GLENDALE, Ariz. _ A strong start didn't carry over into the second 20 minutes, and that period of time was the one that cost the San Jose Sharks in a 3-2 road loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night. The Sharks (6-4) gave up two goals in a span of 68 seconds and were outscored 3-0 in the second period, putting an end to a three-game winning streak. San Jose outshot its opponent 41-30, but defensive lapses cost the Sharks an opportunity to get a road win against a struggling Coyotes team.
The fateful second period saw San Jose lose a 1-0 lead right after Jones stopped a blast from Brad Richardson. The Coyotes kept possession of the puck and Richardson backhanded a shot that squeezed under goalie Martin Jones' pads to tie the score at 1 at 3:42 of the period.
Arizona (3-6) wasn't finished. Nineteen-year-old forward Lawson Crouse tallied his first career NHL goal at 4:50 of the second to give the Coyotes a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The third Arizona goal came courtesy of a long shot from veteran Jamie McGinn, who beat Jones glove-side amid traffic in front of the net at the 11:59 mark.
Jones had 27 saves and Patrick Marleau and Mikkel Boedker scored for the Sharks. Arizona goalie Louis Domingue, he and his defense peppered with shots and attempts all night, made a spectacular glove save on Brenden Dillon in the final seconds of the second, a moment befitting of the kind of night the Sharks had.
It didn't take long for the things to get interesting. A pair of fourth-liners, the Sharks' Micheal Haley and the Coyotes' Ryan White, started throwing punches along the boards near the penalty boxes only a couple of minutes into the game. Both were given five minutes for fighting.
The Sharks had a big edge in shots 14-6 in the first period, but only one went for a goal. Marleau fought off two defenders after taking a pass from Melker Karlsson and fired in a wrister from near the face-off spot left of the net, giving San Jose a 1-0 lead at 14:07 of the period.
It was Marleau's third goal of the season. Marleau played in his 552nd consecutive regular-season game, a streak that dates back to April of 2009.
Jones' last save of the first period came when he deflected away a good look from Richardson with three seconds left. Jones had allowed three goals in three previous games as the Sharks' defense had tightened up of late.
The Sharks pulled Jones for an extra attacker for the game's last three minutes and change, and Boedker scored with 12 seconds left, his first point since the second game of the season. But San Jose didn't have enough time to equalize.
Tuesday's game marked the return of Boedker to Arizona for the first time since being traded by Arizona to Colorado in February of last season.
During a break midway through the first period, video highlights of Boedker's seven-plus seasons with Coyotes were shown on the center-ice screen.
Boedker received warm applause and cheers.
The Sharks, whose four losses have all come away from home, have killed 15 straight penalties over their last five games. But they went 0 for 2 on the power play.
(Romero is a special correspondent)
