The San Jose Sharks allowed a go-ahead goal to Joel Hanley at the 13:28 mark of the third period in a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
With the teams playing 4-on-4, an uncovered Hanley took a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and beat Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev low to the blocker side for his first goal of the season, breaking a 2-2 tie.
Just 39 seconds before Hanley’s goal, both Sharks forward Ty Dellandrea and Flames captain Mikael Backlund were sent off with minor penalties. Dellandrea then had to be removed from the game due to concussion protocol after he was punched in the head by Flames forward Connor Zary, although officials did not see that play.
Referee Trevor Hanson spoke with Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky after the penalties were called. Instead of starting a power play, the Sharks were in an even-strength situation.
“(Hanson) said (Dellandrea) was holding (Backlund) at first. I’d have to go back and watch it,” Warsofsky said. “I’ve watched it quickly. I don’t understand it. I mean, (Dellandrea) gets sucker punched to the face, and then he gets called in by the spotter, and we come out even.
“That is head-scratching, to say the least.”
“Just two guys changing, ran a little interference, and got punched in the head,” Dellandrea said of the play.
Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli scored, and Georgiev finished with 33 saves, but it wasn’t enough as the Sharks (15-36-7) opened a seven-game road trip with their 11th loss in their last 12 games. Flames goalie Dustin Wolf, a Gilroy native, finished with 26 saves.
The Sharks’ loss, their 19th of the season by one goal, were on the penalty kill six times Sunday, including three times in the third period.
With the Sharks trying to tie the game, Henry Thrun took a delay of game penalty with 2:56 to go in the third. After the Sharks killed that off, William Eklund slashed Huberdeau with 49 seconds left in regulation. Eklund was also given a 10-minute misconduct on the play.
The Sharks fell behind 2-1 at the 3:35 mark of the second period, as Kevin Rooney crashed the net and put a rebound past Georgiev for his fourth goal of the season.
The Sharks then tied the game at the 1:54 mark of the third, as Toffoli went to the net and scored his 21st goal of the season.
The Sharks and Flames traded goals in the first period.
With the puck in the Flames zone, Jake Walman sent a puck behind the net to Tyler Toffoli. Celebrini then broke toward the slot, took the pass from Toffoli and beat Flames goalie Dustin Wolf for his 18th goal of the season at the 3:41 mark of the first period. Celebrini’s 18 goals put him one ahead of Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov for the lead among all NHL rookies.
The Flames got that goal back at the 7:27 mark. With Henry Thrun in the box for holding, Nazem Kadri took a pass from Morgan Frost and fired a shot that glanced off Walman before it got past Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev.
Georgiev had 13 saves in the first period as he was making his first start since Feb. 4. He was also looking for his first victory since Jan. 14, which happened to be the last time the Sharks won a game on the road, as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 at Little Caesars Arena. S
Since that game, the Sharks, before Sunday, were 0-5-0 away from home.
The Sharks were hoping a nine-day break, four practices this week, and the return of veteran centers Alexander Wennberg and Nico Sturm would lead to a positive start to this 12-day road trip, which continues Monday with a game against the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets.
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Since that win in Detroit, the Sharks’ record has been 1-9-1, and they were at the bottom of the NHL standings before Sunday.
“Coming off the break, we needed the reset, mentally and physically,” Warsofsky said Sunday morning. “This is a big one. We’ve had some really good energy in practice. I really liked our practices this last week, and hopefully we can take a step in the right direction.”
