Sharks face key game to end trip
A win at Tampa would be a big boost
The Sharks feel they’ve deserved better so far on this treacherous four-game road trip than a 1-1-1 record and three of a possible six points.
The Sharks lost in overtime Saturday after they held a two-goal lead in the third period against the Florida Panthers and had a chance to earn at least a point Sunday against Carolina before the Hurricanes scored late in regulation time.
Both games put a damper on a trip that began with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals last week.
“(Sunday was) disappointing,” winger Andrew Cogliano said after the Sharks’ 2-1 loss in Raleigh. “You get it to overtime, you maybe get two points out of that game, and all of a sudden you’re 2-1 going to Tampa and having a really good road trip.”
Now the Sharks and their banged-up defense corps close out the trip and the unofficial first half of the season with a pivotal game tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which walloped San Jose 7-1 on Jan. 22.
A win and the Sharks get to go home on an incredible high, having gone through a four-game gauntlet of the Eastern Conference’s best teams with a winning record. A loss further erodes the Sharks’ playoff hopes, as several of the teams they’re competing with for a spot in the postseason still have multiple games in hand.
The Sharks (22-20-3, 45 points) entered Monday in fifth place in the Pacific Division, six points back of Los Angeles for third place and one point back of Calgary for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot, although the Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Winnipeg Jets all have multiple games in hand.
“We saw that last game against (the Lightning) — if you don’t play the right way, if you don’t play hard and very detailed, you’re not going to be close to winning the game,” Cogliano said. “So I think we owe it to ourselves to finish this road
trip the right way.”
That’s going to be a challenge considering the Sharks’ mounting injuries on their defense corps.
Erik Karlsson (forearm) is out until mid-to-late March at least and Mario Ferraro had dental surgery Sunday. It appears Ferraro will miss tonight’s game, but coach Bob Boughner was optimistic that Ferraro could return for the Sharks’ first game after their extended break on Feb. 14 against Edmonton.
Jaycob Megna did not look fully healthy Sunday and his skating has clearly been hampered in recent games. Jake Middleton has been on injured reserve since Jan. 6, recovering from a concussion, although there may be a chance he plays tonight.
That’s a lot to overcome, but Megna has given the Sharks what he can in extended minutes and Nicolas Meloche has been solid the last three games as he’s received another chance to play. Meloche assisted on Rudolfs Balcers’ goal Sunday and had 19:20 of ice time.
“Those guys back there work their asses off,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said after Saturday’s loss. “Guys that started the year in the American League and have come in helped the team immensely.”
After this weekend’s allstar festivities in Las Vegas, and while the Sharks heal up with a 12-day break, their nearest competitors will be cashing in some of those games in hand.
The Sharks’ game with Evander Kane and the Oilers in two weeks will be San Jose’s 47th of the season and Edmonton’s 46th. Calgary and Dallas will have played 45 games each by that point, and Anaheim and Los Angeles will have played 49 and 47 games, respectively. All of which puts a little more importance on the two points available tonight, so maybe the Sharks can come away from this road trip with a more positive feeling.
“If we can have this kind of urgency and compete and take that into Tampa Bay, (we can) give ourselves a chance,” Boughner said after Sunday’s game, adding that the Sharks will “get back to work Tuesday and empty the tanks and throw everything we got at it before we get a chance to rest.”