New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (31) gets a stick save on a shot by San Jose Sharks’ Mick Bonino (13) in the second period at Madison Square Garden in New York Fri Dec 3, 2021 (AP News photo)
By Jessica Kwong
NEW YORK, N.Y.—The Sharks had their three-game road trip winning streak snapped at Madison Square Garden on Friday night after failing to get their offense going and losing 1-0 to the New York Rangers.
Rangers center Ryan Strome scored on a power play past Sharks goalie Adin Hill at 6:03 in the first period to give New York a 1-0 lead.
San Jose was unable to get past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin in the first 48 minutes before he was injured and got off the ice with 14:52 to go in the third period. Shesterkin made 19 saves and his relief, Alexandar Georgiev, made nine saves.
Halfway through the third period, the Sharks had a power play on a penalty from New York’s K’Andre Miller. But Georgiev stopped Logan Couture from capitalizing on their best opportunity to score.
“I had a few good looks to score. Yeah, finish was lacking around the end. But I thought we moved the puck alright, could’ve been better though,” Couture said.
On the power play, the Sharks’ leading scorer TImo Meier said, “We didn’t do enough to get that goal to get inside on the net.”
Hill stopped 15 of 16 shots in the first two periods and finished with 26 saves.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” said Sharks coach Bob Boughner. “Like I said, we couldn’t find any offense and defensively we gave up a few chances at the end.”
San Jose was pursuing their first-ever sweep of teams in the New York area, after beating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Tuesday and the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime on Thursday. Their road trip started with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Sharks (13-10-1) have lost for the second time in seven games and finish their road trip facing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday at Nationwide Arena. The puck drops at 3 p.m.
“There’s still one game left and we either go 4-1 or 3-2 so it’s a good swing game for us,” Couture said. “I think tomorrow is an important day to get some rest. It feels like we’ve played a lot of games lately and I think a lot of guys are tired right now so we’ll get some rest tomorrow and regroup.”

