Sharks fall short in Columbus as the Blue Jackets double up San Jose
By Conor Power
Three straight losses for the Sharks leaves them two points adrift of the second last place team in the NHL. With just 39 points, it's been a woeful season, and the latest loss at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets further solidified that. Struggling to get anything going in the right direction, the Sharks come up short to the last-place roster in the Metropolitan Division.
Columbus took an early lead when they won a defensive zone faceoff. A stretch pass saw Johnny Gaudreau take the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone on a two-on-one. He gets the pass over to Boone Jenner in the middle of the ice, and he is able to stuff the puck through the pads of Magnus Chrona to give the Jackets the lead in the first period.
In the second period, Columbus doubled the lead. A long stretch pass allowed Alex Nylander in behind the Sharks defense, and he walked in to pick a corner on Magnus Chrona who couldn't get the blocker down in time to stop the shot. It trickled past him and into the twine behind to allow the Jackets their second goal of the night and put the Sharks in a dark hole. They needed to fight back to overcome this.
Calen Addison would fire a stretch pass up the ice to Mikael Granlund. San Jose's best forward decided to embark on the Harlem Globetrotters routine as he moved towards the net before eventually reemerging on the other side. He found a pass to Mario Ferraro that was knocked down in front by Fabian Zetterlund. Daniil Tarasov was equal to it, but Zetterlund put the rebound home to cut the Jackets lead in half and get the Sharks on the board.
Columbus would restore its two goal lead when Johnny Gaudreau was the lucky winner on a blocked shot from the stick of Nylander. He beat Magnus Chrona to the post and was able to corkscrew the puck past the young netminder to restore the Jackets two goal lead. A difficult period for the Sharks, but just two goals down with 20 minutes to play means there's hope for the team in teal.
San Jose did well to strike midway through the third period. San Jose repelled a Jackets attempted zone entry, and went the other way on an odd-man rush. Kevin Labanc carried the puck up the ice before setting up Henry Thrun who was able to rifle the puck home to beat Tarasov. It was a one-goal game, and there was hope for the Sharks, but it wouldn't come to be anything meaningful.
Columbus would strike the empty net when Alex Nylander took the puck up the ice and put it home. Despite the good fightback the Sharks showed, they were unable to do anything against Columbus. San Jose did well in the offensive zone, mustering 41 shots, but they were unable to solve Tarasov often enough to give themselves any winning chances. It's another loss for the Sharks, and another difficult result.