The San Jose Sharks suffered a third straight loss on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers. The Sharks scored only one goal in nine games on the season and have been shut out three times. The 5-3 loss to Florida is only their fourth game where the team managed to score multiple goals (2-13-1).
With one of the worst starts to a season, the team continues to battle one step forward, three steps back. Improvements with multiple pucks in the net are a win, but other mistakes resulted in a loss.
Team Teal won over half of the face-offs (54.5 percent) but were outshot 31-22. With captain Logan Couture still missing and Anthony Duclair’s recent absence, the Sharks recalled Danil Gushchin for his NHL debut. A leading scorer from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Gushchin posted an assist and two shots on goal.
“We scored a few more goals than usual,” said Mike Hoffman, who scored his first goal as a Shark in the game, “So that’s definitely a positive.”
But in the middle of the second, Florida’s Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal, making the game 2-1 Panthers.
In the third period, San Jose secured a short-lived 3-2 lead when Tomas Hertl and Luke Kunin scored minutes apart.
Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe tied the game with a power play goal assisted by Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov at 10:06.
The Panthers’ Kevin Strenlund took the 4-3 lead before Barkov secured the 5-3 win with an empty netter.
“The fourth goal really was the backbreaker,” Sharks’ coach David Quinn said postgame, “Just loose coverage in the net front. It was a simple shot from the point. We don’t pick up a stick at the net and it ends up at the back of the net.”
San Jose defenseman Jan Rutta also picked up an assist and two shots on goal in the game.
“We were playing a little bit more connected, whether it’s D-zone or our breakouts. I don’t think it’s just me,” Rutta said, “I really liked our play today.”
Sharks forward Duclair was absent with strep throat but is expected to return against the St. Louis Blues. Duclair last played on November 9 in the Sharks’ win against the Edmonton Oilers. The winger has five points in 13 games, and his presence could help the team’s lacking offensive development.
The last time the Sharks took on the Panthers was on October 24, also resulting in a loss (3-1). Tuesday’s game was the last matchup for the two teams in the 2023-2024 season.
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Featured image courtesy of San Jose Sharks on NHL.com
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