SAN JOSE – Like a game of whack-a-mole, as soon as the San Jose Sharks take steps to address one problem, another one always seems to pop up.
The Sharks have spent hours — on the ice and in the video room — trying to squeeze some more production out of their often lifeless power play, which had become one of the least effective units in the NHL.
The Sharks made strides in that area Tuesday against Florida, but their penalty kill was once again problematic, allowing two goals in what became a 5-3 loss to the Panthers before another sparse mid-week crowd at SAP Center.
Tomas Hertl and Luke Kunin scored third-period goals 70 seconds apart, one on a power play and the other on a delayed penalty, to take a 4-3 lead with 12:39 left in regulation time.
But a Marc-Edouard Vlasic tripping penalty preceded a Carter Verhaeghe power-play goal with 9:54 left in regulation time. Kevin Stenlund then scored just 63 seconds later at even strength on a shot from the point as the Panthers took the lead for good.
“A bad penalty and a penalty kill really changed the whole thing,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “Our penalty kill wasn’t able to deliver tonight and then the fourth goal really was a backbreaker. Just loose coverage on the net front. Simple shot from the point, we don’t pick up a stick, that ends up in the back of the net.”
The Sharks also allowed a second-period power-play goal to Sam Reinhart after a roughing call on Givani Smith that Quinn didn’t agree with. Now, going into Thursday’s game with the St. Louis Blues, San Jose is just 4-for-8 on the penalty kill in their last two games, having also allowed two power-play goals to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday in a 4-1 loss.
Quinn said the Sharks made some adjustments to their penalty kill from last season. It remains a work in progress.
“The PK, we’ve got to clean a lot of things up there,” Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta said.
OFF THE SCHNIED: Mike Hoffman scored a first-period goal, his first in 15 games for the Sharks. Rutta had the assist, his first point in 16 games.
Hoffman has 219 goals and 466 points in 12-plus seasons in the NHL but has struggled mightily to find the scoresheet in San Jose. Normally a volume shooter, Hoffman, a pending unrestricted free agent, had just 12 shots on net before Tuesday, and now has 15 for the season.
“As an offensive guy, you don’t want to be going too long without seeing the puck go in the back of the net,” Hoffman said. “So it was a good feeling.”
TUESDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: As has become the norm for Tuesday nights, another noticeably small crowd was on hand to watch the Sharks.
The Sharks announced a crowd of 10,108 for what was their ninth home game of the season, although arena officials estimated that actual attendance would be around 7,500. Still, that’s the second-smallest announced crowd of the season, and only 49 more than the smallest all-time at the arena since it opened in 1993.
The smallest all-time is 10,059 for a Nov. 3, 2021 game against the Buffalo Sabres. The seating capacity at SAP Center after recent renovations is 17,435, and there have been three sellouts this season.
When there have not been capacity restrictions at the arena, the Sharks have never announced a crowd for a Sharks game of less than 10,000. The smallest announced crowd this season was 10,074 last Tuesday when the Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to earn their first win.
The two other smallest crowds this year came on Oct. 17, a Tuesday, when the Sharks announced 10,378 for what became a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, and Nov. 2, when 10,719 were announced for a 10-1 San Jose loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
This season, the Sharks, coming off a 29th-place finish in the NHL standings and an offseason in which they traded Erik Karlsson, the Sharks only sold about 8,200 full-season equivalent ticket packages.
Clearly, Tuesdays are an issue, with it being a school night. Also, having less foot traffic around downtown San Jose, with several businesses still allowing employees to work from home, is also believed to be a reason for smaller weekday crowds.
