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Sharks 2, Devils 3: Sharks drop a close one, head back home

Early mornings aren’t kind to the boys in teal, huh?

A four-game road trip through the East Coast of the United States road trip concluded for the San Jose Sharks with a 3-2 loss at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.

The Sharks took the first lead of the game with a Joe Pavelski goal, the 700th point of his career. After two games off, Martin Jones showed no signs of rust, making key saves, especially on Nico Hischier. However, the Sharks took ill-advised penalties that led to a Kyle Palmieri goal.

It didn’t take long for the Sharks to regain the lead after Timo Meier went to the net and was able to finish a unique pass from Logan Couture. Heading into the third, the Devils were determined to tie the game, and within the first five minutes of the third period, the Devils took the lead and held on.

Towards the end of the game the Sharks the opportunity to tie it, but their power play woes would continue and will head back to San Jose with a 1-3 record on their road trip.

Pregame

Breakfast with a side of hockey is on the menu (for those of us on the West Coast) as the San Jose Sharks will head into Prudential Center for a morning matchup with the New Jersey Devils.

After an overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday, the Sharks are looking to end their East Coast road trip on a high note before they head home. Meanwhile, the Devils will want to continue with their high goal scoring after putting up 11 goals in their first two games.

Erik Karlsson will likely suit up in New Jersey despite being under the weather, so keep an eye on him to see how he performs and whether or not the limit his minutes. Nonetheless, all lines remain the same, so expect no changes on that end.

Here’s how the Devils will most likely look when they hit the ice this afternoon:

The Sharks will also go with Martin Jones in net to conclude the road trip after two consecutive starts from Aaron Dell, while the Devils will counter with Keith Kinkaid.

Did someone say fancy stats?

Puck drop goes from Prudential Center is at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET, broadcasting on NBC Sports California. Check back then for live reactions to the game.

First Period

20:00: Good morning Sharks Territory, it’s Eddie here up early on a Sunday morning to provide live blog reactions. Everyone have their cup of coffee and lets hope the Sharks can end their road trip on a positive note, so drop the puck!

17:35: About three minutes in and both teams are seeing good quality scoring chances so far, looks like the goalies will have their work cut out for them.

16:30: Sharks will get the first power play of them game, lets see how this goes!

14:38: The power play struggles continue for the Sharks

10:17: Traffic around Keith Kinkaid’s net, but he’s able to keep the puck out

9:13: Tomas Hertl is in the box and the Sharks are on the penalty kill

8:11: Jones with a big save on Nico Hischier!

5:19: Sharks once again generating scoring chances but can’t get the puck past Kinkaid

2:45: The Sharks are headed back to the penalty kill

END OF FIRST: Sharks 0, Devils 0

The Sharks controlled puck in the first period with 56 percent Corsi for, but were unable to convert on their six scoring chances. Oh the power play, it remains a key issue as coming into this game it was at 11 percent and with one opportunity on the mad advantage the Sharks were unable to begin the turnaround on the power play woes. On the other hand, Martin Jones made the key save of the period helping stop a 2-on-1 rush to keep the game scoreless; so there’s no rust on Jones after two games off.

Second Period

20:00: With the start of the second, lets see if the Sharks can continues controlling the puck and convert on the scoring chances.

16:09: Sharks goal! Joe Pavelski is around the net and puts it past Kinkaid and it’s 1-0

14:33: Sharks are back on the penalty kill for third time in this game after an interference call on Melker Karlsson

13:49: Another Sharks penalty, this time on Hertl for high-sticking, so it’s 5-on-3 for over a minute

12:54: Devils convert on the 2-man advantage as Kyle Palmieri ties the game.

6:52: Another scoring chance by the Sharks, but Kinkaid is able to keep the puck out. It appears as though this will be the story of the night.

5:26: Another big save by Jones on Hischier!

4:25: Timo Meier! Sharks take a 2-1 lead after Couture and Meier go to the net with Meier finishing it off.

END OF SECOND: Sharks 2, Devils 1

Once again the Sharks controlled the puck with a CF% of 66 percent and generated nine scoring chances for in the second period. Joe Pavelski was able to convert on one of these opportunities for his 700th point and is the fifth player ever drafted 200th or later to score 700 points in his career, so congrats to the captain on this accomplishment. Jones again was able to come up with timely saves and it took for a two-man opportunity to get the puck past him, so he’s having a solid game so far.

Third Period

20:00: The Sharks are 20 minutes away from walking away with two points and heading home with a .500 record on this road trip.

19:23: The Devils come out of the locker room and tie it at two

19:04: Not a good start to the third as the Sharks go to the penalty kill after a penalty by Antti Suomela

16:35: Devils strike again and take their first lead of the game

14:03: Sharks come close to tying the game! but again Kinkaid comes up with the stop

13:47: Justin Braun goes to the box and the Sharks are on the penalty kill once again

8:08: Hischier gets high-sticked by Erik Karlsson and has some blood coming out, looks like penalty on the Sharks is coming up for four minutes.

4:08: The Sharks are able to kill off a four minute penalty and will go on their own power play in a few seconds

2:00: Martin Jones with another key save, but the power play continues to struggle for the Sharks

1:48: Sharks get one last power play to try and tie the game!

FINAL SCORE: Sharks 2, Devils 3

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