Sharks beat Hurricanes 4-1, snapping two-game losing streak – Hockey Writer – San Jose Sharks
The Carolina Hurricanes host the San Jose Sharks in the second half of a back-to-back over the weekend. The Hurricanes will pay tribute to the 2005-06 Stanley Cup team and celebrate its 20th anniversary with the first of two games over the next three days. They defeated the Nashville Predators 6-3 on Saturday night (December 6). The Sharks are looking to snap a two-game losing streak against the Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals. After the final horn blew, the Sharks defeated the Hurricanes 4-1.
game review
In the first quarter, both teams scored. Just 33 seconds into the celebration, the Sharks took a 1-0 lead. Colin Graf scored after a poor Hurricanes clearance attempt was intercepted at the blue line. Will Smith kept the puck in the Hurricanes zone and then he found Macklin Celebrini between the points. Celebrini passed the ball to the open Graf, who passed it to Peter Kochetkov.
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Jordan Staal helped the Hurricanes tie the game with less than five minutes left in the first period. It happened on the power play, giving the Hurricanes three power-play goals in their past two games. It was Staal’s first power-play goal in four years. After the first quarter, the two sides were tied 1-1, and the Hurricanes defeated the Sharks 8-6.
The second period was all Sharks, who scored two goals in the period. Less than eight minutes into the game, John Klingberg scored after receiving a pass from Celebrini behind the net. Klingberg dumped the puck behind the Hurricanes’ goal, and Celebrini found himself on a passing play between the points with the defenseman. Klingberg wasted no time and scored his fourth goal of the season.
Less than eight minutes later, Alexander Wennberg scored on a power play to put the Sharks up 3-1. After a William Eklund shot was saved, Kochetkov was left alone on the left side with Wennberg cashing in on the rebound. Kochetkov was powerless against all three Sharks goals during a defensive breakdown, and the team as a whole was sluggish in the second period.
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Only one goal was scored in the third period, with Celebrini ending his three-point night with an empty-net goal. His 15th goal of the season came off a pass from Winniberg, who found him inside the circle to cool the game with less than two minutes left.
The Hurricanes dropped to 17 wins, 9 draws and 2 losses after losing to the Sharks 1-4. Their next game will be against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, December 9th. The next day, their alumni take on the North Carolina Ice Pack, a game that will feature members of the 2005-06 Cup team and other alumni. The Sharks ended their two-game losing streak and have a record of 14 wins, 13 draws and 3 losses this season. Their next game will be against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, December 9th.
