Askarov shines, but late goal dooms Sharks in loss to Avalanche

DENVER – Yaroslav Askarov was unquestionably the San Jose Sharks’ best player through the first two periods of their game against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

That gave his teammates a chance to come back.

Trailing by two after two periods, the Sharks 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 3-2 loss on Wednesday at Ball Arena in their last game before the Olympic break.

With both Macklin Celebrini serving penalties, Manson, in a 4-on-4 situation, took a pass from Valeri Nichushkin and blasted a shot past Askarov for his fifth goal of the season.

Askarov finished with 38 saves as the Sharks finished their five-game road trip with a 1-3-1 record. Their 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.

Askarov came into Wednesday with a 1-4-1 record and a .844 save percentage 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.

Sharks coach Ryan 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 important piece of this team. We’ve got to get him back in.”

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.