GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Different city. Same result.
In a game that was eerily similar to one the night before, the Sharks couldn't convert on early scoring chances and ultimately lost a tight game Thursday that further damaged their playoff hopes. This time it was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Coyotes thanks to two goals by Radim Vrbata at Jobing.com Arena.
Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith made 37 saves for the shutout, and former Shark Ray Whitney chipped in two assists.
The Sharks came away with no points on this brief, two-game trip as they fell from third to ninth in the compacted Western Conference standings.
Now they have only four games remaining -- home-and-away matchups against both Dallas and Los Angeles -- as they struggle to save a season that is slipping away.
Just as in a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, the Sharks had plenty of good scoring chances in the first period. But they couldn't get the puck past Smith despite peppering him with 15 shots. Those missed opportunities would haunt the Sharks again.
That's because the Coyotes struck in the second period on the power play with Patrick Marleau in the penalty box for boarding. After an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot from the point, Antti Niemi blocked a wrister by Martin Hanzal. But Whitney then dished the rebound to a wide open Vrbata, who scored an easy tap-in at the 3:49 mark.
It was the first goal
since Feb. 21 for Vrbata, who had missed the previous five games because of an allergic reaction to penicillin.
And he wasn't finished. The Whitney-Vrbata connection tallied again at 9:17 of the third period. After Joe Pavelski's shot from the point was blocked, the Coyotes staged a two-on-one rush in the other direction. Whitney's pass slipped under Dan Boyle's stick, and Vrbata fired home a shot past a sprawling Niemi for his 32nd goal of the season.
- Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray desperately wanted to be on the ice Thursday night. And he never wanted to leave it the night before against the Ducks.
"But you have to do what's best for the team," said Murray, the bruising blue-liner with the nickname of "Crankshaft."
The Sharks are battling for their playoff life, and they are doing it at least temporarily without Murray, who suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury early in the 3-1 loss to Anaheim. Murray didn't return to that game and couldn't play Thursday against the Coyotes.
Earlier in the day, Murray was still holding out hope that he would somehow heal enough to play.
"You never know how things work out throughout the day after treatments and stuff," he said. "A couple years ago I couldn't walk on my foot and had no plans of playing. But I got treatment all day and took a shot, and then I felt better right around game time. When it's this borderline, you never take yourself out until you really know."
But Sharks coach Todd McLellan decided that it would be better to give Murray the night off.
"This time of the year, if your leg is only half cut off, you're going to want to play," McLellan said. "That's what competitive guys want to do. They look for a way to stay in the game, not get out of the game. But you have to balance the injury and the ability to play and the negative effect it might have on your team. I can tell you that Dougie Murray won't be saying, 'Hey I don't feel real good.' But some nights he just can't play."
Even Murray had to admit that was the case Wednesday in Anaheim. It's unclear when exactly Murray got hurt, but he was laboring to get around the ice throughout the first period before shutting it down.
"The way it is right now, if you're not 100 percent out there, you end up giving up a goal," Murray said. "The games are so tight and points are too important right now. Obviously if you're not 100 percent, you can't be effective."
- With Murray out, it was a chance for Colin White to get back into the lineup.
This has been a disappointing season for the veteran defenseman, who won two Stanley Cups with New Jersey. He was signed last offseason to help shore up a thin blue line. But White hasn't had the sort of impact that the Sharks had hoped.
Coming into Thursday night, he had four points and 19 penalty minutes in 49 games. He had played only once in the previous 10 games.
"Obviously I'm very excited to get back out there," said White, 34, a 12-year NHL player. "There's a lot of emotion this time of year. Everybody wants to be in. That's just the competitive nature in all of us. Every night is fun this time of year, because every shift matters so much. Each game is the most important of the year. It all boils down to wanting to help your teammates out."
- The Sharks announced Thursday that they had signed Pleasanton native Matt Tennyson to an every-level contract. He becomes the first player in the organization who learned how to play the game in the Junior Sharks program at Sharks Ice in San Jose.
Tennyson, a 21-year-old defenseman, just finished his junior season at Western Michigan. He scored 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) to earn second-team All-Central Collegiate Hockey Association honors. He also was a finalist for the league's offensive defenseman award. In 112 career games, he scored 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) with 92 penalty minutes.
"To have Matt become a Shark after playing the Junior Sharks program is very special to this organization," general manager Doug Wilson said in team release.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Coyotes captain Shane Doan returned to action Thursday night after serving a three-game league suspension for elbowing Dallas' Jamie Benn.
Contact Mark Emmons at 408-920-5745.
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