Panthers Lose 3-1 to Sharks on Road Trip

San Jose, California — The Florida Panthers suffered a 3-1 defeat to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night at SAP Center, dropping to 1-2 on their four-game Western Conference road trip after dominating the Los Angeles Kings two days earlier.

The Panthers outshot the Sharks 39-22 but managed just one goal despite controlling much of the play. San Jose struck first at 17:25 of the opening period when Will Smith carried the puck into the Florida zone following a failed clear by Aaron Ekblad and centered to Macklin Celebrini, who one-timed a shot past goaltender Daniil Tarasov. The Sharks extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second at 3:06, capitalizing on an offensive-zone faceoff win by Adam Gaudette. Gaudette tipped Dmitry Orlov's rising shot from the point, with Timothy Liljegren assisting on the play.

Florida responded 28 seconds later to cut the deficit in half. Anton Lundell pinned the puck behind the net, and Eetu Luostarinen slid a pass to Brad Marchand, who fired a shot that deflected off Sharks netminder Yaroslav Askarov, bounced to Lundell and back to Marchand for a backhand into an open net. Marchand's tally, his 10th of the season, was assisted by Lundell and...