I guess you can’t be perfect forever, right?
The Sharks tallied their first loss tonight, in the second half of a back-to-back with backup goaltender Alex Stalock getting his first start of the season. They were also missing defenseman Paul Martin, who was out with an undisclosed lower body injury. Hopefully it’s not too bad:
Saw Paul Martin pregame and he seemed to be walking around fine, for whatever that’s worth #SJSharks
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzCSN) October 17, 2015
Joe Pavelski opened the scoring in the first period. It was reviewed for goaltender interference (are we going to have one of these every game?), but the call on the ice stood.
Sharks goal being reviewed due to coach’s challenge for goaltender interference pic.twitter.com/RmptRGKh1e
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 18, 2015
Alex Stalock faced his first career penalty shot, and was able to come up with the save:
Stalock penalty shot save pic.twitter.com/cX888PaBKf
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 18, 2015
The third period was pretty exciting. The Islanders tied the game early in the second period, and the teams traded goals in quick succession afterward, making the score 2-2. One of these was Sharks rookie Nikolay Goldobin’s first career NHL goal:
Goldobin goal pic.twitter.com/qMGetaG1mH
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 18, 2015
The Islanders’ second goal came on a powerplay (maybe the PK misses Paul Martin?), and then Joel Ward got the lead back for the Sharks with his first goal for his new team:
Joel Ward goal pic.twitter.com/Whih8iH1Vv
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 18, 2015
The Islanders scored once again to tie the game late in the third period, at this point outshooting the Sharks 22-18.
They pulled ahead halfway through the third, and a tired Sharks team gave up two more before the game was over, giving the Islanders some insurance. The final shot tally was 34-25 for the Islanders, with Stalock’s save percentage an ugly .848 (having to face a rested Islanders team on the second half of a back-to-back doesn’t help, of course.)
Sharks goals (assists): Joe Pavelski (Justin Braun, Joe Thornton); Nikolay Goldobin (Joe Thornton, Justin Braun); Joel Ward (Matt Nieto, Alex Stalock)
[Fancy Stats] – [Islanders Reaction] – [Event Summary] – [PBP Log] – [TOI Log] – [Faceoff Report]
Fear the Fin’s Three Stars
1) Nikolay Goldobin
2) Joe Thornton
3) Justin Braun
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