San Jose Sharks Suffer Second Straigth Loss On East Coast
Nov 15, 2013; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock (32) makes a save against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks (19-5-5, 43 points) fell to the Carolina Hurricanes (13-12-5, 31 points) by the final score of 4-3 in what turned out to be a third period disappointment. San Jose owned a lead heading into the third period only to squander it away and eventually lose the game.
Starting in net this evening for the Sharks was rookie Alex Stalock. Giving him the start made sense after starter Antti Niemi was pulled last game when the Penguins went off in the second period.
Also, defenseman Matt Irwin was back on the ice tonight in place of veteran Brad Stuart, who suffered a wrist injury in the loss to Pittsburgh.
This evening the Sharks got off to a strong start with two first period goals. The first goal, which was scored by Tommy Wingels, came on a deflection in front of Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward after a strong forecheck caused a miscue. The puck ended up coming right out to Jason Demers who fired a bomb from the point that Wingels was able to get a piece of to tip by Ward.
The second goal of the period, which came with less than four minutes left, was scored by Marc-Edouard Vlasic as he fired what looked like a pretty harmless shot form the point. However, the puck seemed to deflect off of a Carolina defenseman and that changed the direction of the puck enough to throw Ward off and give San Jose a 2-0 lead going to intermission.
Midway through the second period the Hurricanes would finally strike when Jay Harrison fired a puck from the point. His shot hit the end boards, bounced off of Stalock then into the net as the San Jose netminder struggled to locate the puck once it got behind him. It was a bad break for Stalock who had been playing very strong up until that point, and that bit of luck was all the spark the Hurricanes needed to jump-start their offense.
In the third period the San Jose lead would be gone for good when Riley Nash scored on a deflection from the high slot to make it 2-2 just five minutes into the final stanza. Then, about a minute and a half after that, Jordan Stall would score to give Carolina their first lead of the game when he knocked in a loose puck that Stalock thought he had covered up.
The Sharks were not finished yet, however, as they scored to tie that game at three apiece when another defenseman, this time Justin Braun, got involved in the offense and blasted a one-timer by Ward.
Carolina did not like that though and answered once again with a goal by Elias Lindholm on another deflected puck. The original shot came from Andrej Sekera from the point.
Then, late in the game when San Jose pulled Stalock for the extra skater Eric Staal was able to finish the Sharks off for good with an empty netter and give the Hurricanes a 5-3 lead to end the game.
GGS 3 Stars
1. Elias Lindholm (1 goal, 2 assists)
2. Alex Stalock (30 saves)
3. Jordan Staal (1 goal, 1 assist)