The San Jose Sharks suffered their third straight loss to open the season last night, falling 3-2 in a shootout against the Dallas Stars.
The Sharks used the same skater lineup from the loss to Anaheim, with the only change being Mackenzie Blackwood getting the start.
San Jose looked really good to begin the game, with some dangerous chances from the top line for both Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund. Through the first-third of the period, the Sharks were outshooting the Stars by a 6-1 margin. Tyler Toffoli then had another really good opportunity on a 2-on-1, but was stopped by Jake Oettinger.
However, Barclay Goodrow ended up taking a four-minute high-sticking penalty, leaving the Sharks with a long kill ahead of them. But while Dallas built a lot of pressure, San Jose managed to fend off the attack to kill it off.
The Stars did keep pressing after that, with a good wraparound chance for Jamie Benn, then a rush chance for Evgenii Dadonov, but Mackenzie Blackwood was up to the task, keeping the game scoreless through 20 minutes.
It was a good start for the Sharks, but the momentum was killed a bit by the penalty, and the Stars had the momentum to end the frame. Still, it was a competitive opening period, and there was quite a bit to like about the effort.
The start of the second period was a bit quiet, but about six minutes into the frame, Tyler Toffoli came down ice with the puck on his stick for his second 2-on-1 chance of the game, and this time, he beat Oettinger with a well-placed shot, putting San Jose ahead.
The Stars really began pressing from there though, with some good chances for both Colin Blackwell and Sam Steel, followed by more point-blank opportunities after for Dadonov and Miro Heiskanen.
Jan Rutta then took a penalty, but the Sharks managed to kill it off as well. However, just afterwards, Mason Marchment found Matt Duchene with a great pass, for Duchene to finally even the game.
Dallas continued to have all kinds of momentum from there, but with a five minutes to go in the period, Nico Sturm ended up with a breakaway the other way, and while he missed wide, he put the puck back to the slot for Ty Dellandrea to tap in, scoring in his return to Dallas and putting the Stars back ahead.
However, Dallas kept pressing from there, and only minutes later, Jason Robertson fed Roope Hintz, who wired a shot past Blackwood from point-blank range, tying the game through 40 minutes.
It was a much less promising frame for the Sharks – they were outshot by a massive 15-5 margin, and despite the game being tied, San Jose had been under siege through much of the middle period.
The Sharks did have a great opportunity early in the third period with a long 5-on-3, but still really couldn’t get much going at all. Then just after it ended, Dallas came down ice on a 2-on-1 and Roope Hintz had a great chance to extend the lead, but he was stopped by Blackwood.
San Jose had another power play opportunity after that, and while they couldn’t convert once again, Luke Kunin had a great chance from the slot shortly after, but he was denied by Oettinger.
Evgenii Dadonov then had a breakaway chance the other way with about seven minutes to go, but he was stopped on a massive glove save by Blackwood. San Jose managed to reduce chances from there, and after a better period, the game remained tied through relation.
We saw some decent chances exchanged in overtime, but neither team could capitalize, sending the contest to a shootout. Jason Robertson shot first and beat Blackwood over the shoulder, while Will Smith was then stopped on San Jose’s first attempt. Then when Matt Duchene scored five-hole, Mikael Granlund needed to convert to keep it going, and managed to beat Oettinger.
However, Wyatt Johnston came in as the Stars’ third shooter and beat Blackwood with a shot off the post and in, winning it for Dallas.
The game started really well for San Jose, with a surprisingly strong first half of the opening frame. That said, San Jose really lost momentum for a stretch of about a period and a half, from the Goodrow penalty until the end of the second period.
Blackwood had to be really good once again, stopping 36 of 38 shots. At his best, he can be a really tough goalie to beat, it’s just all about consistency. So far this season, goaltending certainly hasn’t been an issue.
Despite being outplayed for stretches, the top line also looked really good at times, even without Macklin Celebrini. They outshot their opponents 7-3 at 5-on-5 (according to NaturalStatTrick.com), had some great chances in the first period, and Tyler Toffoli scored the opening goal. William Eklund now does look to be dealing with an injury though, which would be another hit to the top of the team's forward group.
Credit as well to Ty Dellandrea scoring in his return to Dallas. He’s unlikely to grow his role past that of a depth forward with the Sharks, but could be part of the future if he takes advantage of the opportunity.
I do wonder about Will Smith, though. He hasn’t been carrying the puck a ton, and has looked a little invisible thus far. In practice today, the team reportedly flipped Alexander Wennberg up to the second line, moving Smith down to center Barclay Goodrow and Luke Kunin. We’ll see if that sticks, but I think shuffling him down the lineup for now could be a smart move.
On the blue line though, the Henry Thrun/Matt Benning pairing didn’t get into a ton of action, and the top-four group were all relied on to play 22-plus minutes. I don’t know that it’s sustainable deployment, but at least this season, the team has additional defenders who are more capable of a large workload.
The team’s special teams were also on display last night, for better and worse. While the penalty kill’s success was key to keeping them in the game, they also went 0-for-3 on the power play. Not just that, but the Sharks really couldn’t ever even get much going on the man advantage at all.
San Jose was outplayed through large stretches last night, but still, they managed to hang around. That’s been the case in all three outings so far, where the Sharks may not always be carrying the play, but they’ve been able to remain in every game. It’s at least a promising, early sign.
The Sharks will be back in action on Thursday, when they face the Chicago Blackhawks.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
- Sharks poised for a more exciting season despite rebuild
- Sharks set season-opening roster
- Celebrini scores in opener, but Sharks blow big lead for OT loss to Blues
- Sharks shut out by Ducks, Macklin Celebrini lands on injured reserve
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