Connor Hellebuyck’s big night isn’t enough as Jets fall 0-2-0 on their six-game Western road trip

After a disappointing and uneventful 3-0 loss Tuesday night to the Los Angeles Kings, the Jets remained in California as they continue their season-long six-game western road trip in San Jose tonight. The now 9-4-0 Jets took on the 5-6-3 Sharks at SAP Center, looking to snap a new win streak. The Sharks haven’t quite gotten off to the start they wanted as they are in the middle of another rebuilding season with some promising young players. The Jets, wearing their white away jerseys on the road, started this match quite strongly and at a good pace, but a late goal in the third period from the Sharks after a struggle was the difference maker tonight.

Tonight’s Jets lineup was almost the same as the previous game. The 1st line has remained the same, but there are still some minor changes in the other lines. Alex Iafallo remained on the second line with Jonathan Toews and Vladislav Namestnikov, who was playing in his 800th career NHL game. The third line featured Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry and Nikita Chibrikov. Parker Ford continues to center the fourth line, this time alongside Cole Koepke and Tanner Pearson.

Logan Stanley remains on the 2nd pair before Dylan Samberg returns. The third pair of Luke Schenn and Haydn Fleury remains a bit of a work in progress in terms of chemistry. Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal as he seemed to bounce back from a defeat in which he played quite well. Hellebuyck was once again the Jets best player tonight, but unfortunately the other netminder (Alex Nedeljkovic) was almost as good for the Sharks.

1st Period

The first period was similar to other recent Jets first periods, meaning low scoring and somewhat boring, but only early on tonight. Timothy Liljegren was called for the first penalty of the game, a hold on Mark Scheifele. The Jets’ power play has struggled lately, and this first power play didn’t do much to start the game. Nikita Chibrikov was assessed a four-minute stick penalty just after the Jets power play ended, but the Sharks couldn’t get many chances in this early golden opportunity.

Shots on target were only 6-6 halfway through the first as both teams cautiously tried to score the first goal of the match. With 7:36 left in the 1st, the Jets opened the scoring. Nino Niederreiter found Josh Morrissey just after a face-off draw at the point, and a booming slap shot went through a crowd and past Alex Nedeljkovic to make it 1-0 Jets.

Unfortunately, the Jets’ lead only lasted a little over a minute. After a blocked point shot from Morrissey, the Sharks quickly began a breakaway the other way. Shakir Mukhamadullin and Tyler Toffoli sent Macklin Celebrini onto the ice and into a breakaway. Celebrini made a beautiful move to the backhand and put the puck around and past Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game at 1. The 19-year-old forward, who was the first pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, now leads the NHL in points with 23 after an assist later in this game.

The rest of the first period passed with only a few decent chances on both sides. You could tell the pace of this match really picked up after the first goal was scored, with both teams going full speed towards the end of the first goal. The match remained tied at 1 as the Jets defeated the Sharks 12-8 after 20 minutes played.

2nd Period

After both teams regrouped during intermission, the second period action picked up where it left off in the first period. The shots on goal in the 2nd, almost halfway through, were only 4-2 Jets, as both teams blocked good scoring opportunities. Hellebuyck had his moments where he needed to stay sharp, and Nedeljkovic shut down some of the Jets’ promising chances outside the rush.

You couldn’t tell from the scoreboard, but this was an exciting and fun match for 40 minutes. The game remained tied at 1-1, with no penalties in the 2nd, and the Jets still had a slight edge in shots on goal over the Sharks, 20-19. Going into the third period, this felt like anyone’s game, and it was going to be interesting to see how each team approached the final 20 minutes.

3rd Period

Teams traded chances early in the third period, similar to what happened during most of the second period. Hellebuyck made a great save from Celebrini, nearly beating him from close range on five holes. A few minutes later, Cole Koepke had an almost open net on a 2 on 1, but instead of shooting he covered for the backhand and was tripped by Nedelkovic. The referee immediately raised his arm and the Jets began their second power play of the evening.

Hellebuyck had to make a big save on a short-handed breakaway, and soon after Gabriel Vilardi was called for holding Ty Dellandrea’s stick. The Jets’ power play was over and the next minute was a 4 on 4. The 4 on 4 passed and there were now 9 minutes left with the game still tied at 1.

Jonathan Toews was awarded a rare (for him) delay of game (puck over glass) penalty, giving the Sharks a chance to take the lead on the power play. Hellebuyck made a few more nice saves on this power play, and as the man advantage ended, the time of ‘next goal wins’ approached. The Sharks kept pushing, and with just over 4 minutes to go, after a crazy battle up front, Will Smith moved the puck past the goal line to make it 2-1 Sharks.

The Jets pulled the goalie with 2:13 left, but they couldn’t get into the Sharks zone until 1:20 left. A few late quality chances for the Jets kept the match close until the end, but the Sharks held on for a 2-1 win. Nedeljkovic came up with some nice saves in the end and tonight’s 2nd star finished this match with 32 saves on 33 shots. Hellebuyck was just as great tonight, but finished the night with 25 saves on 27 shots. Macklin Celebrini was tonight’s player of the game (1st star) as he was all over the ice tonight, finishing the game with 1 goal and 1 assist on 6 shots in 19:39 of ice time.

Next

With the six-game Jets road trip now two games behind them and four to go, the Jets’ regular season schedule continues Sunday in Anaheim against the surprising Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Puck drop for this game will take place just after 9:00 PM CT. Stay up to date with all the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps of every Jets game this season, right here at Jets Nation.

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