Sharks’ third-period lead quickly disappears before sparse SAP Center crowd

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks scored twice in a 70-second span midway through the third period to take a one-goal lead over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Then the Sharks gave the lead right back in even quicker fashion, as they allowed goals to Carter Verhaeghe and Kevin Stenlund in just 63 seconds in what became a 5-3 loss to Florida at SAP Center.

With the Sharks down by a goal. Tomas Hertl scored on the power play at the 6:11 mark of the third period, redirecting a pass from Fabian Zetterlund past Panthers goalie Anthony Stolarz. Then, on a delayed penalty call on Florida, and an extra attacker on, Luke Kunin fired a loose puck in front of the net at the 7:21 mark for a 3-2 Sharks lead.

Florida would tie the game with 9:54 left in regulation time, working it around on a power play before Verhaeghe snapped a shot past Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for his seventh goal of the season.

Then, just over a minute later, Stenlund’s shot on net from just inside the blue line got past a screened Blackwood, as the Panthers took the lead for good and handed San Jose its third straight loss.

Third periods have been a struggle for the Sharks all season. Prior to Tuesday, the Sharks had been outscored 66-18 in the third period, although some of those have been empty-netters for the opposition.

Mike Hoffman scored a first-period goal, his first in 15 games for the Sharks. Jan Rutta had the assist, his first point in 16 games.

TUESDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: As has become the norm for Tuesday nights, another noticeably small crowd was on hand to watch the Sharks.

The Sharks announced a crowd of 10,108 for what was their ninth home game of the season, although arena officials estimated that actual attendance would be around 7,500. Still, that’s the second-smallest announced crowd of the season, and only 49 more than the smallest all-time at the West downtown arena since it opened in 1993.

The smallest all-time is 10,059 for a Nov. 3, 2021 game against the Buffalo Sabres. Seating at SAP Center after recent renovations is 17,435, and there have been three sellouts this season.

When there have not been capacity restrictions at the arena, the Sharks have never announced a crowd for a Sharks game of less than 10,000. The smallest announced crowd this season was 10,074 last Tuesday when the Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to earn their first win.

The two other smallest crowds this year came on Oct. 17, a Tuesday, when the Sharks announced 10,378 for what became a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, and Nov. 2, when 10,719 were announced for a 10-1 San Jose loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

This season, the Sharks, coming off a 29th-place finish in the NHL standings and an offseason in which they traded Erik Karlsson, the Sharks only sold about 8,200 full-season equivalent ticket packages, where spectators get to choose what games they attend. Clearly, Tuesdays are an issue, with it being a school night.

Having less foot traffic around downtown San Jose, with several businesses still allowing employees to work from home, is also believed to be a reason for small weekday crowds.

The Sharks’ next home game is Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.