Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks’ depth took another major hit Tuesday night, forcing head coach Peter DeBoer to get a little creative with his lines. With Tomas Hertl exiting the game with an undisclosed injury, DeBoer moved reigning Norris Trophy Winner for best defenseman Brent Burns to the top line’s wings for alternating shifts. Burns’ move upfront wouldn’t be enough to spark the Sharks though, as Team Teal fell to the visiting Arizona Coyotes 2-1 at the SAP Center.

The Sharks outshot the Desert Dogs 41-26, but goals from defensemen Kevin Connauton and Alex Goligoski proved to be the difference makers. Former Coyote Mikkel Boedker scored for the Sharks, but Scott Wedgewood and Antti Raanta combined to snap the Sharks win-streak at two games. The Sharks powerplay went 0-4 in the loss, failing to gain ground with the teams directly behind them in the standings, Los Angeles and Calgary losing to Eastern Conference teams.

Connauton opened the scoring 7:58 into the game, crashing the net on a Nick Cousins point shot, tipping home the loose puck while another Coyote crashed into the far post behind Sharks goalie Martin Jones. The net was knocked off its moorings, but the collision had no effect on the result of the play, so a brief discussion between the officials confirmed a good goal.

Boedker responded just 1:20 later, channeling team captain Joe Pavelski by tipping a Justin Braun point blast past starting goalie Wedgewood to tie the game. Marc-Edouard Vlasic joined d-partner Vlasic in picking up the assist on Boedker’s strike.

Goligoski, appearing in his 700th game, picked up the game-winner for the Western Conference cellar dwellers. Goligoski took advantage of a powerplay opportunity, blasting a point shot 9:35 into the second period for a 2-1 lead.

First star Wedgewood took a puck off the helmet in the second, but was near perfect through two periods. He made 28 of 29 saves, but exited the game early in the third period after his defenseman pushed a Sharks player on top of him. The collision caused Wedgewood to hit the crossbar with his head, leading to his exit from the game.

The Sharks tested Raanta immediately, sneaking the puck behind him on their first shot. Goligoski was there to pull it off the line before the Sharks could tie the game. Raanta made 12 saves to finish out the win.

The Sharks get to face another struggling western conference team in game two of a three-game homestand. The Vancouver Canucks come to town Thursday before the Dallas Stars stop by for a Sunday start. Coach DeBoer hasn’t ruled out if Burns would make an appearance at forward if Hertl is unavailable.