Younger, less-experienced Sharks unable to slow down Hurricanes

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks roster seems to be getting younger and less experienced with each passing week.

The Sharks shipped a handful of veterans to contending teams before the NHL trade deadline on March 7, and on Thursday, the Sharks had eight rookies in their lineup, including defenseman Luca Cagnoni, who made his NHL debut, and goalie Georgi Romanov, who made his first NHL start.

Being so young, the Sharks will likely continue to take some lumps in the weeks ahead, and on Thursday, a goal allowed to Sebastian Aho at the 4:58 mark of the third period proved to be the difference in San Jose’s 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center.

On the winning goal, Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake shook off a check from Sharks rookie defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and got the puck to Aho, who one-timed a shot past Romanov to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Sean Walker added an insurance goal at the 14:18 mark of the third period for Carolina, which won its eighth straight game.

William Eklund scored the lone goal for San Jose, which has lost five of its last six. Romanov finished with 26 saves.

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Mukhamadullin was “outstanding” Thursday, adding that, “we’ve seen some real growth over these last two, three weeks since the 4 Nations break. And we hope that as guys continue to play, (Patrick) Giles, (Zack Ostapshuk), (Cagnoni) while he’s here, continue to improve, and that’s all we can do.”

Eklund’s goal, his 14th of the season, came at the 13:00 mark of the first period.

With the Sharks killing a hooking penalty to forward Zack Ostapchuk, Ty Dellandrea won a puck battle along the wall and got it to Eklund. He carried into the Carolina zone and was tripped by defenseman Brent Burns, but the puck continued to slide forward and got past Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen.

Carolina got that goal back in the second period.

Mukhamadullin had the puck in the corner but lost it below the goal line. After the puck went off the side of the net, Mukhamadullin tried to clear it but sent it to Jarvis, who beat Romanov with a shot high to the blocker side.

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Cagnoni faced a huge test Thursday as he made his NHL debut against one of the top forechecking teams in the league in Carolina. In one sequence, after a faceoff in the Sharks’ zone, Cagnoni turned the puck over, leading to some chances for the Hurricanes and a shift that lasted 2:12.

Cagnoni was second among all AHL defensemen this season with 47 points in 56 games with the Barracuda, bur simply wasn’t going to have the same time and space he enjoyed on the farm.

“The puck has got to move, and you’ve got to be ready to make your decision before you get the puck,” Warsofsky said Thursday morning about how Cagnoni needed to approach playing the Hurricanes. “There’s going to be some adjustment (to) the pace, especially against this team. But we think that’s one of (Cagnoni’s) best things he can do, is break out the puck.”

Cagnoni was recalled from the Barracuda on Tuesday after Jimmy Schuldt was returned to the AHL. Schuldt, though, was brought back Wednesday after Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s upper body injury flared up after practice. It’s unclear how much time Vlasic will have to miss.

Romanov’s chances to prove himself at this level might be precious.

The Sharks now have just 13 games left this season, and No. 1 Alexandar Georgiev figures to get the bulk of the work, perhaps starting with Saturday’s home game against the Boston Bruins.

It’s also possible that Yaroslav Askarov will return to the NHL before the end of the regular season. Askarov remains out with a lower-body injury, but there is some hope he can rejoin Barracuda practices next week.

So, at least for now, Romanov, a pending restricted free agent, figures to remain with the Sharks.

“I don’t think about contract right now,” Romanov said Wednesday. “I need concentration on my practices, on how I work on ice, off ice, how I work, how I play, and I try to concentrate on my target, and my target right now is to show my best game, my best version.”