New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) reacts after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
The San Jose Sharks continued to find some offense away from home on Sunday but simply could not slow down the New York Rangers, or more specifically, forward Artemi Panarin.
Panarin scored at the 4:41 mark of the third period to complete a hat trick as he and the Rangers held on for a 6-5 win over the Sharks at Madison Square Garden, dropping San Jose’s record on their season-long six-game road trip to 1-2-0.
The Sharks trailed 4-3 early in the third period when Vincent Trocheck put a shot on net that goalie Mackenzie Blackwood couldn’t handle. Panarin then swooped in and chipped the loose puck past Blackwood for his third goal of the game and 15th of the season.
Anthony Duclair, Ryan Carpenter, Jacob MacDonald, Fabian Zetterlund, and Alexander Barabanov all scored for the Sharks, who were coming off a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday. That total matched the number of goals the Sharks had scored in their first 10 road games of the season when they were outscored 42-6.
With the Sharks’ trailing by three in the third period, Zetterlund and Barabanov scored goals 1:12 apart to cut the Rangers’ lead to 6-5 with 4:10 left. But San Jose couldn’t find the equalizer as it fell to 1-11-0 on the road this season.
The Sharks trailed 3-2 after the first period. Duclair’s goal, on a breakaway after a pass from Kyle Burroughs, was his sixth of the season and third in two games came and at the 3:50 mark of the first period. Carpenter’s goal, his first in the NHL in over a calendar year, gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at the 12:21 mark.
Panarin scored twice in the first 20 minutes, with his second goal at the 12:55 mark tying the game 2-2. Mika Zibanejad then gave the Rangers the lead, as he took a pass from Chris Kreider from behind the net and beat Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for his sixth of the season.
In his last nine games before Sunday, Blackwood was 3-4-1 with a .923 save percentage.
The Sharks activated forward Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Jan Rutta off injured reserve before Sunday’s game. Barabanov hadn’t played since Oct. 24 when he was hit by a shot and suffered a broken finger in a game against the Florida Panthers, and he started Sunday’s game on a line with Tomas Hertl and William Eklund.
Rutta, injured in the Sharks’ Nov. 22 game with the Seattle Kraken, was paired with Nikita Okhotiuk. To make room for Barabanov and Rutta on the 23-man roster, the Sharks on Saturday placed forward Luke Kunin on IR with an upper-body ailment and waived defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov.
Kunin did not play Friday in the Sharks’ 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, San Jose’s first road victory of the season, with what was described as an upper body injury. He will be re-evaluated in a week, per coach David Quinn said, but it remains unclear when he might return.
The Sharks also announced before the game that both forward Nico Sturm and defenseman Ty Emberson would be unavailable with lower body injuries. It was not immediately known if either player might have to miss more time.
NOTE: Knyzhov cleared waivers Sunday and was assigned to the Barracuda of the AHL. Knyzhov, listed at 6-foot-3 and 222 pounds, signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract extension with the Sharks in March. He was originally signed by San Jose as a free agent on July 2, 2019, following his participation in the team’s prospect development camp.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka