The San Jose Sharks are going to have to rediscover their offensive touch if they want to finish their two-game road trip on a positive note Sunday.
The Sharks could not get anything past Arizona goalie Connor Ingram — or the NHL’s video review judges — in a 1-0 loss to the Coyotes on Friday at Mullett Arena in Tempe.
The Sharks (9-18-3) scored a combined 26 goals on their six-game road trip that ended on Dec. 10. But they had all 21 of their shots on net Friday stopped by Ingram, plus saw two other would-be goals called back by the NHL’s Situation Room, in their fifth shutout loss of the year.
San Jose, which plays the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in Denver, is now 3-12-1 away from home this season.
“It’s one of those nights where you don’t have all your energy,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “You can just feel there wasn’t a lot of energy in the locker room before the game.”
At the 7:40 mark of the third period, it appeared Sharks winger William Eklund scored his eighth of the season as he followed up a shot on net by center Luke Kunin. But after review, the league, citing Rule 69.1, determined Kunin “impaired Ingram’s ability to play his position in the crease prior to Eklund’s goal.”
The rule states, “Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal.”
Mikael Granlund thought he scored at the 16:01 mark of the third. But after an Arizona challenge, it was determined that Anthony Duclair did not exit the Coyotes’ zone before Granlund entered.
“We knew, watching both on replay, there was a chance they would get overturned. You just never know,” Quinn said. “But we kept playing and it was just one of those nights. We just didn’t have it.”
Matias Maccelli scored the game-winner for the Coyotes at the 14:45 mark of the second period, as he fired a loose puck past Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen for his sixth of the year.
The Sharks had just seven shots on net in the third period, including just one in the final 3:40 after they pulled Kahkonen for the extra attacker.
All five of the Sharks’ shutout losses this season have come on the road.
“They were a desperate hockey team on the other side, losing four in a row,” Duclair said. “For us, I think we just need a little more pace to our game.”
Joining the Sharks on the trip to Denver was forward Jack Studnicka, who the team acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Friday afternoon for Barracuda defenseman Nick Cicek and a 2024 sixth-round draft pick.
Studnicka, 24, is in his fifth pro season and has split time this year between the AHL and NHL. In 52 games with the Canucks this season and last, he had a combined nine points.
Studnicka was in Tucson with Abbotsford, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, at the time of the trade, and made the drive up to the Phoenix area to join the team before their flight.
Studnicka, listed at 6-foot-1 and 187 points, will be added to the Sharks’ roster on Saturday and be available to play against Colorado.
Studnicka has 16 points in 90 career NHL games, including 52 with the Canucks. He was drafted in the second round by Boston in 2017 and had seven points in 38 games with the Bruins from 2019 to 2022.
In October of last year, Studnicka was traded by the Bruins to the Canucks.
“Just a very skilled player,” Quinn said of Studnicka. “A guy that certainly was highly thought of as a prospect. He’s been in two organizations where they’ve been really forward-heavy, so I don’t know if he’s really had the opportunity that he was looking for, to the fault of nobody.
“He’s still a young player. He’s got some good size to him, and he’s got skills, so we’re really excited to have him.”
The Sharks created a roster spot for Studnicka by placing center Nico Sturm on injured reserve. Sturm was hurt during Tuesday’s game with the Winnipeg Jets and did not travel with the team, and the extent of his injury has not been disclosed.
“Anytime we get an injury it seems to be to a center,” Quinn said. “Listen, nobody feels sorry for us. No one wants to hear a story and you’ve got to find a way to win hockey game.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com