Rinse and repeat.
No matter what the San Jose Sharks try or do, they simply can’t find a way to win on home ice. The latest example occurred on Thursday night as San Jose hosted the Detroit Red Wings at SAP Center in a contest the Sharks controlled for much of the night.
Unfortunately, the Red Wings were able to find the decisive tally as Justin Abdelkader’s 13th goal of the season broke a 1-1 deadlock in the third period and gave Detroit a 2-1 victory.
It was another bitter pill to swallow for this Sharks team and their home fans as San Jose dropped their 12th home game of the year. It should come as no surprise as all 12 of their losses on home ice have come when allowing the first goal, and that’s what happened on this night as well.
After the Sharks looked good in the early going outshooting the Red Wings by a 9-4 margin, Detroit countered with a nicely executed three-on-two rush that ended with Danny DeKeyser wiring one past Martin Jones to give the Red Wings the early advantage.
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However, it wouldn’t take long for San Jose to respond and it came off the simplest of plays. The Sharks won with the faceoff with Marc-Edouard Vlasic feeding Brent Burns who sent a harmless looking shot that was deflected in by Joel Ward to even things up at one. It was Ward’s 11th goal of the season and snapped a nine-game scoring drought.
From that moment on, the two goaltenders would battle it out with Jones looking very solid between the pipes, but his counterpart, Petr Mrazek, was even better. Despite outshooting the Red Wings in every period, Mrazek was there to deny the Sharks time and again as he finished with 35 saves..
His two biggest saves of the night came in the third period when he denied Joonas Donskoi and Ward on back-to-back shifts to keep things knotted up at one. His save on Ward fueled a Detroit rush the other way which ended in Abdelkader hammering home the game-winning goal from the high slot.
This was yet another gut punch for the Sharks as they looked like the better team on this night, but couldn’t find a way to emerge with two points. San Jose has been unable to play with a lead on home ice and it’s killing them. They don’t seem to have a problem scoring when they’re trailing, but they can’t put the puck in the back of the net to put themselves ahead.
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While the Sharks should win more often than not when they play like that, they can’t take any solace in moral victories at this point in the season. San Jose’s inability to figure out their home ice woes continues to cost this team valuable points in the standings.
It was the same story only a different chapter for team teal as they sputter along in a year that is looking eerily similar to what took place last season.