New York Islanders goaltender Marcus Hogberg (50) makes a stop on the San Jose Sharks Luke Kunin (11) in the second period at UBS Arena in Elmont on Sat Jan 18, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

ELMONT, NY. — With several players sick or injured, the depleted San Jose Sharks fell to the New York Islanders 4-1 on Saturday night at UBS Arena.

The Sharks tied the game at 1-1 in the second period, but the Isles regained the lead 40 seconds later and took off with an unstoppable momentum.

“Yeah we just can’t make these, I don’t know if I can say it, but bonehead mistakes that end up in the back of net,” said Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “We get away from who we are as players and as a team, so until we do that we’re going to be kind of seeing the same result.”

Mathew Barzal scored the first goal of the night unassisted at 8:47 in the second period to put the Islanders up 1-0. The Sharks answered back at 10:02 when Barclay Goodrow scored a goal assisted by Jan Rutta to tie the game at 1-1.

“Yeah just saw (Collin) Graf and (Nico) Sturm driving the net, driving the inside and just trying to get the puck in,” said Goodrow of his goal.

Just 40 seconds later, Brock Nelson made a goal assisted by Kyle Palmieri and Adam Pelech to put the Isles back up 2-1. Then with 27 seconds remaining in the period, Noah Dobson made a goal assisted by Barzal and Bo Horvat, boosting the Isles up 3-1.

In the third period, Ryan Pulock made a goal assisted by Anthony Duclair and Nelson at 1:03 to expand the Islanders’ lead to 4-1. The Sharks made an effort in the third, but couldn’t score.

Sharks 19-year-old forward Will Smith, who was their fourth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, skated with Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund for the very first time.

“I mean this team has done it before coming back 4-1, so I think having the mindset that we’re not out of it, and obviously no quit is kind of the mindset going into the third,” said Smith.

The Isles had an especially memorable night before the puck dropped, holding a ceremony on the ice inducting Brent Sutter into their Hall of Fame.

The Sharks (14-28-6) continue their road trip on Monday against the Boston Bruins (22-19-6). The puck drops at 10am PST on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.