Hertl injured in loss to Canucks
San Jose center forced to leave early in 5-2 defeat against Vancouver
SAN JOSE >> The San Jose Sharks allowed three goals in the first eight minutes of the third period and saw one of their top forwards, Tomas Hertl, leave early with an injury in a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday at SAP Center.
The Sharks entered the third with a 2-1 lead, but the
Canucks got goals from Tyler Myers, Jake Virtanen and Brandon Sutter in a span of 5 minutes and 36 seconds to take the lead for good.
Virtanen’s go-ahead goal at the 7:00 mark of the third period came on the power play, as Marc-Edouard Vlasic was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking Oscar Fantenberg at the 4:47 mark.
Quinn Hughes and Tanner
Pearson also scored for the Canucks, who got 38 saves from goalie Jacob Markstrom to help earn their fourth straight victory and maintain sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Hertl and Brent Burns both scored for the Sharks, who came into Wednesday’s game with four straight wins at SAP Center.
Sharks goalie Martin Jones, making his third start this month, stopped 12 of the first 13 shots he faced through two periods, including two stops on breakaways
by Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. But the Canucks scored their first three third period goals on just seven shots, as Jones’ record this season fell to 13-17-2.
Wednesday’s game was just Jones’ seventh since Bob Boughner took over as the Sharks’ interim coach on Dec. 11. In six games
since the coaching change prior to Wednesday, Jones had a 1-4-1 record and an .889 save percentage.
Of greater concern to the Sharks at the moment is the health of Hertl, who left the game midway through the first period with what appeared to be a lower body injury.