SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks couldn’t protect a third-period lead or stay out of the penalty box Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes before an announced crowd of 10,378 at SAP Center.
Leading by a goal midway through the third period, the Sharks allowed Stefan Noesen’s game-tying goal at the 9:08 mark and a go-ahead goal by Seth Jarvis with 8:09 left in regulation time.
Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also scored for Carolina 16 seconds apart later in the third period, sealing Carolina’s victory and spoiling what had otherwise been a solid night for Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
Blackwood stopped 28 of the first 30 shots he faced, but the Sharks took seven minor penalties and allowed three power play goals.
Second period power play goals by William Eklund and Filip Zadina gave the Sharks a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes. Fabian Zetterlund also scored for San Jose, which fell 0-2-1 on its season-opening homestand that ends Thursday against the Boston Bruins.
Just 17 seconds after the Sharks allowed a shorthanded goal to Jaccob Slavin, Zadina scored his second of the season as he fired a wrist shot past Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta at the 9:11 mark of the second period to tie the game 2-2.
Then with just four minutes left in the second period, Henry Thrun’s shot from inside the blue line went off the back boards and was corralled by Eklund, who beat Raanta for his first goal of the season to give the Sharks the lead.
Three nights after he made 51 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Blackwood had 28 saves through the first two periods, including seven on the penalty kill.
With those 79 saves in his first five periods in San Jose, Blackwood set a Sharks record for the most saves by any goalie in their first two starts of a season.
Much like Saturday’s game with Colorado, Blackwood was under siege in the first 20 minutes against the Hurricanes. The Sharks repeatedly coughed up the puck in the opening 20 minutes thanks to Carolina’s relentless forecheck and were outshot 18-5.
