San Jose Sharks Lock Last Place Finish in NHL

San Jose Sharks celebrated fan appreciation night on Saturday for their final home game against the Minnesota Wild. Despite The Tank being its fullest this season, the Sharks suffered a 6-2 loss, ending up 32nd in the standings.

“We can’t thank them enough for sticking by us,” head coach David Quinn said post-game. 

Game recap – First period

Minnesota’s Matt Boldy opened scoring first with assists from Kirill Kaprizov and former Shark Jake Middleton.

Minutes later at 9:32 in the period, Jan Rutta tied the game with Mario Ferraro and Mikael Granlund logging assists. Rutta, Ferraro, and another d-man, Calen Addison, played the most shifts for the Sharks with 25. 

Team Teal ended the period trailing 2-1 when Declan Chisholm netted a wrister assisted by Jon Merrill and Liam Ohgren. 

After 20 minutes of play, the Sharks led in face off wins 11-10 and trailed in shots on goal 13-9. 

Second period

The first goal of the second didn’t come until 14:23 in the period. Minnesota’s Ohgren scored on a backhander assisted by Jonas Borodin and Marat Khusnutdinov. 

A minute later, Team Teal’s Ferraro responded with a slap shot assisted by William Eklund and Mikael Granlund. The assist put Eklund on a three-game point streak with two assists and two goals. In his last ten games, the forward has five goals and seven assists. Granlund is also on an impressive 11-game point streak, with 11 assists and two goals. 

Kaprizov put Minnesota ahead by two with a wrist shot assisted by Brock Faber and Brodin. 

With seconds to go in the period, Fabian Zetterlund got a high-sticking call to put the Sharks on the penalty kill. The Wild took advantage of the opportunity and Kaprizov scored again, with Joel Eriksson Ek and Boldy earning assists. 

“We’ve talked about it a lot,” forward Nico Sturm said post-game, “it usually cascades and we give up a goal. We struggled the whole year from day one till now to contain the momentum of the game. It doesn’t take much in this league, and then two minutes where ‘you snooze, you lose,’ and the game’s gone.”

After forty, Minnesota led in shots 26-21 and blocks 11-9. Sharks notably picked up shots on net and also outdrew with a 55 face off percentage. 

Third period deflation

Just 1:46 into the third, Marcus Johansson’s wrist shot made the score 6-2, Minnesota. Merrill and Alex Goligoski logged assists. 

San Jose had an opportunity on the power play, but could not regain momentum to take the game back. 

Final score, 6-2, Wild with Sharks outshot 38-29. 

Sharks’ goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves with .842 save percentage and a full 60 minutes on the ice. 

Notes and what’s next

“Disappointing tonight, but we’re in a much better situation to move forward than we were two years ago. We got draft capital, we got prospects, and we got cap space. We certainly anticipate making a leap next year,” said Coach Quinn. 

Per Tankathon, the Sharks have a 25.5 percent chance of getting the 2024 first overall draft pick. 

Boston University freshman center Macklin Celebrini emerged as the No. 1 choice in the 2024 draft. The Sharks are poised for the opportunity to secure the coveted pick at the Sphere in Vegas on June 28.

Will Smith, a Sharks’ prospect, saw his postseason aspirations concluded as Boston College lost 2-0 to Denver University on Saturday.

About Smith, Quinn said post-game, “I haven’t had any conversations regarding Will. He had a phenomenal year, he’s an incredible talent. He’ll be here when he sees fit and when our organization sees fit.” 

San Jose has two final road games to conclude their season against Edmonton and Calgary. 

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Featured image courtesy of San Jose Sharks on NHL.com  

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