SAN JOSE – The Sharks coughed up a third-period lead as they allowed three straight goals, including two in just 62 seconds, in a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
After defenseman Shea Theodore tied the game for Vegas just 55 seconds into the third period, erasing a 2-1 Sharks lead, William Karlsson and Mark Stone scored at the 13:13 and 14:15 marks, respectively, as the Golden Knights beat San Jose for the eighth straight time at SAP Center.
James Reimer made 27 saves as the Sharks began a six-game homestand on a sour note. The Sharks host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Nico Sturm and Matt Nieto both scored second-period goals to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Trailing by one after Phil Kessel scored his 400th career NHL goal in his record-breaking 990th consecutive game in the first period, the Sharks got goals from Sturm at the 5:33 mark and Nieto 35 seconds before intermission to take a one-goal lead.
Theodore’s shot from just inside the blue line got through traffic and past Reimer for his second goal of the season.
After struggling with their second periods for most of the season, the Sharks have suddenly turned it into a positive.
The Sharks had been outscored 16-4 in the second period through their first seven games, But they outscored the Philadelphia Flyers by two goals on Sunday in a 3-0 win, and again got two even-strength goals Tuesday.
After spending most of October away from San Jose, the Sharks are hoping some extended time at home can help turn their season around.
So far this season, the Sharks have traveled to Berlin and Prague, returned home for a week, then flew to New York and spent seven days out east before they arrived back in the South Bay early Monday morning.
That’s over 16,000 miles in the air through the first three-plus weeks of the season, something Sharks coach David Quinn hopes gets everyone going, particularly Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier.
“I thought Tomas had his best game (Sunday) night,” Quinn said. “I thought he was more involved, I thought he was heavy on pucks, was more confident, and showed signs of coming out of it.
“No one cares more than him. In a short period of time, he’s a special person. His line took a step forward the other night and I’m anxious to see how we (play) back home and starting to get a little bit of a normal flow because this has been anything but normal.
“So it’s good to be home. It’s good to get in a routine and we need to build off of that win and start putting points on the board, and playing to the level we’re capable of playing.”
Prior to Tuesday, San Jose’s last win over Vegas at SAP Center was on April 23, 2019, when Barclay Goodrow scored at the 18:19 mark of overtime to give the Sharks a 5-4 victory in Game 7 of the first round playoff series between the two teams.
Since then, the Sharks had lost seven straight home games to the Golden Knights, getting outscored 30-8 in the process. The Sharks had scored more than one goal only once in those games, a 5-4 overtime defeat on March 5, 2021.
Center Jack Eichel entered Tuesday as the Golden Knights’ leader with seven points, as he and linemates Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson had a combined 18 points this season.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re taking away time and space on him,” Quinn said of Eichel, who he coached at Boston University during the 2014-15 season. “The best way to defend him is to possess the puck, so that’s something we’re going to certainly have to be aware of tonight.”
The Sharks’ next game against the Golden Knights is Nov. 15 at T-Mobile Arena.
