The three-game road trip ends with a 2-1 loss to the Sharks on Sunday afternoon

The Jets held a 3-1 lead on Friday night before losing 5-4 in overtime on the road in Anaheim to the Ducks. The Jets played their way early and Connor Hellebuyck looked great at times, but the Ducks came back with two goals for the ninth time this season. This afternoon the Jets played their third of three straight road games after returning from the Olympic break in San Jose against the Sharks. With the NHL trade deadline less than a week away, many scouts and GMs continue to keep their eyes on potential players on the Jets’ trade block. The 23-26-9 Jets took on the 28-25-4 Sharks, a team that has struggled of late, going just 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.

There were a few minor changes to the Jets line combinations tonight as several players remain injured while others get their chance in the lineup. Walker Duehr, a former Shark, made his Jets debut on the 3rd line with Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist. Tanner Pearson was on the 4th line with Cole Koepke and Morgan Barron. Logan Stanley remained on the top defensive pairing with Dylan DeMelo while Morrissey remained out, and Haydn Fleury returned to the third pairing after suffering a scary injury that has kept him out of the lineup since December 19.

Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal as Hellebuyck made his second start since returning from Italy at the Olympics. The Jets lineup continues to deal with several injuries, including Vladislav Namestnikov, who was added to the injury report yesterday with a lower-body injury. Hellebuyck came into tonight’s game with a 13-16-8 record, a 2.84 GAA and an .899 SV%. Tonight’s game started with another early 1-0 Jets lead before the Sharks clawed their way back to a 2-1 overtime.

1st Period

Tonight’s game started the same way as Friday night’s, with the Jets taking an early lead. After a faceoff draw in the Jets zone, Cole Koepke and Tanner Pearson hurriedly sent Morgan Barron off the ice. Barron blasted home a wrist shot into the top corner from around the face-off spot for his 8th goal of the season.

Teams traded chances after this opening goal, before Gustav Nyquist took the opening penalty for cutting. The Sharks’ first power play of the afternoon was unsuccessful, and midway through the opening period the shots on goal were as high as 7. Not long after the Sharks’ first power play, Jonathan Toews was called for hooking, but again Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets’ penalty killers denied the Sharks to tie this game.

The Sharks continued to push for the equalizing goalkeeper before the first period ended, but Connor Hellebuyck (just like the previous game) looked sharp early. Kiefer Sherwood took the Sharks’ first penalty of the game late in the first after Hellebuyck interference, but the Jets couldn’t get much going in the first half of the power play before the period ended. Shots on goal after 20 minutes of play were 14-8 for the Sharks as they looked the better team after the Jets opened the scoring.

2nd Period

The second period started with a shortened power play for the Jets, but they were unable to capitalize on this early opportunity. Just a few minutes after this man advantage, the Jets went back to the power play after a tripping penalty from Shakir Mukhamadullin. This power play was more productive, but at the end the Jets were still only up 1-0.

Shots on goal were tied at 16 with 7 minutes left in the 2nd, with the Jets outscoring the Sharks 8-2 in the 2nd. The remainder of the second period was fairly uneventful in terms of scoring opportunities, and after 40 minutes of play, Morgan Barron’s first period goal was still the match winner. Shots on goal after the second were 18-17 for the Sharks. Most other game statistics were close at this point, except the face-off point, where the Sharks had won 60.7% of draws (17/28).

3rd Period

The third period started with the Sharks having some scoring opportunities, and eventually on their 22nd shot of the game they tied this game at one. Macklin Celebrini sent a nice pass over the boards to Collin Graf, who started a two-on-one after passing Luke Schenn. Haydn Fleury was the last man back, and after a shot on goal from Graf, Will Smith knocked the puck down from the air and it went past Hellebuyck for his 18th goal of the season.

Now it was the Jets’ turn to get back on track in this afternoon’s match, and they responded quite well to the goal. The Sharks still had a slight lead in shots on target with ten minutes remaining, but the Jets showed a good level of fight for a road game on Sunday afternoon.

The Sharks took the first penalty of the third period, but the Jets couldn’t take the lead despite a few chances on this power play. Less than a minute later, the Sharks had a chance to take the lead on a power play after Adam Lowry was called for interference. Once again the Jets eliminated the Sharks, but before you knew it, the Sharks were back on the power play with four minutes left.

Both goalies made great saves on this Sharks power play, including one off a Morgan Barron shorthand rush. In the final two minutes of this game, both teams continued to push for a late game winner, but for a third straight game the Jets were headed to overtime. Shots on target were 32-27 Sharks after 60 minutes.

Overtime

Overtime lasted less than two minutes as the Jets and Sharks each had one shot on goal. Sam Dickinson and William Eklund set up Michael Misa entering the Jets zone. After cutting between Haydn Fleury and Adam Lowry, Misa slid the puck past Hellebuyck for his fourth goal of his rookie season. The Jets fell in overtime for the second straight game, but they leave this three-game road trip with 4 points and a 1-0-2 record.

Next

The Jets now travel home to Winnipeg tomorrow to prepare for their longest home game of the season, with eight straight home games from March 3 to 17. Their regular season schedule continues at the Canada Life Center with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Puck drop for this match will take place just after 7:00 PM CST. Stay up to date with all the latest Jets news (including the upcoming trade deadline), plus previews and recaps of every Jets game this season, right here at Jets Nation.

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