Granlund Impresses in Pittsburgh Return, But Sharks Lose 6-3

PITTSBURGH – The San Jose Sharks visit PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Fabian Zetterlund and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Klim Kostin scored, but the Sharks lost 6-3.

Period 1

1 in: One-on-one, Sturm just rips it from Puustinen. Good jump for the San Jose Sharks so far.

2 in: Good start for Labanc, demanding the puck as third man high in the middle, fires it, Bailey almost puts it in off end board bounce. Labanc loves playmaking from there.

The San Jose Sharks are actually buzzing…

3 minutes in, Penguins fans are already booing the home team. And they just took a penalty

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 14, 2024

That’s a way to lose momentum though, a listless and haphazard power play.

6 in: At 5-on-5 though, Granlund looks on the ball tonight. He may not admit it, but I think he’s got a chip on his shoulder about tonight. He knows he didn’t play well here, but he probably received an outsized share of the blame for the Pens’ collapse last year.

Granlund post: Nice pass by Carpenter on the kill. You know Granlund wanted that.

Acciari goal: Gorgeous deflection off Karlsson shot-pass. That looks familiar to Sharks fans. Tough start for San Jose, after a power play and a post. But that’s what happens when you don’t put your foot on the throat when you have the chance.

Rust no-goal: Chrona got lucky, premature whistle. He didn’t have it.

7 left: Granlund pickpockets Rakell trying to make a play behind the net.

Zetterlund is now the lone leading scorer for #SJSharks with 17. Had been tied with Duclair w/ 16.

Thought he took the lead 2 games ago, but his shot glanced off Bordeleau's leg.

Zetterlund joked today that Bordeleau stole his goal AND didn't even score a hat trick with it

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 14, 2024

Granlund completes a skilled low-to-high pass to Kostin. Tape to tape, hard but not too hard.

Vlasic goal: Bad-angle shot off Jarry then Pettersson. The crowd is nervous.

While the Pens were robbed of a goal, credit to #SJSharks, per @SPORTLOGiQ, they dominated the 1st at even strength, 8-3 Slot Shots, 5-2 High-Danger.

There's a reason why their fans have turned on them, for a team on a skid, terrible response

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 15, 2024

Period 2

4-on-4 to start period becomes a 4-on-3 because Sturm breaks his stick. Good faceoff win by Eklund, off icing with six seconds left on it.

Carter goal: Bailey loses his stick and Carter beats him to the front.

5 in: Barabanov looked slow tonight, not playing with as much pace. Had a couple opportunities with the puck in the NZ to maybe push play, but instead turns it over. He’s been good since the Deadline, I think, but gotta pick it up tonight.

9 in: Bordeleau does a good job settling down a tough to handle Addison outlet pass (might have been deflected by another Shark), then he takes the middle of the ice on entry, negotiates sticks and a check, gets a shot off. These were turnovers last year, I think, at wing.

Malkin goal: Hard shot from O’Connor, but you hope that Chrona gets over side to side or he controls the rebound away from Malkin.

8 left: Slick move on exit by Zetterlund, looks like he teases Malkin.

Mikael Granlund suffered an apparent right leg injury after a hard hit and awkward fall pic.twitter.com/20caNRz7rF

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 15, 2024

And Granlund is back, unbelievable!

Barabanov no-goal: Granlund does a crafty job of shedding Joseph on the blueline, then spinning for a Barabanov deflection. Too bad it’s high, that was a great play.

Kostin goal: Granlund finds him in a soft spot. Underrated how good Granlund has helped make others this year.

Ferraro has six of the San Jose Sharks’ 20 shots. Smith has played 1:50, Labanc 3:44.

Period 3

Subtle-good play there by Granlund, Barabanov hunting puck again a Pens d-man in OZ, Granlund thinks about going but doesn’t, stays in good defensive position above the puck.

1 in: Ferraro steps up on a telegraphed stretch pass, steal.

Ludvig goal: Just not the fourth line’s night, Bailey trying to close on Ludvig, shot finds daylight through Chrona.

Rakell goal: Slick deflection by Rakell, not a kick, but he frees skate so it can glance off his leg.

Malkin penalty: Another ugly San Jose Sharks power play, losing momentum.

9 in: Good diving pass break-up by Sturm, he recognized what Malkin out of the box was trying to do.

3 left: Looks like Kostin kind of stepped up for Eklund there, after Eklund got rubbed out after the whistle.