The San Jose Sharks might be headed toward a last-place finish in the NHL’s overall standings. But that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of playing a spoiler role during the final two-plus weeks of the regular season.
That’s what happened Saturday night as Filip Zadina, Mikael Granlund and Luke Kunin all scored second-period goals and Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 37 saves to earn his second shutout of the season to help the Sharks earn a 4-0 win over the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
Blackwood, who made 11 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless, earned his first victory since Feb. 15 as the Sharks snapped a nine-game losing streak and significantly dented the Blues’ playoff hopes.
St. Louis (39-31-4), for the time being, remains five points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Kings were playing in Calgary against the Flames late Saturday night. The Blues, which also lost to the Sharks in San Jose on Nov. 16, have just eight games remaining.
Despite the win, the Sharks (17-48-8) remained seven points back of Chicago for 31st place in the NHL overall standings, as the Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 earlier Saturday.
Chicago has eight games remaining and the Sharks have nine, starting with Monday’s home game against the Seattle Kraken. That starts a five-game homestand in which the Sharks face both the Kings and the Blues again, presenting more opportunities to play the spoiler role.
Zadina’s goal, his 13th of the season, came off an individual effort as he stole the puck from Zack Bolduc in the corner to the left of the Blues net. He then took a stride to give himself some space before he turned around and fired a shot past St. Louis goalie Joel Hofer at the 8:30 mark of the second period.
After Granlund scored his 12th of the season just 3:35 later, putting in a rebound after a Fabian Zetterlund shot, Kunin gave the Sharks some added insurance in his return to his hometown.
After a Sharks’ dump-in by Henry Thrun, the puck came through the slot in the Blues’ zone, got past Justin Bailey, but came right to Kunin, who beat Hofer high blocker side for his ninth goal of the season. Kunin, 26, is from Chesterfield, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
The Blues are being booed off the ice. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) March 31, 2024
The second period was a disaster for the Blues, who mustered just three shots, including ones in the first 18 minutes of the period. That led to some boos from the home crowd at the end of the second period as the Blues retreated to the locker room.
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Blackwood was solid for the Sharks on Thursday, making 29 saves in San Jose’s 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
His effort in the first period Saturday kept his team in the game, as he made stops on six high-danger chances, including ones on Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko.
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