Sharks eye trade deadline after collapse
SAN JOSE >> As other teams around the NHL completed some major transactions Wednesday, well ahead of this week's trade deadline, the Sharks remained fairly quiet.
Besides preparing for tonight's game against the New York Islanders, the Sharks might have still been licking their wounds from the previous night's epic collapse which extended their losing streak to eight games and took place in front of the smallest announced home crowd of the season.
The Sharks saw a threegoal lead in the third period disappear in a span of 2:44 before Roope Hintz scored at the 1:49 mark of overtime, giving the Dallas Stars an unlikely 7- 6 win before an announced crowd of 10,070 at SAP Center.
The Sharks appeared to be on track to earn their first win since Feb. 15 when Mikael Granlund scored his ninth goal of the season at the 3:02 mark of the third period to give his team a 6-3 lead.
Logan Stankoven's goal for the Stars with 7:02 left in regulation changed everything.
Skating alone in the neutral zone, Givani Smith coughed up the puck to Stankoven, who raced into the Sharks zone and put a shot on Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen. The San Jose goalie couldn't quite corral the rebound, and Stankoven tapped it in to cut the lead to two.
For an already fragile Sharks team, it was the beginning of the end.
Wyatt Johnston followed that with two goals in 2:01, with his second goal at the 15:42 mark tying the score 6- 6.
“We're up 6-3 and playing good hockey, staying above them, not giving them much,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “Then we turn it over in the neutral zone and the floodgates open.
“You saw the fourth goal. That was the gift of all gifts, and then they got life.”
And then the Sharks sagged.
“I don't even know where to start,” said Sharks winger Anthony Duclair, who had two goals and two assists in the loss. “Just lack of focus mentally. Going into the third 6-3, you just have to win that game. That's just unacceptable. We just found a way to lose that game tonight.”
Duclair now has 16 goals on the season — tied for the team lead — and 10 points in his last eight games. But as a pending UFA, he figures to be one of the players on the move before the NHL trade deadline on Friday at noon (PST).
Others who might be leaving include Kahkonen, forwards Matt Hoffman, Alexander Barabanov, and Kevin Labanc, and perhaps even center Granlund and defenseman Jan Rutta.
Several trades around the league were completed early Wednesday. In the Pacific Division, Seattle sent forward Alex Wennberg to the New York Rangers, Edmonton acquired forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim in a three-team deal, and Vegas acquired defenseman Noah Hanifin from Calgary.
Duclair, facing an uncertain future in San Jose, confirmed to reporters Wednesday that he hired an agent some time ago to help him navigate his career. Duclair, who had been representing himself, hired Paul Theofanous as his agent.
“We don't know what's going to happen. Obviously there's a lot of speculation,” Quinn said of the Duclair's status. “I certainly don't want to see (Duclair) go but I understand the circumstances and so does he.”
Tuesday's announced attendance was just four fans fewer than the previous season low of 10,074, for a Nov. 7 game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Arena officials for Tuesday's game were expecting about 6,200 fans in the building.
The smallest all- time crowd for a Sharks game at the downtown arena — that hasn't been affected by capacity restrictions — is 10,059, announced for a Nov. 3, 2021 game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Some tickets for Tuesday's game on the Sharks' app were going for between $11 and $15 before taxes and fees.
TRANSACTION >> The Sharks on Wednesday placed defenseman Ty Emberson on injured reserve and recalled forward Thomas Bordeleau from the Barracuda.
Emberson, 23, has missed the Sharks' last three games after he suffered a laceration in the first period of a Feb. 29 game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Quinn told reporters Wednesday that Emberson is considered week to week at this point.
Claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers in September, Emberson, between injuries and scratches, has played in just 30 of the Sharks' 61 games.
Bordeleau, 22, began the season with the Sharks and had two points in six games before he was reassigned to the Barracuda on Oct. 29. With the Sharks' AHL affiliate this season, Bordeleau, a second-round draft pick by the team in 2020, had 25 points in 35 games.