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SAN JOSE — Not even the wake-up call that comes with a coaching change was enough to end the Sharks’ losing streak on Thursday night.
The Sharks allowed two third period goals to Mika Zibanejad and two more to Artemi Panarin as the New York Rangers came back to earn a 6-3 win at SAP Center and spoil Bob Boughner’s debut as interim coach.
Zibanejad’s goals came at the 8:49 and 13:10 marks of the third period, and Panarin added an insurance marker with 3:11 left in regulation time to hand the Sharks their sixth straight loss.
Panarin added an empty-netter with 2:34 left in the third period to complete the hat trick.
Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Brenden Dillon scored for the Sharks, with Dillon’s goal giving San Jose a 3-2 lead at the 4:12 mark of the third. Dillon’s slap shot from between the circles beat Alexandar Georgiev for his first goal since Oct. 23, 2018, ending a 106-game drought.
The Sharks and Rangers were tied 2-2 after the second period.
The Rangers got goals from Jesper Fast and Panarin at the 5;02 and 7:56 marks, respectively, of the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
On Panarin’s goal, four Sharks players were on one side of the ice, nearly surrounding Ryan Strome, who was to the right of Jones. But Strome was able to send a pass across the slot to Panarin, who was able to beat Jones five-hole for his 16th goal of the season.
The Sharks got that goal back at the 11:32 mark, as Couture took a pass from Timo Meier in front of the net, double-clutched to freeze Georgiev, and went to his right to score his 10th of the season.
The Sharks led at the end of the first period for the first time since they played Los Angeles on Nov. 29, as Hertl scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at the 9:13 mark to snap a nine-game goal drought.
About 30 seconds after Jones stopped Zibenejad on a breakaway chance, Hertl collected a loose puck in the Sharks’ end, skated into the Rangers’ zone and beat Georgiev for his 11th of the season.
Boughner, who replaced Pete DeBoer on Wednesday, was officially introduced as the Sharks’ interim coach at a noontime press conference Thursday at SAP Center.
“The best teams in the league are the team that play the same way every night,” Boughner said. “You know when the puck drops what they’re going to do and how they’re going to play, and it’s to a man.
“That’s where we need to get go. I think there’s another level to our game that comes with consistency. I really believe this team has more.”
