SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks had chances in the third period to take control of their game with the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at SAP Center.
But a handful of missed power play opportunities opened the door to another disappointing loss.
Leading by one, the Sharks in the third period allowed three straight goals and misfired on two critical power play chances in a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center.
Up 2-1, the Sharks failed on one power play chance and after the Avalanche tied the gam, failed on another.
Just 12 seconds after a tripping penalty on Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin ended, Joel Kiviranta scored to give Colorado a 3-2 lead. Kiviranta then scored at the 15:58 mark to help put the game away and hand the Sharks their third straight loss and their sixth in seven games.
Carl Grundstrom and William Eklund both scored for the Sharks and goalie Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves as San Jose finished its homestand with a 0-3-0 record.
Sharks went 0-for-4 on the power play, as goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, acquired from San Jose earlier this month, had 32 saves.
The Sharks gave up a tying goal to Mikko Rantanen at the 8:26 mark of the third period, just 27 seconds after Barclay Goodrow was called for holding Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.
The Sharks checked hard in the first two periods, taking away time and space from Colorado’s playmakers, and took a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes of regulation time.
After Carl Grundstrom scored his first goal as a Shark at the 4:26 mark of the second period, William Eklund gave San Jose a 2-1 lead 5:03 later.
The Sharks created a turnover in the Avalanche end, leading to a shot attempt by Cody Ceci. The Sharks defenseman followed that up and nudged the puck over to Eklund, who beat Blackwood from in close for his sixth goal of the season.
The Avalanche challenged the play, feeling officials missed a game stoppage event, believing Eklund high sticked the puck a few moments before the goal.
After a review, the NHL’s Situation Room supported the referee’s call on the ice that Eklund’s stick was not above the normal height of his shoulders when he contacted the puck at 10:36 of the second period – five seconds prior to his goal. The decision was made in accordance with Rule 80.1.
Grundstrom took a high sticking penalty just 3:07 into the first period and the Avalanche, with the 10th-best power play in the NHL before Thursday’s games, cashed in.
Cale Makar took a pass from Nathan MacKinnon and fired a shot that just missed the Sharks’ net. But Nichushkin collected the loose puck beside the Sharks net, and slid it under Georgiev at the 3:40 mark for his ninth goal of the season and a 1-0 Colorado lead.
The Sharks’ ability to protect leads and win close games has come into sharper focus this month as they once again fell to the bottom of the Pacific Division.
Since a 5-2 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 7, the Sharks are 4-5-3 in games decided by one goal, which includes recent close losses to Carolina, Utah and Winnipeg and a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues last week. San Jose a 7-7-5 record in one-goal games this season.
The Sharks also came into Thursday with a 9-9-3 record this season in games which they either led or were tied going into the third period. That .500 points percentage is not quite where the Sharks want to be, as it is slightly below the .529 mark of last season (23-20-9).
“We’re just learning how to win. We’re a young group that, for whatever reason, we get into those situations,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Thursday morning. “It’s not just our team in this league, but we are trying to learn how to win, and we’ve seen some improvements through the year, but there’s still a little ways to go.”
LINEUP CHANGES: Defenseman Timothy Liljegren was a healthy scratch Thursday as the Sharks are dressed Henry Thrun and Shair Mukhamadullin on their third defense pair. That moved right-shot defenseman Jan Rutta up to the second pair to play alongside Mario Ferraro.
Liljegren was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 30 for defenseman Matt Benning and two draft picks. Liljegren did not play in the Sharks’ Oct. 31 game against the Chicago Blackhawks but was in the team’s lineup for the next 22 games, collecting six points while averaging close to 19 minutes in ice time.
Liljegren has one point, an assist, in his last seven games and had 16:18 in ice time for the Sharks during their 4-3 loss to the Jets on Tuesday. Warsofsky felt some of Liljegren’s reads and puck decisions could be a bit sharper.
KOSTIN UPDATE: Klim Kostin, on injured reserve with an upper body ailment, skated in a non-contact jersey again Thursday morning but Warsofsky couldn’t say whether the Russian-born forward would join the Sharks on their upcoming road trip through Edmonton and Vancouver. Kostin, who was injured in the Sharks’ Dec. 12 game in St. Louis, is eligible to come off IR today.
“We’re going to get through today, and then we’re going to cross one more hurdle and figure it out (Friday morning),” Warsofsky said.
VANECEK UPDATE: Injured Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek was examined by doctors on Wednesday, but his status remains week-to-week, Warsofsky said Thursday. Vanecek was struck in the face by a puck as he sat near the Sharks’ bench during the second period of Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Warsofsky said Vanecek and the team are “still going through some other doctors.” Asked if Vanecek might need facial surgery, Warsofsky said, “I can’t really get into it until we have a clear plan and when they meet with the doctors.”