Tampa Bay Lightning’s Vladislav Namestnikov, front left, is greeted by teammates after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, in San Jose , Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Jerry Feitelberg
To be on the verge of a five-game win streak, many things have to go right for a hockey team. To lose that elusive fifth game in a blowout, lots have to go wrong.
The San Jose Sharks saw their four-game victorious run come to an end Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-1, thanks in large part to a number of self-inflicted wounds.
Twice, the Sharks negated power plays by committing penalties on the man-advantage, they lost their defensive assignments and even yielded a goal on an even-strength situation that saw only four skaters in teal on the ice. Even net-minder Martin Jones wasn’t immune, surrendering a goal that top level goalies are expected to make with ease on a nightly basis.
The game opened with the Sharks showing the same traits they had over their winning ways, including taking an early lead. Joonas Donskoi scored his fifth goal of the season, sitting one shy of last season’s total, after picking up the Puck and depositing it past Andrei Vasilevskiy. Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski assisted on the goal just 25 seconds into the game.
The Lightning would score the next four unanswered, starting with Defenseman Jake Dotchin’s first career goal 7:17 into the first. Dotchin was able to pick up a rebound hanging by the far point and beat Jones cleanly on a slap shot to tie the game.
Tampa Bay’s second goal 44 seconds into the second period came just seconds after a Sharks penalty kill when Vladislav Namestnikov pulled the four Sharks skaters on the ice to Jones’ left side. That allowed him to connect on a pass to countryman Nikita Kucherov in the slot. Kucherov doesn’t miss from there often, and he didn’t this time potting his 15th goal of the year. The Sharks were originally on the power play but saw their edge negated after poor backchecking forces a scramble net front and resulted in a holding the stick penalty on Martin Jones.
Jones again found himself at the center of a Tampa goal after Slater Koekkoek was forced to the outside on a rush 9:21 into the second. Koekkoek took a low percentage shot from a hard angle, but this time he was successful with Jones failing to close off the five-hole with one leg parallel to the post and the other flat on the ice.
The worst offense of the night came with the Sharks not recognizing they were playing with just four skaters. Joel Ward hopped onto the ice but Namestnikov still punished San Jose for the Bolts third second period goal and a 4-1 lead with 8 minutes left in the period.
Aaron Dell relieved Jones in the third, but it failed to create a spark for the home team. Instead, Namestnikov scored Tampa’s first powerplay goal of the game 6:14 into the third for his second goal of the game and seventh of the season.
The Sharks get a shot at redemption Saturday when they face the Vancouver Canucks at home as part of a back-to-back weekend. They then travel to Los Angeles for a Sunday tilt.
