Sharks lose to Jets 5-2 as playoff hopes dim

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — This was the game the Sharks knew mattered more than the others on this seven-game trip, but they sure didn't show it Tuesday night.

Falling behind early, San Jose fell to the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 in the only game on this two-week trip where they play one of the teams they're chasing in the Western Conference playoff race.

With starting goalie Antti Niemi yanked after giving up three goals on Winnipeg's first eight shots, the Sharks fell six points behind the Jets, who climbed over the Los Angeles Kings into the second wild-card spot with the win.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan indicated before the game it was too early to talk about 'do-or-die' games with 14 left on the schedule.

'We can't put that much pressure on ourselves every game,' McLellan said, adding later: 'It's a really important game for our organization and that's probably an understatement.'

The game was over early.

Niemi was beaten on the first shot when Jets forward Adam Lowry had the puck behind the goal line and banked it into the net off the backside of the Sharks goalie at 1:10. Winnipeg doubled its lead to 2-0 when forward Mark Scheifele capped some tic-tac-toe passing on the power play and fired the puck high into the short side at 9:39.

And the Jets ended Niemi's night not long after that with another power play goal when Andrew Ladd deflected a shot from the left point by Jacob Trouba at 13:01. Alex Stalock came off the bench at that point for his first action since March 2.

The Sharks did come out stronger in the second period and Joe Pavelski scored only his second goal in 13 games at 1:06 when he potted the rebound of a shot by Joe Thornton.

Whatever momentum the Sharks seemed to be gaining ended just more than six minutes later when a wraparound attempt by Jets forward Drew Stafford ended up between Stalock's pads and Blake Wheeler poked it across the goal line.

Wheeler got his second of the night at 9:12 of the third period when his centering pass from the right sideboards deflected into the net off Justin Braun's stick

Pavelski added his second goal of the game at 17:35, when the outcome was long determined.