Field Level Media
11 Apr 2026, 15:10 GMT+10
(Photo credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images)
The clock is ticking for the San Jose Sharks to get into a playoff position, and they will try to make up ground when they host the Vancouver Canucks in Saturday night's home finale.
Saturday's game marks the fourth and final meeting of the season between these Pacific Division rivals. San Jose has won all three meetings this season, outscoring Vancouver 14-7 in the process.
It's crunch time for the Sharks (37-34-7, 81 points), who sit just four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference standings. Unfortunately, they are coming off two straight losses after dropping both ends of a back-to-back, falling to division foes who are trying to lock up top playoff positions.
On Wednesday, Connor McDavid had a five-point night, including a hat trick, and the visiting Edmonton Oilers defense held the Sharks to just 14 shots on the evening. The following night, defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin scored the lone goal for San Jose in a 6-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Defenseman John Carlson got his first career hat trick on Thursday night for the Ducks, who rallied for three third-period goals against the visiting Sharks. San Jose didn't get its first shot on goal until 13:12 and was outshot 10-5 in the first period. Anaheim outshot San Jose 30-19 on the night.
'It's not good enough this time of the year,' Sharks forward Kiefer Sherwood said. 'We can't be outwilled or outworked. It's unacceptable. It doesn't matter if it's a back-to-back.'
He continued: 'The other team wanted it more, and same thing tonight. We have to learn from it, and we've got to look inwards here a little bit. We're changing the standard. It's not OK to lose, it's not OK to lose battles.'
Meanwhile, the Canucks (22-48-8, 52 points) were one of the first teams eliminated from playoff contention. They could be spoilers for their Western Conference opponents, but have lost four straight games and 10 of their last 11. Vancouver has been outscored 18-8 over its current skid, which includes a 4-1 loss to the Kings on Thursday.
Defenseman Marcus Pettersson scored the lone goal for Vancouver to tie Thursday's game 1-1 at 14:17 of the first period. Joel Armia put the Kings back in front at 15:48.
'I think (netminder Nikita Tolopilo) would have wanted that one back, I think,' Canucks head coach Adam Foote said. 'It was 1-1, and they get the next one and we got frustrated.'
Tolopilo, who hasn't won a game since March 12, made 22 saves in the loss.
'At 3-1 going into the second (period), it felt like we deserved more,' Foote said. 'We were forechecking hard. We weren't spending as much time in our end.'
'They capitalized on our mistakes,' Pettersson added. 'We had good jump throughout the game. Played some good hockey. But they were lethal, capitalizing on when we gave up looks and easy goals against. (We've got to) keep building. We played some good hockey, but we've got to clean up the mistakes.'
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Calgary Monitor news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Calgary Monitor.
More InformationIslamabad [Pakistan], April 11 (ANI): A high-level delegations from Iran and the United States arrived for what Prime Minister Shehbaz...
New Delhi [India], April 11 (ANI): Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Saturday launched a sharp critique of the Centre and...
(Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images) Spacestation Gaming rallied past Team Liquid for a 3-2 win as Overwatch Champions Series'...
(260411) -- ISLAMABAD, April 11, 2026 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on April 11, 2026 shows an exterior view of the press center for...
Tel Aviv [Israel], April 11 (ANI): Former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy has warned that the fragile ceasefire between the...
The Artemis II mission is regarded as a critical step toward future crewed lunar landings under the Artemis program, which aims to...
(Photo credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images) The clock is ticking for the San Jose Sharks to get into a playoff position, and they...
(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images) Max Muncy hit a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to cap his second career...
The Artemis II mission is regarded as a critical step toward future crewed lunar landings under the Artemis program, which aims to...
(Photo credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images) CJ McCollum scored 25 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and Dyson Daniels collected...
Washington DC [US], April 11 (ANI): James McAvoy has shared a humorous anecdote about a failed audition early in his career, revealing...
(Photo credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images) Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points, Andre Drummond posted a double-double off the bench,...
