Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen made 39 saves, including 16 in the second period, but the San Jose Sharks were unable to generate any offense against the stingy Winnipeg Jets, losing 1-0 as they were shut out for the eighth time this season.
The Sharks, facing several headwinds, had 18 shots but were unable to beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck, as Morgan Barron’s even-strength goal at the 17:47 mark of the first period stood up as the winner for Winnipeg.
A failed clearing attempt by defenseman Kyle Burroughs gave the Jets possession inside the Sharks’ zone. The puck made its way to Adam Lowry, whose shot from inside the blue line went off Barron and got past Kahkonen for a 1-0 Jets lead 17:47 into the game.
The Sharks (14-33-5) registered the first four shots on goal but were outshot 15-0 over the final 15-plus minutes of the first by the Jets (32-14-5).
“You could see there were a lot of almost opportunities for us where we could have generated a lot more offense than we did,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “It looked like we tried to do the right thing, but we just weren’t. Our timing was off for sure.
“Kaapo played well, but we weren’t efficient with the puck.”
Sharks forward Anthony Duclair came close to scoring his 10th of the season as he put a shot past Hellebuyck late in the second period. But an official replay determined the puck did not cross the line before it hit Jets center Mark Scheifele, who got behind Hellebuyck in the net to help out the goalie.
”(The puck) kind of hit me first and then kind of came over. Then I got it with my hand,” Scheifele told reporters, noting he didn’t close his hand on the puck. “Just a great save. Bucky owes me one.”
Kahkonen appeared to be injured near the end of the third period as he was making a save on Jets center Sean Monahan. He skated gingerly toward the Sharks bench in the late going as San Jose pulled him for the extra attacker, trying to tie the game.
Kahkonen said after the game, though, that he was OK and that he was just cramping up on the ice.
Kahkonen now has a .917 save percentage in nine games since Dec. 28, but just a 1-7-1 record to go with it as he received just 14 goals of support in that time.
The Sharks have scored a league-low 70 goals in 52 games during 5-on-5 play this season. The Jets, by contrast, have allowed the fewest 5-on-5 goals in the NHL — just 66 in 51 games.
“We just kept turning it over unnecessarily,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t like they were off, but we had plenty of opportunities to make crisp passes and didn’t do what. I thought out puck play was really slow, We were standing still when we got pucks.
“That was the story of the night. I didn’t think we had any pace to our game.”
The Sharks were playing their first game this month after a two-week layoff, and now figure to be without Tomas Hertl and captain Logan Couture, their top two centers, for an extended period of time.
Hertl had surgery Monday to clean out loose cartilage in his left knee and is expected to miss several weeks, and Couture has had a recurrence of a lower-body injury that already cost him the first half of the season.
Without Couture and alternate captain Hertl, the Sharks made both Mikael Granlund and Luke Kunin alternate captains.
“I think it’s pretty easy to see by watching,” Kunin said of Granlund’s leadership. “He gives it his all every night. He’s a leader, he works hard, he battles, and with the talent that he has, he’s just does everything right. A pro’s pro.”
The Sharks lost another centerman, Nico Sturm, with 11:10 left in the third period. Sturm was carrying the puck along the boards inside the Jets’ zone when he was checked by Logan Stanley. Sturm went into the boards, lost his balance, and landed partially on the back of his head.
Sturm was able to skate off the ice under his own power as he headed toward the Sharks’ dressing room. Quinn did not have an update on Sturm after the game.
The Sharks (14-33-5) end the quick road trip to Western Canada on Thursday when they play the Calgary Flames.
Quinn said it’s possible that forward Givani Smith and defenseman Henry Thrun, both on injured reserve, could be available to play. If the Sharks want to activate both, they would have to create two more roster openings, since there are already 22 players on the 23-man roster.
