Every time it looked like the San Jose Sharks had a chance to gain some momentum on Monday night, the Minnesota Wild came back with a better reaction.
Brent Burns scored a stunning goal for just 45 seconds in the first half and the Wild responded with two quick goals less than eight minutes later. The Sharks killed Logan Couture with a penalty early in the second half, only to see Minnesota score with equal strength shortly after the two-minute call ran out.
Ultimately, the Sharks just couldn’t keep up with Wild and lost 6: 2 in the SAP Center to find out which numbers apply to a strenuous homestand with eight games.
Logan Couture scored for the Sharks too and Martin Jones stopped 16 of 20 shots before being replaced by Devan Dubnyk at 10:48 of the second half.
Even Couture’s goal, his team-leading 10th of the season with just over eight minutes in the second period, was quickly canceled.
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With the Sharks trailing 4-2, defender Nikolai Knyzhov was classified as a double minor for high sticking at the 13:28 mark in the second half. Jonas Brodin still had three seconds to restore Wild’s lead with three goals.
The Sharks, who beat the Blues 5-4 on Saturday, have not won any games in a row for the entire season. The Sharks will play against the West Division leading Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday and the runner-up St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
The Sharks also have two more games against Vegas on the homestand, two with the Colorado Avalanche and one with the Blues.
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Burns has apparently saved his most memorable goals of the season for games against his former side.
Less than a minute after the start of Monday’s game Burns took a pass from Timo Meier in the neutral zone after the puck on the ice. Then he threw the puck around Brodin at himself, held the puck from his forehand to the backhand and shot a shot past Wild goalkeeper Kaapo Kahkonen 45 seconds after the start of the first half to open the scoring.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 22: Evander Kane (9) of San Jose Sharks collides with goalkeeper Kaapo Kahkonen (34) of Minnesota Wild (Nhat V Meyer / Bay Area News Group)
Burns’ game brought back memories of a similarly stunning goal he scored on January 24, also against Minnesota goalkeeper Kahkonen.
After a faceoff win from Tomas Hertl, Burns took control of the puck that was aimed at the Minnesota net with the stick and danced around all five wild-skaters before overtaking a shot past Kahkonen, what was his second goal of the season. The goal came with less than two minutes in the third period and broke a 3-3 draw. The Sharks would win 5-3.
On Monday, after Burns’ goal, Wild reacted in the first half with two goals within 11 seconds and took a 2-1 lead.
Mats Zuccarello scored at 7:49 with a shot on the wrist from the slot that defeated Jones, and an open Kirill Kaprizov hit at 8:00 and tipped the puck past Jones after a pass from Zuccarello.
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Before the end of the first period, the Sharks picked up their first combat major of the season when Knyzhov dropped the gloves with fierce heavyweight Marcus Foligno. The scrap was one-sided, with Foligno landing several right hands and cutting Knyzhov before the linesmen stopped the fight.
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