The San Jose Sharks conceded the tying goal and the winning goal to Martin Nekas in a 5-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
Leading 4-2 with less than two minutes left in regulation time, the Sharks blew coverage in their own zone after conceding a goal from Sebastian Aho at the 18:23 mark in the third. Then, with 11.5 seconds remaining, Nekas scored to tie the game, collecting the loose pack and hitting goalkeeper James Leimer’s right shoulder.
Nekas then scored just 55 seconds into overtime, turning a near-certain victory for the Sharks (14-25-11) into another crushing defeat.
“We’ve had an incredibly disappointing losing season,” said Sharks manager David Quinn.
Quinn was upset with the way the sharks defended Aho’s third-period goal. I felt the puck never touched the ice in the showdown.
“We just complete blown coverage on the third goal. We just had to defend the middle of the rink and we didn’t do that,” Quinn said. will never touch the ice in the drop.
“They had to hit the shot from the corner. It hit the side of the net and hit the idiot on the side. It hit the side and hit the idiot.”
Mikey Eisimont assisted Nick Bonino’s tying goal early in the third period, scoring with 8:45 left in regulation time to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. Ferraro’s empty net goal came with 1:52 left in the third period to give the Sharks a seemingly comfortable two-goal advantage.
Oscar Lindblom also scored, Leimer finished with 31 saves, and the Sharks fell 0-2-2 in a five-game trip that ends Saturday in Pittsburgh.
In Eishmont’s goal, he took a pass from Nico Sturm along the boards and strode toward the middle of the ice, beating Hurricanes goalkeeper Antti Lanta for his first goal in a San Jose jersey. .
Eishmont has one goal and three assists in nine games with the Sharks since being waived by the team earlier this month. He scored five points in 20 games for the Winnipeg Jets.
The Sharks are 5-6-11 in one-goal games this season, including Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Sharks kicked off their road trip last Saturday with a 5-3 loss to Columbus and a 4-0 loss to Boston the next day.
VLASIC out: Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was ill on Friday, suffering a scratch and missed his first game of the season. Quinn said Friday morning that some of his defense hadn’t been lucky with the weather. Vlasic was averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time per game, giving him 12 points in his 49 games through Friday.
New Defenseman: Jacob McDonald, who missed Vlasic, paired with Mario Ferraro for his first match against the Sharks two days after moving from the Colorado Avalanche.
“It’s a two-way defense where you can participate and contribute to the offense,” McDonald said of his style. “Hopefully he’s stable in the D zone, making good first passes for him to get in and out of the D zone quickly. Sometimes there’s a little bit of physicality there as well.”
McDonald, 29, and forward Martin Cout, 23, were acquired by the Sharks Wednesday for forward Matt Nieto and defenseman Ryan Markley.
In the first two periods, McDonald had 10:45 ice time with blocked shots, hits and shots on goal.
“My first thought is I’m just excited about the opportunity to be here,” said McDonald, who also knows Mikey Eishmont and Nico Sturm on the Sharks roster. “