Askarov has 'growth moment,' but Sharks' road trip still ends with loss

"Askarov was unquestionably the Sharks' best player through the first two periods of their game against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night, as he gave his teammates a chance to recover from a slow start. Trailing by two after two periods, the Sharks (27-24-4) then got third-period goals from Timothy Liljegren and Philipp Kurashev 2:51 apart to tie the game."

"But a goal by Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson with 7:16 left in regulation time proved to be the difference, as Colorado handed San Jose a 4-2 loss on Wednesday at Ball Arena in the last game before the Olympic break for both teams. With both Macklin Celebrini and Brent Burns serving penalties, Manson, in a 4-on-4 situation, took a pass from Valeri Nichushkin and blasted a shot past a screened Askarov for his fifth goal of the season."

""The first two (periods) weren't that good. I think we weren't playing with too much confidence," Kurashev said. "So I think going into the third, we just wanted to go and play our game and play with confidence. It was, for sure, our best period, but obviously not enough." Askarov finished with 38 saves as the Sharks finished their road trip with a 1-3-1 record."

Yaroslav Askarov stopped 38 shots and was the Sharks' best player through two periods, giving his team a chance to recover from a slow start. San Jose trailed by two after two periods before Timothy Liljegren scored 43 seconds into the third, ending a 60-game goalless drought, and Philipp Kurashev tied the game 2:51 later. With Macklin Celebrini and Brent Burns penalized, Josh Manson scored on a 4-on-4 play to give Colorado the lead and eventual win. Sharks turnovers in the second period produced Avalanche goals. San Jose finished the five-game road trip 1-3-1 and fell to 11th place in the Western Conference.

Read at The Mercury News