ST. PAUL — Over the course of 60 minutes, Sharks goaltender Martin Jones stopped one breakaway with his pads, another with his glove. He even snared a wicked Wild shot with his sweater.
It wasn’t enough.
For just the third time in 21 games, the Sharks lost a game in regulation.
The Wild grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead, then held on for a 3-1 victory at the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday in the opening game of a two-game, back-to-back road trip for San Jose.
Melker Karlsson’s goal in the final two minutes of the first period cut that 2-0 lead to 2-1, but the Sharks (38-19-7) couldn’t get another puck past Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk.