Sharks feast with 4-0 win over Jets

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This article was published 25/11/2017 (2866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Winnipeg Jets were left smarting from a rather nasty Shark attack Saturday night — especially goalie Steve Mason.

After two terrific performances late in the week, the Jets concluded a California getaway with a game that got away from them in San Jose. The Sharks built a two-goal lead after 20 minutes, withstood a strong push from the visitors in the final 40 and hung on to register a 4-0 triumph at SAP Center.

It’s the first time Winnipeg has been shut out this season.

The Jets might need to promote a goaltender after Mason suffered an upper-body injury in the first period — and there’s concern about a possible concussion – although either guy on the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, looks ready if the call comes.

A wicked slap shot from winger Jannik Hansen at 8:43 was the likely cause of Mason’s early exit as the blast struck him squarely in the mask. He gathered himself, stayed in for the ensuing faceoff and finished out the period, stopping 11 of 13 shots.

But he was nowhere to be seen after the intermission, as Connor Hellebuyck took over to begin the second. Head coach Paul Maurice said Mason’s health will be evaluated Sunday.

That will, undoubtedly, include monitoring for the effects of a possible concussion.

“He stayed in (after the shot) and said he was OK after that. We talked to him at the (TV) time out, but by the time he got off the ice he was not feeling right. For us, that’s enough. He’s got to come out,” said Maurice.

“He wasn’t feeling good. He was sick.”

The day Mason was signed as a free agent, Michael Hutchinson’s days as a Jets goalie were over — unless either Mason or Hellebuyck hit sick bay. Yet, there’s no denying Hutchinson — with 41 career NHL victories under his belt, has been outstanding with the Moose, going 6-1-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. 

His goaltending partner, Eric Comrie, has equally impressive numbers, bolstered by an outstanding 30-save shutout in Milwaukee on Saturday night. The young goalie is 8-4-1 with a 2.30 GAA and .927 SP.

Winnipeg (14-6-3) split four games on a road trip that began poorly in Nashville but drastically improved in Los Angeles and Anaheim.

Ending it on a losing note wasn’t part of the plan, said captain Blake Wheeler.

“It’s all right. They’re games where we stuck with it, even the game tonight,” he said, assessing the trip. “A lot of frustration. I thought overall, even in the third period, we were pushing and had some opportunities. Their goalie made some big saves.”

Sharks goalie Martin Jones, whose 2.19 goals-against average prior to the game will look even better now, was rock-solid, stopping 38 shots.

Full marks to the Sharks (12-8-2) for bending but not breaking against one of the NHL’s hottest squads. 

With his club ahead 2-0, Logan Couture raced away on a short-handed breakaway with just under seven minutes left in the second period and beat Hellebuyck on a deke for his second goal of the night and 13^th of the year.

Call that tally the back-breaker for the Jets, who were blanked on three power-play chances in the period but gave up the goal to Couture and nearly another when he couldn’t convert on his second breakaway on the same kill.

“It hurt, it hurt a lot,” said Wheeler. “We had a couple of good chances on the power plays before that. Kyle (Connor) had one sitting on the goal line, you know (at) 2-1 the momentum’s in our favour. Even if the period ends 2-1, that’s a hockey game we like to play. You give up two breakaways on the power play, it’s not good enough.”

Tim Heed’s point shot on the power-play, his third goal of year, started the scoring for San Jose. Forced to discard his broken stick, Jets centre Matt Hendricks sprawled to block the shot but the puck soared past him and a few other bodies, including Mason.

The Sharks, while just fourth in the Pacific Division, remain one of the league’s stingiest clubs, ranking at or near the top in several key categories. Heading into Saturday’s contest, San Jose had yielded the fewest goals (49), the fewest goals per game (2.33), owned the league’s second-best penalty kill (89.7 per cent) and surrendered the fewest shots per game (28.5).

Those numbers gleamed even brighter following the tidy win against Winnipeg.

“It’s disappointing. I thought we played really well the last two games (2-1 over L.A. and 4-1 over Anaheim). Tonight, we’re come into a tough building and playing a veteran squad over there and they take advantage of some mistakes we made,” said defenceman Josh Morrissey.

“I just think it wasn’t the game we wanted. We had bigger aspirations for the end of that road trip.”

Tomas Hertl added an empty-netter, his fifth goal of the year.

Maurice changed up his forward units in the third period, elevating Nikolaj Ehlers to the top line with Mark Scheifele and Wheeler, and putting Mathieu Perreault with Bryan Little and Patrik Laine.

The moves provided a spark but Jones blocked all 13 shots he faced in the frame.

 jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell