at the top of the right circle, then changed
direction toward the net and slipped past the Sharks goaltender. It was a tough
start for the young netminder who played lights out in his last start.
Alexander Romanov doubled New York's lead at 18:31 by firing a shot from the
blueline that simply got lost in a sea of black uniforms. Chrona never picked
up the shot as it slipped past him.
A Bo Horvat hooking penalty 1:50
into the 2nd period setup a Thomas Bordeleau goal. The Sharks rookie was
recalled by the big club earlier in the day as both Anthony Duclair and
Alexander Barabanov were scratched in preparation for what was then a potential
trade move. Bordeleau redirected a William Eklund feed while parked on the
doorstep when the puck hit him in the skate and redirected into the Islanders
goal.
Bo Horvat scored his 25th goal of the season at 11:24, fishing a
loose puck out of the right corner before heading to the net and lifting a shot
past Chrona from along the goal line. Three Sharks defenders were in the
vicinity but none could get a stick on the Islanders forward.
Mike
Hoffman answered 25 seconds later by putting a puck on Ilya Sorokin while three
skaters converged on the Islanders net. The tally was Hoffman's 10th of the
season.
San Jose's bad luck was on full display when Kyle
MacLean scored just 15 seconds after Hoffman's goal. Matt Martin threw a puck
to the front of the net where it got caught in a gaggle of skates. MacLean
grabbed the loose puck then lifted a shot from the end line, bouncing it off
Chrona's helmet and into the goal for the 4-2 lead.
Mathew Barzal and
Brock Nelson teamed up with a give-and-go play that ended with Barzal's 20th of
the season at 14:21. After dishing the puck near the blueline, Barzal headed to
the right post, collecting the Nelson feed before lifting a shot past Chrona.
Sebastian Aho made it a 6-2 game with 3:35 remaining in the period,
taking a rink wide pass from Horvat as he cut up the left wing, then snapping a
shot that found twine.
Things just went from bad to worse for San Jose
to start the period. Filip Zadina caught Romanov with a high stick that
resulted in a double minor to San Jose. Anders Lee would convert 14 seconds
into the power play with a shot from behind the end line near the right corner.
The puck hit Jan Rutta in the skate, redirecting past Chrona for a miserable
7th goal against.
Game Notes: * From the glass half
full department, Thomas Bordeleau returned to the NHL with his call up on
Thursday. The Sharks prospect played in his 7th NHL game of the season, and
scored the Sharks first goal. He has 2 goals and an assist in those 7 games.
* From the glass half empty department, Bordeleau was a -3 in the
game. Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund joined with a team worst plus
minus. The Sharks were a collective -25 in the game.
* Fabian
Zetterlund was cut on the left cheek from an errant skate that caught him up
high early in the 3rd period. Zetterlund went to the locker room for stitches
and did not return.
* Zetterlund led the Sharks with 5 shots on goal
and that was in 2 plus periods.
* Ryan Carpenter was 11 of 17 on draws
for a nifty 65% conversion rate. Granlund on the other hand was 4 of 15 for a
painful 27% conversion rate.
