Late slip up gets team’s attention
SAN JOSE >> Beyond clinching a playoff spot and securing homeice advantage in the first round, the Sharks primary focus over the past couple of weeks has been getting their game into top shape for the second season.
After four consecutive losses, the team’s game is starting to grow a spare tire around the waistline.
The Sharks (44-26-10) coughed up a golden opportunity to put themselves within a point of securing home-ice advantage in the first round Tuesday, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Dallas Stars (40-31-8) after holding a two-goal lead and a 30-9 shot advantage with less than 21 minutes remaining in regulation.
“It’s time to dial it up,” Logan Couture said. “If guys are already thinking ahead and thinking they can coast into the playoffs — it doesn’t happen in this league. You can’t coast for very long in the NHL and win hockey games.”
Jamie Benn charged the Stars late-game comeback. He recorded a hat trick by getting his team on the board in the final minute of the second, scoring the game-winning goal with 3:06 left in the third and clinching the win with an empty netter at 19:36 of the final stanza.
After holding the Stars to just five shots in the first and another four over the first 19 minutes of the second, the Sharks gave the Stars life at 19:29 of the middle frame by allowing Benn to get on the board by redirecting a pass from John Klingberg at the side of the net.
From that point on, the Stars, who are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, took over. They outshot the Sharks 12-1 in the third.
Gemel Smith tied the game at 2-2 with 5:17 remaining in the period. Benn recorded the winner just 2:11 later.
“We just sat back too much,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “Our minds wandered, and we didn’t work, and we didn’t focus like we need to. I don’t know what else to say, but it wasn’t there for us in the third.”
Coach Pete DeBoer blamed the loss on the Sharks inability to go score more goals and put the Stars to bed when they were buzzing in the second. Journeyman goalie Mike McKenna, who was suiting up for just the 23rd NHL game of his 12-year pro career, kept the Stars in the game after relieving Kari Lehtonen, who suffered an injury on a shot to the collarbone area, at 15:54 of the first.
McKenna, who’s suited up for 18 different teams in his pro career, made 17 straight saves after he entered the game. His biggest stop came when he made a stick save on a half-breakaway from Couture, who tried to slip the puck through his legs.
“You’re not going to
dominate a team for 60 minutes in this league, it doesn’t happen,” DeBoer said. “We dominated them for 40, and they got some momentum in the third.
“For me, the big mistake was not putting them away when he had a chance to — not the third period.”
Couture opened the scoring at 9:21 of the first, recording his team-leading 33rd goal of the season with a shot from above the left circle on a Sharks power play. In doing so, Couture set a new career high for goals, eclipsing the 32 he scored during the 2010-11 season. The goal, set up by Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl, also marked the Sharks first tally with the man advantage in 23 tries.
Timo Meier gave the Sharks a 2-0 edge at 15:16 of the opening frame, becoming the team’s fifth scorer to reach the 20goal mark by beating Lehtnonen with a shot from a sharp angle. Burns picked up his second assist of the game on the goal. Joe Pavelski also earned a helper on the play.
Dylan Gambrell acquitted himself well in his
NHL debut. The 21-yearold logged 9:18 of ice time and produced one shot on goal while going 3 for 6 in the faceoff circle.
The 60th overall pick in the 2016 draft signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks on March 26 after he opted to leave the University of Denver after junior season, recording 132 points in 120 NCAA games.
• The Sharks lost for the first time when leading after two periods (29-1-2).
• Evander Kane missed the game with an undisclosed injury. “I’m just making sure I’m as (healthy) for the playoffs as possible,” Kane said.