The San Jose Sharks had an opportunity to play spoiler in the final weeks of the regular season, as several of their remaining opponents were still fighting for playoff spots or higher rankings. However, that wasn’t the case on Saturday night, as the New York Rangers, desperate for points, delivered a harsh lesson to the Sharks’ young roster.
The Sharks conceded two goals to Artemi Panarin in the first period and another to Adam Fox in the second, never managing to recover in what ended as a 6-1 defeat in front of a sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.
A bright spot for San Jose was Cam Lund, who, in only his second NHL game, scored his first-ever goal with 2:15 remaining in the third period, preventing the Sharks from being shut out.
San Jose’s goaltender, Alexandar Georgiev, managed to stop only 19 of the first 24 shots he faced. Fox and former Shark Jonny Brodzinski scored on consecutive shots in the third period, sealing the Rangers’ dominant victory. However, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t place the blame solely on his goaltender, instead pointing out that the entire team took a step back from their strong performances in recent wins against the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Warsofsky acknowledged that the team’s rookies struggled in this matchup, as eight were in the lineup against the Rangers. The Sharks’ biggest issue was poor puck management, which led to Panarin having too much space to operate on his two quick first-period goals, scored just 1:54 apart.
Additionally, the energy and competitiveness that helped them secure a high-scoring win over Toronto just two days earlier were noticeably missing. As a result, the team concluded their eight-game homestand with a 3-5-0 record.
Defenseman Mario Ferraro emphasized that the Sharks strayed from the style of play they needed to follow. He noted that in their better performances, they had stuck to a clear formula for success, but on Saturday, they failed to execute it.
Ferraro expressed frustration, saying that no one on the team played the right way and hoped it would serve as a lesson. He acknowledged that the Rangers, a team in playoff contention, were given an easy path to victory.
At the NHL trade deadline, San Jose acquired bigger, more physical players, but they failed to use that size effectively in this game. Warsofsky pointed out that while the team had size, it was pointless if they didn’t take advantage of it. Ferraro echoed this sentiment, stating that the team lacked physicality, effort, and intelligence in their play, leading to costly mistakes in all areas of the ice.
Although the Sharks had been eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the season, they still had chances to impact the standings by disrupting their opponents’ playoff pushes. However, they were unable to slow down the Rangers, who increased their points total to 77—two more than the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets—as they battled for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
San Jose’s remaining schedule includes matchups against multiple teams fighting for playoff positioning. Eight of their last ten games are against teams still looking to secure postseason berths or improve their seedings. This includes three games against the Edmonton Oilers, who are aiming to lock down second place in the Pacific Division for home-ice advantage in the first round.
Their next opponent, the Los Angeles Kings, currently hold second place in the Pacific. Additionally, the Sharks face the Calgary Flames twice and the Minnesota Wild once, both of whom are still competing for playoff spots.