SAN JOSE, Calif. – The crowd at SAP Center on Saturday night began the night with a rousing ovation for former San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson.
They ended the night by showering the home team with boos after their fourth straight loss to begin the season – 5-2 to the deliberately tanking Chicago Blackhawks.
The Sharks had another calamitous second period, as they dropped to 0-4-0 for the second time in four years. New coach David Quinn will have to wait until next week’s road trip to the East Coast to try and pick up his first victory with his new organization.
Sam Lafferty scored two shorthanded goals for the Blackhawks, and Jonathan Toews, Taylor Raddysh, and Jason Dickinson each added one as the Sharks, after leading by two goals, allowed five straight to the visitors in front of an announced crowd of 15,219.
Kahkonen, in his second start of the season, allowed the five goals on just 23 shots.
Erik Karlsson had a goal and assist in an impressive first period as the Sharks took a 2-0 lead.
Nico Sturm opened the scoring at the 13:58 mark of the first period, one-timing a perfect seam pass through the slot from Karlsson past Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek. Karlsson’s goal, his first of the season, came off a shot/pass from the point that went off Seth Jones’ skate and past Mrazek with 38 seconds left in the first period.
But the Sharks have struggled in the second period since the start of the season in Prague, and that unfortunate trend continued Saturday.
Leading 2-0, the Sharks turned the puck over just outside of their blue line, as Toews took a pass from Tyler Johnson, zipped past Erik Karlsson, and deked Kaapo Kahkonen to cut San Jose’s lead in half.
The Sharks then allowed two shorthanded goals to Lafferty in just 2:08 as the Blackhawks had a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. On Lafferty’s second goal, Jason Dickinson chased down a loose puck behind the Sharks’ net and fed a wide-open Lafferty in front, as Logan Couture stood by as Lafferty beat Kahkonen for his second goal.
Boos rained down on the home team after the goal, as Saturday’s loss was the Sharks’ worst of the season.
While the Sharks could have made the argument that their first three losses came to playoff-caliber teams, they played a Blackhawks team Saturday that is deliberately taking a step back to try and land the No. 1 overall draft pick next year.
Wilson was honored before the game, as a banner in the rafters at SAP Center was unveiled. Wilson gave an emotional speech thanking the Sharks organization, the fans, and his family for their support during his hall-of-fame career.
