The time zones change, as do the venues and the opponents.
Still, the San Jose Sharks can’t buy a third goal or get out of their own way in the second period.
The Sharks allowed three goals in just over nine minutes in another troublesome middle period Tuesday as they lost 5-2 to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, establishing a new franchise record for futility to begin a season.
The Sharks carried a 1-0 lead into the second period on a goal by Nico Sturm, the fourth straight game they’ve scored the first goal. But the Islanders got goals from Anders Lee and Zach Parise 4:45 apart in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
After Evgeny Svechnikov tied the game for the Sharks at the 17:10 mark of the second, Tomas Hertl lost a draw in San Jose’s zone to Brock Nelson. Oliver Wahlstrom then took the pass from Nelson and without anyone around him, beat goalie James Reimer for a 3-2 Islanders lead.
Lee’s goal at the 10:03 mark of the second also came after the Sharks lost a faceoff in their zone. Adam Pelech’s shot from inside the blue line was tipped by Lee at a sharp angle past Reimer for his first of the season.
The Sharks once again couldn’t manage a goal in the third period and fell to 0-5-0, their worst record after five games in 31 years of hockey.
The Sharks also started 0-4-0 in 1993 and 2019 but had never before lost five straight games to begin a season. The Sharks also lost two games to Nashville in Prague on Oct. 6 and 7 and were defeated by Carolina and Chicago at SAP Center on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The 1993-1994 team earned a tie in its fifth game and in 2019-2020, the Sharks won their fifth game, with Patrick Marleau scoring twice in a 5-4 victory over Chicago in his return to the organization after he started the season as a free agent.
The Sharks were outscored 3-1 in the second period Tuesday and have now been outscored 12-2 in the middle frame through five games.
San Jose has eight goals on the season – four of which have been scored by either Sturm or Gadjovich – as top-nine forwards Timo Meier, Nick Bonino, and Kevin Labanc remain without a goal.
Before Tuesday’s game, the first of four for the Sharks on this road trip, forward Alexander Barabanov was activated off of injured reserve.
Barabanov was a full participant in Monday’s practice on Long Island and began Tuesday’s game on a line with Hertl and Steven Lorentz. Barabanov was also on the Sharks’ second power-play unit with forwards Lorentz, Bonino, Labanc, and defenseman Mario Ferraro.
Barabanov suffered an upper-body injury early in training camp last month and was placed on IR at the start of the season. He skated throughout last week, taking part in the Sharks’ full practices on Wednesday and Thursday, but was held out of the team’s home games against Carolina and Chicago on Friday at Saturday, respectively.
Sharks coach David Quinn said Saturday that Barabanov nearly played against the Blackhawks, a 5-2 San Jose loss. The Sharks, though, wanted to be cautious about bringing Barabanov back before he was physically ready since he missed all but two days in camp after he was hurt on Sept. 24.
It was hoped Barabanov’s return would boost a Sharks offense that had scored just six goals in their first four games – all losses in regulation time. Barabanov was fifth on the Sharks’ last season with 39 points in 70 games, as he mainly played on a line with Hertl and Timo Meier.
Meier, the Sharks’ leading scorer last season with 35 goals and 76 points, came into Tuesday with 19 shots on goal in four games but has just one assist.
Reimer came into Tuesday with a 0-2-0 record, 2.56 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. In his first 15 career games against the Islanders, Reimer had an 8-2-2 record, 2.72 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
