Sharks lose 3-2 in shootout to Penguins, going 0-for-5 on the power play

The Sharks did everything but finish the song. They erased a two-goal deficit in the third, forced overtime, and then lost 3-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout at SAP Center.

What decided it: San Jose went 0-for-5 with the man advantage, while Pittsburgh turned one of its three power plays into the goal that made it 2-0. That is the margin in a game the Sharks otherwise matched shot for shot, 36-35.

How it unfolded

Samuel Girard opened the scoring with a slap shot at 8:57 of the first, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The second period passed without a goal. Early in the third, Kindel struck at 3:28 with a wrist shot, a power-play goal that doubled the lead. Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson had the assists.

Then Celebrini took over.

At 11:32 he scored his eighth goal of the season on a wrist shot, with Michael Kesselring and Will Smith assisting. On the replay, he pounced on a rebound in front. At 15:49 he set up Mason Marchment, whose wrist shot tied it at 2-2. Celebrini threaded the pass across the crease and Marchment had the open net. Sam Dickinson picked up the other assist.

Overtime nearly belonged to San Jose. Celebrini and Dickinson got a 2-on-0, but Dickinson's shot sailed over the crossbar. In the shootout, Kindel skated in wide and slipped a wrist shot between Yaroslav Askarov's pads. Sergei Murashov then gloved Smith's attempt to end it.

Standouts

• Celebrini: 1 goal, 1 assist, a +2 rating and 25:14 of ice time. He also had a goal waved off earlier in the game. He now has 78 goals as a Shark, passing Scott Thornton (77) for 20th on the franchise's all-time list. Next up are Kevin Labanc (82), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (84) and Devin Setoguchi (84). He also went past 200 career points as a Shark, now at 201.
• Murashov: 34 saves on 36 shots (.944) for the first star.
• Askarov: 33 saves on 35 shots (.943).
• The kids: Celebrini is 20 and playing his 171st NHL game. Dickinson is 20 and in his 91st game, and his assist made him the third star. Smith, 21, added an assist in his 164th game.

Under the hood

The power play is the story, but not the only one. San Jose won just 28 of 66 faceoffs (42.4%), with Alexander Wennberg going 8-for-21 on the draw. The Sharks also gave the puck away 20 times to Pittsburgh's 17. Eric Pohlkamp's 5 blocked shots helped keep it close, and San Jose out-hit Pittsburgh 18-14.

The Sharks fall to 8-11-2, and the Penguins improve to 7-10-2 and lead the season series 1-0. A team that scrapes back from 2-0 down deserves better than a coin flip at the end, but five failed power plays are how a game like this slips away.

What's next

San Jose plays Saturday, Nov. 14, at 9:00 PM ET at the Utah Mammoth. Bring the third-period energy and a power play that shows up with it.