Sharks point to botched third-period penalty kill after loss to Panthers

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In a steep loss, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly where things went wrong. In the Sharks' 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday night, though, there was one point late in the game where the wheels really seemed to come off. 

For the most part, the game wasn’t completely out of San Jose’s reach. Heck, after the Sharks tied the game up 2-2 ahead of the second intermission, they looked primed to grab the lead in the third period and get back into the win column. Then, they gave up two power-play goals at the start of the final frame, and the game got away from them.

“That was the difference,” captain Joe Pavelski told reporters in South Florida after the loss. “They came out and scored two quick power-play goals, and sometimes it can happen as quick as that.”

“Quick” is right. The game was still tied when Evander Kane was sent to the penalty box 1:56 into the third for high-sticking Panthers center Nick Bjugstad. Bjugstad drew bad and San Jose needed four minutes of lockdown hockey – of the stellar effort their penalty kill put on the ice night after night earlier in the season.

Instead, they gave up two power-play goals in nine seconds.

“We were in a good spot,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said of heading into the penalty kill with the tie, adding he didn’t think Kane was making an undisciplined play when he got penalized. However “at that point, we need a big kill, we need a big save. We didn’t get either.”

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Through their recent seven-game winning streak, the Sharks were able to minimize their mistakes. Whether playing against the highly-competitive Vegas Golden Knights or the less-adequate Ottawa Senators, San Jose played a detailed and defensive game that helped exploit their opponents’ weak spots. In Monday’s loss to Florida, the Sharks didn’t play up to that same level for a full 60 minutes. 

“We weren’t doing the little things right (and) that hurt us at the end,” Timo Meier acknowledged. “I think we were sloppy at some points of the game that cost us some goals.”

This is, without question, an area of San Jose’s game that has changed as of late. Over their current three-game skid, they’ve allowed six power-play goals on 12 opportunities and 18 goals overall. Through the seven games before that, the opposition only scored twice in 17 opportunities on the man advantage, and just 14 goals overall. The tight defensive and disciplined game they were playing hasn’t been put forth for a full game, and those mistakes are costing them.

San Jose has one last chance to get in the win column on this road trip as they visit the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Caps are another top team on a losing skid looking to turn things around before the break, and one that can make the opposition pay dearly for their mistakes. If the Sharks are going to go into the break on a high note, that part of their game has to be tighter. 

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