The San Jose Sharks Nikolai Knyzhov (71) gets behind the puck while the Anaheim Ducks Rickard Rakell (67) stays right behind Knyzhov during Sat Feb 7, 2021 game at the Honda Center in Anaheim (AP News photo) 

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 2-1 in a shoot-out to the Anaheim Ducks Saturday. Max Comtois scored the game winner in the shoot-out for Anaheim, with Isac Lundestrom scoring in regulation and Troy Terry also scoring in the shoot-out. Ryan Miller made 26 saves for the win. Logan Couture scored for the Sharks and Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves in the loss.

Saturday’s game was very different from Friday’s goal-fest. While the Sharks held the Ducks to a single goal in regulation and over-time, they did not manage to score more than one either. There was just one change in the forward roster, with Rudolfs Balcers coming in for Alex Chmelevski. Dubnyk was in net instead of Martin Jones, which was to be expected with back-to-back games. Finally, two of the three the defensive pairings were different: Burns was with Ferraro, Karlsson was with Simek, and Vlasic was with Knyzhov. Those changes on defense were probably the most impactful adjustments.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said, of the blue line pairings:

“I thought they all held their own. It was just, it was a bit of a sloppy game. You know, defensively, I have to watch the tape again and it’s tough for e to comment right after, but you know, I thought we had some breakdowns but I thought for the most part we didn’t give up a ton.”

The Sharks started early with a goal just 11 seconds in. Mario Ferraro took a shot that jumped around in some traffic before Logan Couture found it behind Ryan Miller and knocked it in. Assists went to Ferraro and Evander Kane.

That was it for scoring in the first. Special teams got to warm up in the first, with each team getting one power play and a four-on-four. The Sharks did not register any shots on their power play, while Anaheim got credit for seven. The shots were 12-10 Anaheim and the face-off advantage went to the Sharks at 53%.

The Ducks tied the game 5:42 in to the second period. Hampus Lindholm’s shot from the blue line deflected off of Ferraro and then again off of Isac Lundestrom before getting by Dubnyk. It was Lundestrom’s first NHL goal and assists went to Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk.

The Sharks had to kill two penalties in the second period and they had no power plays. The Ducks registered three shots in their second period power plays, with a total of nine in the period. The Sharks added twelve shots to their game tally, all at even strength. The Sharks saw a big drop off in their face-off success, winning just 33% in the second period.

The Sharks had just one shot in the third period with 3:56 left in the period. A second later, Mario Ferraro got credit for the team’s second shot. (The first came just over five minutes in, from Patrick Marleau.) The Ducks had eight shots in the same time frame. The Sharks improved a little in the face-off circle but still came in at just 46%. No penalties were called in the third period.

The Sharks had no shots in the overtime period. The Ducks had just two but they had the puck for almost the whole period, though the Sharks won 67% of the draws.

The shoot-out did not start well for either goaltender as the first three shots went in the net. Troy Terry and Max Comtois scored for Anaheim and Ryan Donato scored for San Jose. Logan Couture, Kevin Shattenkirk and Kevin Labanc all had their shots stopped.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Kings at 7:00 PM PT.