Sharks Locker Room: Two-Face

TL;DR

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks, showcasing inconsistent performance. They played well for 40 minutes but ultimately fell short.

Key points

San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to Chicago Blackhawks
Sharks led 2-1 after 40 minutes
Sharks outchanced Blackhawks 10-6 at 5-on-5
Sharks had a prior record of 3-2
Inconsistent performance noted during the game

San Jose SharksChicago Blackhawks

Screenshot

CHICAGO — The San Jose Sharks showed their two faces on Wednesday night, in a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

At times this season, like for most of their 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday, they’re a group capable of playing a direct, playoff-worthy game.

They did so for 40 minutes, defending hard and stifling a sleepy-looking Blackhawks squad with their forecheck. At that point, the Sharks were up 2-1, and per Natural Stat Trick, had outchanced the home team 10-6 at 5-on-5.

And then, the irresponsible San Jose side that flamed out and missed the playoffs showed up in the third period. Careless with the puck and lax defensively, they allowed four unanswered goals.

For a number of the San Jose Sharks youngsters, it was a Jekyll and Hyde performance. Hopefully, next year, there’s a lot more Jekyll than Hyde.

Yaroslav Askarov, for example, made back-to-back brilliant saves on Ilya Mikheyev in the first period, including a penalty shot…and then he surrendered a soft bad-angle bid to Sam Rinzel to close the second period.

Macklin Celebrini has enjoyed a Hart Trophy-worthy campaign, but it was his blind pass up the middle that Connor Bedard jumped on to go the other way, finding Louis Crevier to tie the game.

Sam Dickinson killed play after play in the first period, but then fell asleep on Crevier attacking the net, on what should’ve been a routine 3-on-3 backcheck.

Luca Cagnoni had his best offensive period in the NHL in the opening frame…and then lost Tyler Bertuzzi on a corner pin, before Bertuzzi hit Crevier on the blueline for the 4-2 bomb.

Those are just some of the young players who need to find a little more consistency and gain more understanding of how to play with momentum, yes, even franchise star Celebrini. I’m focused, by the way, on the youth, because they’re most likely to be able to improve.

“This one is a kick in the gut, because we should know by now,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’ve talked about enough of the momentum shifts in games and when to simplify it and when to be a mature team.”

Just a little more consistency this year, and the Sharks would’ve made the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

“Understand that really, we’ve controlled most of the game the first two periods, let’s go put zeroes in the third and we win a hockey game,” Warsofsky said. “And until we do that, we won’t make another step.”

Instead, they’re going home early, wondering what could’ve been.

Michael Misa

Misa, on playing with momentum:

Q&A

What was the final score of the Sharks vs. Blackhawks game?

The final score was 5-2 in favor of the Chicago Blackhawks.

How did the Sharks perform in the first two periods against the Blackhawks?

The Sharks played well for 40 minutes, leading 2-1 and outchancing the Blackhawks 10-6 at 5-on-5.

What was the Sharks' record before the game against the Blackhawks?

Before the game, the Sharks had a record of 3-2 after their victory over the Nashville Predators.

What factors contributed to the Sharks' loss against the Blackhawks?

Despite a strong start, the Sharks could not maintain their performance and ultimately lost the game.