The San Jose Sharks concluded the calendar year of 2023 in Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena. The Sharks have struggled against the Colorado Avalanche so far this season and hoped to turn their fortunes around in the teams’ final meeting of the season. In their first meeting on Oct. 14, the Sharks were beaten in overtime which spoiled Mackenzie Blackwood’s tremendous debut for the team in teal. Their second meeting was even worse for the Sharks, as they lost 6-2 on Dec. 17. While the Sharks were able to keep the game close on the scoreboard, it seemed inevitable that the Avalanche would walk away with a win, and they did just that. The Sharks fell in regulation with a final score of 3-1.
Special Teams Battle
The Sharks took a too many men penalty at 5:55 of the first period. This came after they had been pinned in their own end for almost the entire game up to that point. Momentum was already in Colorado’s favor, but the penalty allowed them to get a goal on the board very early in the game. Mikko Rantanen converted on the man advantage while Alexander Barabanov served the penalty for San Jose. When playing a perennial Stanley Cup contending team, giving them any sort of advantage will lead to disaster and that’s exactly what the Sharks did, not even halfway through the first period.
In the second period, the Sharks had a power play opportunity but were unable to set anything up in the offensive zone. It would be cut short when Anthony Duclair took a high-sticking penalty with 12 seconds left in the power play, which gave Colorado their second man-advantage of the night. The Sharks killed off both Colorado’s second and third opportunities on the power play, but a big part of the reason was Kaapo Kahkonen. Overall, Kahkonen played one of his best games of the season and kept his team in a game that they probably should’ve lost convincingly. Later in the period, Tomas Hertl notched a power-play goal to tie it up for the Sharks. It was an even more momentous goal for Hertl, as he was playing in his 700th career NHL game.
Many of the Sharks’ penalties were avoidable. While you can get away with an occasional penalty against most NHL teams, it’s going to backfire eventually against the top teams in the league. Given the fact that they were playing with five defensemen for the majority of the game as well, it’s very dangerous to wear down the penalty-kill units. Valeri Nichushkin gave the Avalanche the lead once again on a delayed penalty, so although it wasn’t an official power play, the extra attacker certainly made things much easier for them.
Offensive Struggles Continue
The Sharks didn’t record a shot on goal for the first ten minutes of the first period, getting their first on a Barabanov wrap-around attempt. Throughout their current seven-game losing streak, they have only scored more than two goals in a single game which was their 7-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 23. They’ve also struggled with sustaining pressure and getting shots on goal in a lot of recent games. They’ve fallen back into many of the habits that led to the 12-game losing streak to start the season.
The Sharks have quite a few issues with their current roster construction, but based on the forward group they brought into this season, scoring goals didn’t seem like it would be their biggest issue. Unfortunately, a lack of contribution from players like Barabanov, Filip Zadina, and even Mike Hoffman lately has put more pressure on the top line to create a majority of the offense. However, they’re not able to do it all on their own. If the Sharks want to avoid another historic losing streak this season, they’ll have to find a way to consistently produce offense up and down the lineup.
Sharks Lose Ferraro
In the first period, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro took a hit from Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon. Following the hit, he went down in considerable pain on the bench and was immediately taken back to the locker room for further evaluation. The Sharks already have quite a few players out with injuries, and losing another key player like Ferraro will hurt their chances of winning games in the new year. On the blue line, San Jose is already missing Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald. If he misses any time moving forward, it’s likely either Kyle Burroughs or Marc-Edouard Vlasic will draw back into the lineup for the time being. He has been the defenseman that head coach David Quinn has relied on most this season, so the Sharks certainly hope he won’t miss too much time if any at all.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Sharks’ 5-1 Loss to Kings
The Sharks walked away with their eighth loss in as many games. They kept it competitive despite being outplayed in most aspects of the game, however, eventually Colorado’s momentum broke the tie and gave the Avalanche the win. They’ll get an opportunity to start fresh in 2024 and leave their losing streak in the past against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, Jan. 2, in the first game of a three-game homestand.
