SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks allowed an early third-period goal to Dylan Guenther and could not recover in what became a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday at SAP Center.
A Sharks turnover at their blue line helped the Coyotes break a 2-2 tie, as they allowed Alex Kerfoot to take control of the puck along the boards. He found an open Guenther with a centering pass, and Guenther fired a shot past Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood at the 4:56 mark of the third period for his 14th goal of the season.
Clayton Keller then scored with 5:47 left in regulation time, helping to seal the Sharks’ 12th loss in their last 14 games. Nick Schmaltz added an empty netter with 3:06 left to play after the Sharks pulled goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
The Sharks got goals from Henry Thrun and Luke Kunin but were unable to beat Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram again as they fell to 1-3-0 on this homestand that ends Tuesday against the Calgary Flames.
Collin Graf and Thrun assisted on Kunin’s goal at the 11:40 mark of the second period. For Graf, it was his first NHL point in his second game with the Sharks.
Blackwood made 22 saves for the Sharks, who remained seven points back of the Chicago Blackhawks for 31st place in the NHL’s overall standings.
The Sharks were coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday and looked fatigued against the Coyotes, particularly in the third period when they managed just six shots on net. Ingram finished with 25 saves.
BARABANOV UPDATE: Alexander Barabanov’s season and his Sharks career appear to be over as there remains no sign of the injured winger getting back on the ice with less than two weeks left in the regular season.
Barabanov was injured blocking a shot in the Sharks’ game against the Dallas Stars on March 26. He was seen in a protective walking boot after the game and two days later, Sharks coach David Quinn announced that Barabanov was week to week.
Quinn agreed the odds are against injury-riddled Barabanov, who had 13 points in just 46 games this season, from returning this month. The Sharks’ season ends on April 18 with a game in Calgary against the Flames.
Barabanov, who turns 30 in June, had 48 points in 67 games with the Sharks last season.
“We missed him for sure,” Quinn said Sunday before the Sharks played the Arizona Coyotes. “He’s a guy that we had last year and was a good player for us. Just seemed like right from the get-go, anytime things started going well for him, he got hurt.
“Unfortunately, that’s sports. That can happen. It can happen to anybody and this happens to be the year it happens to him. Unfortunately, it’s happened to a few too many guys for us this year.”
If Barabanov, a pending unrestricted free agent, does not return to San Jose next season, he will finish his four-year Sharks tenure with 106 points in 193 games since April 26, 2021. That makes him the fifth-highest scoring Sharks in that time, behind Tomas Hertl (174), Erik Karlsson (140), Timo Meier (132), and Logan Couture (128).
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Barabanov first came to the Sharks on April 12, 2021, in a trade with Toronto that sent forward Antti Suomela to the Maple Leafs.
ROSTER UPDATE: Klim Kostin was ill Sunday and unavailable to play against the Coyotes, Quinn said. In his previous 13 games with the Sharks, Kostin had five goals and nine points, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time. William Eklund replaced Kostin on the top line that again featured Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund.