The San Jose Sharks scored first before they allowed four unanswered goals and had a veteran defenseman leave the game due to injury in a 4-2 preseason loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at Honda Center.
Forward Justin Bailey, in Sharks camp on a professional tryout, scored a power-play goal at the 9:36 mark of the first period as he collected a rebound in front of the Anaheim net and beat Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal. But Anaheim responded with even-strength goals by Pavel Mintyukov, Chase De Leo, and Brett Leason, with Leason’s goal at the 8:16 mark of the second period giving Anaheim a 3-1 lead.
Brock McGinn then scored for Anaheim just 23 seconds into the third period, as Sharks goalie Georgi Romanov, making his first NHL preseason appearance allowed four goals on the first 19 shots he faced.
Signed to a two-year, two-way contract by the Sharks out of Russia in May, Romanov made 22 saves.
Nathan Todd scored with 13:35 left in regulation time for San Jose (1-2-0), which also lost 4-2 to the Ducks on Tuesday at SAP Center.
Sharks defenseman Radim Simek was hurt with just under four minutes left in the first period and did not return.
Simek, 31, skated up to defend forward Nikita Nesterenko inside the Sharks’ zone on a Ducks rush and the two players collided. Simek’s left leg appeared to be injured in the collision, and he wasn’t able to put much weight on it as he remained on the ice for a few seconds before he went to the bench and limped down the tunnel to the Sharks’ dressing room.
Sharks coach David Quinn did not have an update on Simek’s injury after the game, other than to say it was a lower-body injury and that the team would know more on Thursday.
Late in the third period, Sharks winger Filip Zadina was shaken up after he was hit from behind by Ducks forward Alex Killorn. Quinn said he didn’t think Zadina’s injury was anything serious.
Sharks forward Adam Raska also had to leave the ice midway through the first period after he was struck in the side of the face by a shot from the point inside the Ducks zone. Raska, though, was able to return in the second period and finished with four shots on goal in 8:41 of ice time.
The Sharks outshot the Ducks 47-26 and Quinn said he liked the way his team competed.
“I thought our whole team was pretty good. There weren’t any passengers tonight,” Quinn said.
Simek’s five-year NHL career has been beset by injuries, starting with ACL and MCL tears in his right knee in March 2019. Last season he was hampered by concussion issues and played only 44 of 82 games.
Injuries have been a story for the Sharks in the first week of training camp. Captain Logan Couture is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury and fellow forward Fabian Zetterlund is day-to-day, also with an undisclosed lower-body ailment.
The Sharks’ preseason continues Saturday night at home against the Los Angeles Kings. After that game, the Sharks are expected to make more cuts to their training camp roster, which right now sits at 54 players.
Source: www.mercurynews.com