Yaroslav Askarov shines in San Jose Sharks loss to Colorado Avalanche

DENVER – Yaroslav Askarov did all he could to try to help the San Jose Sharks finish a five-game road trip on a positive note.

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 loss was the Sharks’ fourth straight (0-3-1), their longest skid since October when they started the season 0-4-2.

“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, as they fell from being in a playoff spot at the start of the trip to 11th place in the Western Conference. San Jose’s next game is Feb. 26 at home against the Calgary Flames.

Liljegren scored 43 seconds into the third period – snapping a 60-game goalless drought – before Kurashev tied the game at the 3:34 mark, creating a turnover at the Sharks’ blue line before beating Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood with a nifty move as he skated in on a partial breakaway.

Sharks turnovers by Alex Wennberg and William Eklund in the second period both led to goals by Artturi Lehkonen, with his second goal coming at the 15:47 mark.

“I think the message was pretty clear, ‘Let’s just go play and stop worrying about mistakes,’” Warsofsky said. “And we’re a good hockey team. We’ve got to get our confidence back. And, obviously, get a couple of goals, and that helps. We got going and, unfortunately, those are the ones you’d like to get a point in.”

“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 came into Wednesday with a 1-4-1 record and a .844 save percentage in his last six starts. In their 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, Askarov allowed four goals on 10 shots — mostly due to the miscues of the skaters in front of him –– before he was pulled midway through the second period.

Warsofsky, though, wanted to get Askarov right back in there.

“We all look at him like he’s a goalie that should be a Vezina Trophy candidate right now, and the reality of it, he’s a goalie trying to learn his way in the National Hockey League,” Warsofsky said before Wednesday’s game.

“Just like Sam (Dickinson) and just like (Michael) Misa and Will (Smith) and all the guys that we’ve had, it’s no different for a goalie. We’ve got to have him battle through things and compete. He’s an important piece of this team. We’ve got to get him back in.”

Warsofsky loved the response from his goalie.

“Big growth moment. I think that’s the big headline of this game is how much he grew,” he said. “I thought he was outstanding the first two periods. The whole game, he was outstanding. The third goal, I think he gets a little bit screened, but a huge growth moment in his development.”

Kiefer Sherwood made his Sharks debut and finished with five hits and two blocked shots in over 17 minutes of ice time as he played on the Sharks’ top line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

That line struggled to get going, as the Sharks were outshot 31-13 through two periods.

Sherwood thought he got better as the game went on, settling into familiar disruptive role.

“Gotta do more,” he said. “Try to open up some space, kind of the game within the game. If I can get the defense to look over their shoulders early, then maybe you can get more pucks back on the forecheck and just recover more. So we’ll keep building on that, and just keep moving forward.”