The Sharks know that wins could be hard to come by for the rest of the regular season, particularly after they traded their leading scorer and a top pair defenseman earlier this month.
But they still expect to be competitive down the stretch, even against several of the NHL’s best teams.
That was the case on Monday, as they led the Winnipeg Jets for over 59 minutes before defenseman Josh Morrissey scored to tie the game with 25.9 seconds left in regulation time. Mark Scheifele then scored 1:33 into overtime, lifting the Jets to a 2-1 win over the Sharks at Canada Life Centre.
William Eklund’s first-period power-play goal almost stood up as the winner as the Sharks took on the Western Conference-leading Jets.
Goalie Vitek Vanecek was rock solid, making 32 saves, but it wasn’t enough to help the Sharks snap a six-game road losing skid that dated back to Jan. 14. or end Winnipeg’s nine-game winning streak, which began on Jan. 22.
Vanecek hasn’t won since Nov. 29, when the Sharks beat the Seattle Kraken 8-5 at SAP Center. Vanecek has a 0-4-2 record since that game, as he missed roughly six weeks with a fractured cheekbone, but he probably deserved a better fate against the Jets.
The Sharks have lost 12 of their last 13 games and are 0-3-2 since trading leading scorer Mikael Granlund and veteran defenseman Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 1.
Coming off a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday, the Sharks wanted to tighten things up on the defensive end, as coach Ryan Warsofsky felt all three goals his team allowed were preventable. That was going to be easier said than done against the Jets, who, before Monday, were the second-highest-scoring team in the NHL with an average of 3.60 goals per game.
“They’re dangerous, and they’re deep at every position,” Warsofsky said of the Jets. “It’s going to be about us being a really simple hockey team tonight and grinding it out and not feeding pucks to the middle and with soft little flips, (and then) they’re off to the races.”
The Sharks opened the game’s scoring in a sometimes feisty first period.
With the Sharks on a 4-on-3 power play, the Sharks worked it around inside the Jets’ blue line before Macklin Celebrini, at the top, sent a no-look pass over to Eklund, who wired a slap shot past goalie Connor Hellebuyck for his 12th goal of the season at the 15:07 mark.
The goal was preceded by an on-ice scrum that involved Sharks defensemen Jack Thompson and Mario Ferraro and Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. After Thompson and Ehlers were sent to the penalty box, Jets forward Adam Lowry was next to go after he lost his balance, crashed into Vanecek and was called for goalie interference to set up the 4-on-3.
LILJEGREN OUT: Defenseman Timothy Liljegren missed the game with an upper-body injury he sustained in a the Sharks’ 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Liljegren, paired with Mario Ferraro, left the game midway through the second period after he had six shot attempts and was credited with one block in 11:21 of ice time.
Liljegren was being evaluated Monday, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said, and it was unclear if the right-shot defenseman could play Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. If not, Liljegren might have to go on injured reserve, which would allow the Sharks to recall another defenseman from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic took Liljegren’s spot in the Sharks’ lineup and was paired with rookie Shakir Mukhamadullin. Jake Walman and Henry Thrun comprised the Sharks’ top defense pair, and Ferraro and Thompson were paired together.
Acquired by the Sharks in October in the trade that sent defenseman Matt Benning and two draft picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Liljegren has nine points and is averaging 18:04 in ice time in 44 games with San Jose.
Vlasic missed the first half of the season with an upper-body injury and has played in just seven games, all of which came in January. He has two assists this season and is averaging just under 15 minutes in ice time per game.
INJURY UPDATE: Warsofsky added that Monday was “a big day” for winger Nikolai Kovalenko regarding whether he could join the Sharks later this week. Kovalenko, who hasn’t played since Jan. 30 with an upper-body ailment, has been skating on his own recently and is still in San Jose.
Since being acquired by the Sharks in December in the trade that sent Mackenzie Blackwood and Givani Smith to the Colorado Avalanche, Kovalenko has one goal and seven assists in 17 games. He is averaging 12:10 in ice time per game. Kovalenko has been on IR since Feb. 6, and the Sharks will have to create a roster spot for him once he’s cleared to play again.