San Jose Sharks beaten comfortably on home ice by the New York Islanders
By Conor Power
In the final game before the trade deadline, the San Jose Sharks were hammered on home ice by the New York Islanders. 7-2 is the final score as the Metropolitan Division team gets closer to the pack in the east and the Sharks continue to grow their gap at the bottom of the standings in the hunt for Macklin Celebrini.
New York struck extremely early in this one was the Islanders got the zone entry cleanly. This allowed the Islanders to work the puck back to the point for Noah Dobson. His shot took two deflections as it hit the skate of Magnus Chrona on the way in, and 19 seconds into the game, the Sharks were trailing. Before the Islanders had a shot on goal, they scored. That sums up this season for the Sharks.
The Islanders would double their lead with less than 90 seconds to go in the first period. Another entry from the Isles allowed the Metropolitan playoff hopefuls to get the puck back to Alexander Romanov at the point. He let one fly and it found the top left corner behind Magnus Chrona. A period that had been tightly contested by the Sharks saw them trailing by a couple at the first intermission.
On the powerplay, the Sharks would get it back. William Eklund would play catch with a Shark at the point, moving the Islanders penalty killers around. He tried to fire it to Mikael Granlund at the back post, but it hit the skate of Thomas Bordeleau and bounced into the net, allowing the Sharks to cut the Islanders lead in half.
New York would get it back halfway through the game. Former Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat would pick the puck up along the red line and make a power move towards the front of the net as Marc-Edouard Vlasic had ventured a little too far into the corner. Horvat's able to go upstairs on young Magnus Chrona to restore the two goal lead for the Islanders.
San Jose would answer right back. A give and go would see Givani Smith and Mike Hoffman create some offense. Smith gets the wrong side of Ryan Pulock and is able to get the puck to the center of the ice. Hoffman's able to deflect it netwards, and it leaks through Ilya Sorokin and into the net. It's a 3-2 game and the chaos is beginning early for the Sharks.
New York would grab it back a few seconds later. A point show was knocked towards the corner by Magnus Chrona who did well to see the puck through a screen. Kyle MacLean was able to gather the puck in the corner, and fire it off the back of Magnus Chrona and pinball it into the net to restore the two goal lead of the Islanders. Chaos in this middle period indeed between these two teams.
New York would grab a fifth with five minutes to go in the period. A failed clear from the Sharks would let Mat Barzal knock it down. He's able to work a give-and-go with a linemate to get in behind the Sharks defense, and he pots another one as the Sharks are now down by three. The Islanders largest lead of the game and the Sharks look like they are struggling in this one.
With three minutes to go in the second, New York would strike again. Jean-Gabriel Pageau enters the zone and turns, looking for help. Sebastian Aho (no not that one, a defenseman with the same name) lost Thomas Bordeleau in the slot, and the pass lands directly on his tape. Sebastian Aho finishes it like his namesake and the Sharks are now down by four as the Islanders blueline is suffocating Team Teal.
Halfway through the third period, the Islanders would pour salt in the wounds. Anders Lee was able to hit the back of Jan Rutta in front of the net and bounce into the goal to make it 7-2. A powerplay marker on the first half of a double minor, it was only a taste of what is to come as the Islanders would spend the remainder of the game embedded in the Sharks zone as the Sharks fall 7-2.