Korenar plays well, but Sharks fall again
All the goodwill that occurred between the Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights on the night Patrick Marleau became the NHL’s all-time leader in games played went out the window in the rematch between the two teams Wednesday.
Things were back to normal as the Sharks and Golden Knights were involved in a handful of afterthe-whistle activities, just like other games over the past four seasons.
The ending had a familiar feeling, too, as the Sharks had some positive moments and made a big push in the third period but once again couldn’t overcome penalties and other miscues in a 5-2 loss at TMobile Arena.
With the Sharks leading 2-1 on goals by Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl, Mark Stone scored a powerplay goal at the 12:52 mark of the second period to tie the game and Alex Tuch scored the go-ahead goal 8:18 later.
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice, including an insurance goal with 6:42 left in regulation time as Vegas handed the Sharks their sixth straight loss and clinched a playoff spot by virtue of picking up at least one point.
The Sharks (18-23-5) remained four points back of the Arizona Coyotes for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. San Jose now has 10 games left to play.
Goalie Josef Korenar was the biggest reason why the game stayed close. In his second NHL start, Korenar stopped 26 of 29 shots through two periods, giving his team a chance to beat the Golden Knights for the first time this season. Korenar finished with 35 saves.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 18 saves through two periods, as the Sharks fell to 0-5-2 against the Golden Knights this season.
The last game this season between the two teams is May 12. Fleury, who finished with 31 saves, is 5-0-0 against the Sharks this season. He came into Wednesday’s game with a .943 save percentage in his four previous starts this year.
Marleau played in his 1,768th career NHL game Monday in what became a 3-2 shootout loss to the Golden Knights. Vegas players all lined up to shake Marleau’s hand after the game and had nothing but complimentary things to say about the Sharks icon and his accomplishment after the game.
Those pleasantries disappeared in a hurry Wednesday, as Brent Burns and Max Pacioretty got involved in a fracas in the first period that led to cross-checking penalties for both players.