Disappointing debut for San Jose
So much for opening with a splash.
Anaheim scored three times in the third period to beat the Sharks 5-2 on Wednesday to put a damper on an anticipated season opener that included the debut of defenseman Erik Karlsson in San Jose.
With the return of a healthy Joe Thornton, Karlsson’s addition to an already solid blue line and the presence of 2017-18 midseason addition Evander Kane for the 2018-19 opener, the sellout crowd was looking for a lot more than a three-goal loss to an Anaheim team that featured one rookie on each of its four forward lines.
“We’ll come back to the rink tomorrow excited,” Karlsson said. “We’ll work on some things, but look forward. It’s one of 82 games in a long season and that’s how we’re going to look at it.”
Defenseman Brandon Montour beat Sharks goalie Martin Jones with a backhand into the top corner of the net at 8:02 of the final period to break a 2-2 tie.
Then, just 14 seconds into the Ducks’ third power play of the game, Adam Henrique buried a one-timer in close between Jones’ pads for a two-goal lead at 10:22 to make it 4-2.
When Anaheim’s Carter Rowney scored into an empty net with 23.7 seconds left, the fans scurried for the exits.
“It was the first game for them, too,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “They were excited, they were playing hard. … We had a couple of breakdowns but that happens throughout a night. It felt like we should have won that game.”
The Ducks were without several injured players, including forwards Corey Perry (knee), Ryan Kesler (hip), Patrick Eaves (shoulder) and Ondrej Kase (concussion). Anaheim was also without wing Nick Ritchie, an earlyseason holdout.
San Jose lost the opener despite outshooting Anaheim 33-15. The Sharks were 0-for-3 on the power play and surrendered two power-play goals. Karlsson was held off the score sheet in his first game after being acquired from Ottawa just before the start of training camp.
“Special teams and goaltending are huge parts of the game,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said. “We lost those two battles, and when that happens, you’re probably not going to win on a lot of nights.”
The Sharks’ first lead came on a shorthanded goal and was short-lived.
Tomas Hertl stripped the puck from Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler along the boards in the Ducks’ end, cut to the net and beat goalie John Gibson from in close at 17:14 of the second period to give San Jose a 2-1 lead.
The Ducks struck 46 seconds later while still with the man advantage to tie it.
Jakob Silfverberg threaded a goal-mouth pass between the skates of Sharks defenseman Brent Burns to Rickard Rakell on the weakside and the Ducks’ wing punched home his first goal of the season at 18:00.
Anaheim struck for the game’s first goal just 49 seconds after the opening faceoff.
Burns was guilty of a neutral-zone turnover when his intended pass went off a skate to Silfverberg. Two passes later, Anaheim rookie Max Comtois broke in alone on right wing and beat Jones with a low shot to the far corner for his first career goal.
The Sharks had two opportunities on the power play to tie it, but they struggled with entries and keeping possession in the Anaheim end. As a result, San Jose didn’t manage a shot on goal in a combined 2:04 of two 5-on-4s.
Instead, Kane tied the game at 7:51 of the opening period with a strong individual move. Going 1-on-3 as teammates were changing behind him, Kane undressed Anaheim defenseman Josh Manson along the boards before whistling a low shot that slipped through Gibson’s pads.
“We dominated the first two periods, but didn’t get it done in the third,” Kane said.