Ducks lose lead, fall in shootout to San Jose Sharks

The Sharks' Ryan Donato scores on Ducks goaltender John Gibson during the shootout Feb. 5, 2021, in Anaheim.

Associated Press

Feb. 5, 2021 Updated 10:50 PM PT

Kevin Labanc and Ryan Donato scored shootout goals on similar moves, and the San Jose Sharks snapped a two-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Ducks on Friday night at Honda Center.

Donato began the shootout by deking right and catching John Gibson off balance, allowing him to score on his short side. Labanc then deked left and stuffed it in on Gibson’s glove side.

Brent Burns and Evander Kane each had a goal and an assist in regulation. Matt Nieto and Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, and Martin Jones made 33 saves.

San Jose (4-5-0) was playing its first game in a week after a series against Vegas was postponed because of coronavirus protocols.

Max Comtois had two goals, Troy Terry had a goal and an assist, and Adam Henrique also scored for the Ducks. Gibson stopped 26 shots. It is the first time the Ducks have scored more than three goals this year.

“We found a way to get a point, but obviously it’s disappointing,” Comtois said. “We let that one slip away.”

The Ducks led 3-1 at the end of two periods, but the Sharks scored three straight goals in the first eight minutes of the third to regain the lead. Comtois tied it at 4 with a one-timer at 11:33.

The Ducks (4-5-3) were coming off a 3-1 road win over the Kings on Tuesday night but have lost four of their last five games.

Comtois and Rickard Rakell were stopped by Jones during the shootout.

Highlights from the Ducks’ 5-4 shootout loss to the visiting San Jose Sharks on Friday night.

Couture got the Sharks within 3-2 just 39 seconds into the third period when he put in a rebound after Gibson got his stick on Kane’s shot. Kane tied it 97 seconds later with a breakaway, short-handed goal after forcing a turnover in the Ducks’ zone. Burns gave the Sharks a 4-3 lead with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle eight minutes into the period.

Couture said some yelling by coach Bob Boughner between periods woke up the Sharks.

“It’s tough to come in and be yelled at, but sometimes you need that,” he said. “We got challenged and had to create our own energy.”

Ducks coach Dallas Eakins was unhappy seeing his team squander a two-goal advantage.

“When you have a 3-1 lead, you have to come out and expect to win and do the things we have to do to nail it down,” Eakins said. “Some were on board, and some were not.”

The Sharks converted a two-on-one rush for their first goal when Nieto backhanded Marcus Sorensen’s pass into the upper-right corner of the net. It is Nieto’s third goal in five games. Sasha Chmelevski, who was making his NHL debut, got the second assist for his first point.

Henrique tied it at 1 midway through the second period when he put in a rebound of his own shot through Jones’ legs. Terry gave the Ducks the lead three minutes later with his first goal on a wrist shot between the faceoff circles. Comtois broke a nine-game scoring drought late in the period with a one-timer off the feed from Rakell.

The Ducks came in averaging an NHL-low 1.79 goals per game but have scored three or more in two straight for the first time this season.

San Jose’s Patrick Marleau played in his 1,732nd game and took over sole possession of fourth place on the NHL’s games played list. The veteran forward, who is in his 22nd season, won’t remain in fourth for long. He is one game away from passing Jaromir Jagr for third.

Chmelevski, who grew up in Huntington Beach, is the fourth California-born player to play for the Sharks. It is the first time two California natives (Nieto and Chmelevski) have suited up for San Jose in the same game.

The Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf did not play because of a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

The two teams meet again Saturday. The Ducks are 0-1 on the back end of consecutive games, while this is the first Sharks back-to-back of the season.