The Sharks went right back at it after Saturday’s shootout loss to the Dallas Stars, this time facing off against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It was a close and exciting game right up to the very end, but the Wild took home two important points for the team’s dwindling playoff hopes in a 4-3 victory thanks in large part to Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov. After trailing or being tied for the entire game, the Wild took the lead with just 3:59 left in the third period on Kaprizov’s hat trick goal.
Already without Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, and Alexander Barabanov, San Jose was without yet another scoring talent in William Eklund, who missed the game due to illness. Somewhat surprisingly, this was Kaapo Kähkönen’s first start against his former team, even though his trade from Minnesota was almost two years ago. It had been a rough go of it for Kähkönen as of late, with a couple of subpar performances against New Jersey and Anaheim last week. However, the Sharks goaltender had an excellent effort at his former home, stopping 28 shots and keeping the Sharks in the game through the first two periods.
The Sharks started off slow, very slow:
#SJSharks with 7 shot attempts in the 1st period, their fewest in the opening frame this season, and 2nd-fewest in any period (3 in 2nd period, Nov. 22 at Kraken). #NHLStats #HockeyTwitter #SJSvsMIN
— Darin Stephens (@SharksStats) March 4, 2024
Kähkönen, much like Magnus Chrona Saturday night against Dallas, was relied upon often and was up to the task with 11 saves on 11 shots in the first period. At the other end, Filip Gustavsson was likely forced to do some skating drills in between the whistles just to stay warm. Gustavsson ultimately came out with the win, but he had to face an erratic and opportunistic Sharks offense.
San Jose got goals from Mikael Granlund, Nico Sturm, and Anthony Duclair and on beautiful shots. Interestingly, all three goals were unassisted and came at different situations: Grandlund’s came on the power play, Sturm’s was shorthanded, and Duclair’s at even strength.
Penalty kill keeps it close
The Sharks kill was tested by a desperate and aggressive Wild power play here. While Minnesota did get a power play goal, it had to be hard-earned and came after giving up a shorthanded goal. The Sharks did a good job lining up in front of shots and intercepting many Wild pass attempts to slow down their puck movement. Kevin Labanc was called for a four-minute high-sticking call, and the Wild did everything but score on that power play and ensuing minute and a half of pressure. Held together by Sturm, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Kähkönen, the Sharks’ kill kept the game within reach.
Tanking done well
From a tanking perspective, this is just about how you’d want a game to go. Entertaining, close, plenty of good moments, but still a regulation loss. Of course, it still would be nice to see the Sharks break through this now seven game losing streak. The trade deadline looms larger each day, and the Sharks are likely to have even less NHL-caliber talent on their roster coming into next weekend’s game against the Senators.
The games may get uglier if players like Duclair are moved, but that would be the cost of acquiring an excellent talent at the 2024 NHL Draft. It will be interesting to see if the Sharks continue this excellent battle into the coming abyss of this season. The past two games against Dallas and Minnesota have been tightly contested and impressive from San Jose’s standpoint. The coaching staff seems to be getting a lot out of most of the players right now, which is commendable for players who might not have any allegiance to this roster past this week.
This quote from David Quinn highlights the importance of acquiring another elite talent or two at this draft. The Sharks had all the effort, but the elite scoring ability of Kaprizov was a difference-maker. Insert a natural talent like him on a line with Eklund or Smith, and the Sharks can come one step closer to building a competitive team.
Highlight Sharks at Wild March 3, 2024
Duclair scored his fifth in the past nine games with this laser through Filip Gustavsson. He continues to increase his status as trade bait and should attract a lot of attention from Cup contenders around the league this week. It has been nice to see Duclair light the lamp at this rate after a difficult start to the season. Just listen to Randy Hahn and the team’s excitement on this goal!
The Sharks fly back home to the Bay to host the Dallas Stars yet again. Faceoff will be at 7:30 PM PST on Tuesday, March 5.
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