Dreadful start dooms Sharks in loss to Minnesota Wild

NHL: Minnesota Wild score three in first period, race past San Jose Sharks on night in which Patrick Marleau is honored

SAN JOSE – Patrick Marleau was teary-eyed Saturday night as he watched a pregame video tribute that included messages of congratulations from past and present teammates, family members and Mark Howe.

Everybody else in a Sharks uniform also watched the presentation with rapt attention.

Then, 19 seconds after the start of the game with Marleau and the ice, Ryan Suter snapped a shot from the left circle past Martin Jones to give the Minnesota Wild an early lead.

If one thought the Sharks would get an emotional lift from the ceremony that honored Marleau for becoming the NHL’s all-time leader in games played, they were sadly mistaken.

The Sharks looked lifeless for much of the first two periods and came alive a little too late in a 6-3 loss to the Wild at SAP Center, their eighth straight defeat as they fell further out of the West Division playoff race.

“We all love Patrick in that room. So we should have at least showed up and played hard for him, played hard for a very special night,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “First night our families got to watch us play in person, and we stunk it up.

“Nothing to really be proud about tonight for us in that room. We’ve got nine games left and we’ve got to play a hell of a lot harder than we did tonight.”

Marcus Foligno and Jared Spurgeon also scored in the first period for Minnesota as Jones was pulled before the start of the second period, relieved by Josef Korenar. The Wild held a 5-1 lead at the 4:28 mark of the third period.

“The first period was a disaster, right from the first shift, the first goal,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “Obviously, we’re fighting for our lives and to be down 1-0 with the first shot of the game, which was a horrible goal, it took some of the wind out of our sails.”

Couture, Evander Kane and Joachim Blichfeld all scored in the third period for San Jose, with Blichfeld’s goal, the first of his NHL career, coming at the 6:06 mark, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 5-3.

But that’s as close as the Sharks would come, as they’re now six points back of fourth place in the West Division – held by the Arizona Coyotes — with nine games left.

Couture’s goal was his first since March 22 as he snapped a 16-game goalless drought. Kane’s goal was his team-leading 18th of the season.

“Losing a ton of games in a row, you’re not going to feel too good about yourself,” Couture said. “When you’re going through (crappy) times, the only way to get through it is to work extremely hard and work your way out of it. We haven’t done a good enough job of that.”

Marleau, 41, became the NHL’s all-time leader in games played Monday, skating in his 1,768th career game when the Sharks played the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Standing just off the ice at one end of the arena, an emotional Marleau, with his wife Christina, and their sons Landon, Brody, Jagger, and Caleb, watched a video tribute that included messages of congratulations from past and present teammates, general manager Doug Wilson and members of his family.

Mark Howe, whose father, Gordie, previously held the league’s record with 1,757 games over a 26-season NHL career, also sent a congratulatory message to Marleau, who wiped away tears as the video was shown.

“To hear from those guys and all of the kind words that they had, really hit home with me, as you could tell,” Marleau said. “Great players and great friends and great teammates in that video, and it means a lot to me that they took the time to get on the video and say those kind words.”

Gordie Howe and Marleau have similar backgrounds, hailing from small towns in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

“We want to congratulate you on just a tremendous achievement,” Howe said on behalf of his family. “To break this record just shows your love and passion for the game. And to be a Saskatchewan boy would make Gordie extra proud.

“From our entire Howe family, we want to congratulate you on this tremendous honor. As Gordie would say, don’t stop now.”