Nice bounceback, but no victory for Sharks
RALEIGH, N.C. » The Sharks got the response they were looking for Thursday after they were blown out in their own arena earlier this week. They just didn’t get the two points. The Sharks failed to score in overtime or in the shootout as they began a four-game trip with a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.
Kevin Labanc, Erik Karlsson and Logan Couture all could not beat Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek on their shootout attempts and Andrei Svechnikov was the only Hurricanes player to beat Aaron Dell on the other side, scoring in the third round.
Marcus Sorensen and Couture both scored in regulation time to erase one goal deficits. Dell finished 27 saves, including six in overtime, as the Sharks salvaged a point two days after they were clobbered 5-2 by the Washington Capitals at SAP Center.
“It was a gutsy point by us,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “This is always a hard rink to play in and them getting out in front of us at different points, had us on our heels a few times. But I thought we battled through, persevered and found a way.”
Takeaways from Thursday night: 1. DON’T MESS WITH JOE THORNTON » The game featured one of the more unusual events of the regular season so far.
With 7:10 left in the second period, Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek froze the puck inside his crease on what seemed like a routine play. Feeling
Mrazek hadn’t fully covered the puck, Joe Thornton took a jab at it with his stick.
Mrazek didn’t appreciate that very much, and swung his stick at Thornton before he got up. Thornton responded with a sharp right hand that sent Mrazek down in a heap.
“Just a hockey play,” Thornton told this newspaper. “I think we were both just having fun. Just boys being boys. ... A little bit of excitement.”
Was Thornton surprised that Mrazek went down that easy? “Not really.” Mrazek, whether he was seriously hurt or not, had to be tended to by a Hurricanes trainer, and remained down as Thornton headed to the penalty box.
“He either got hit really hard and maybe should’ve gone to concussion protocol or he flopped a bit,” Dell said of Mrazek. “But I guess that’s the ref’s call.”
Thornton and Mrazek were both given slashing penalties and Thornton was given an extra two minutes for roughing. Suddenly, the announced crowd of 14.275 had a new enemy, and wore a teal No. 19 jersey.
“Jumbo plays hard and the goalie went after him,” Couture said. “So, I don’t know if the goalie expected to get pushed like he did. But, if you’re going to go at someone, you’re probably going to get pushed.”
“It definitely gets your group emotionally engaged in the game when you have a goalie swinging a stick at a guy like Joe and what our group feels about him,” DeBoer said. “But as you saw, Joe can take care of himself.”
2. SHARKS’ THIRD LINE CLICKS » DeBoer was pleased with how the third line played against the Hurricanes.
Sorensen’s goal at the 7:16 mark of the first period came after Labanc dug the puck out along the boards and fed Thornton, who had a prime opportunity to shoot from point blank range. Instead, as he skated through the slot, he found a trailing Sorensen for a tap-in goal that tied the game 1-1.
“I was surprised, too,” Sorensen said. “That was a great pass. Just a tap-in for me. It was an easy goal..
“(Labanc) made a good play, just kind of chipping it over to me,” said Thornton, who now has assists in three of his last five games. “I just kind of waited a little bit and slid it over to Marcus. He has to put it in the net, so it was a good goal.”
3. DELL’S GAME » Dell was a bit of a surprise starter. But perhaps he shouldn’t have been considering how well he’s played on the road this season.
Dell couldn’t stay in front of Svechnikov’s forehand-to- backhand move that gave the Hurricanes a 1- 0 lead just 50 seconds into the first period. He also didn’t have much of a chance on Jake Gardiner’s second-period goal that put the finishing touches on a Carolina 3 on 2.
Dell had 16 saves in the first and second periods to keep the Sharks within striking distance.