Sharks, Peter DeBoer Reflect on ‘brutal' Loss to Blue Jackets in Columbus

The Sharks' 4-0 loss against the Blue Jackets on Saturday was, as Brent Burns put it, "brutal."

"It was just an ugly game all around," the defenseman said. "It was just was just one of those games, just ugly. "
 
It didn't have to be an ugly game. Columbus was playing on the tail end of a back-to-back and had to travel overnight to get home and host San Jose. The well-rested Sharks looked ready to battle through the first few shifts of the contest. Then Columbus – clearly not skipping a beat after beating the Senators in Ottawa the evening before – pinned San Jose in their own zone and shut them out.

"They were good, we were bad," Burns said, stifling a chuckle. "It was tough trekking out there."

Sharks coach Peter DeBoer couldn't have agreed more when he addressed the media.

"You have a few of those games a year. I don't know why," DeBoer said.

He did know, however, know why the Blue Jackets were the superior club that evening.

"They were hungrier. They were more desperate. They deserved to win," DeBoer said. "And having said that, it was still a 2-0 game, there were still some chances to maybe turn it a little bit. But we got what we deserved tonight."

"We've got to grind a little bit more," Justin Braun said. "We didn't spend enough time in the o-zone. It started at the back end, we weren't getting the pucks to the forwards and their tape. When you're slow through the neutral zone and not on the forecheck, you're not going to score."

To make matters worse, a couple Sharks skaters exited the contest with injuries. Forward Marcus Sorensen took a deflected puck to the mouth in the third period and had to head to the dressing room holding a towel to his face. Even before that, defenseman Erik Karlsson left in the second period after aggravating the lower-body injury that sidelined him earlier this year. 

DeBoer admitted to the press that the Karlsson injury was concerning.

"I thought we were as conservative and cautious as you can be," he said. "But, muscle injuries, you don't know. Sometimes you get in positions or over-extend it."

[RELATED: What Matt Duchene trade means for Sharks before NHL deadline]

While Karlsson's return is a bit uncertain, the rest of the Sharks have to keep plugging along. They have a quick turnaround as they visit the Red Wings in Detroit for a Sunday matinee. Putting Saturday's rough game in the rearview mirror and getting back to what they were doing well before that is crucial.

"So you get back at it and you win the next one," Burns said. "Try to get back to where we were."

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