NHL: Columbus scores late to keep Sharks from playoff clincher

SAN JOSE – San Jose’s quest to lock up a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will need to wait at least one more day after the Sharks lost 4-3 to Columbus on Sunday at sold-out HP Pavilion.

Needing one point against the Blue Jackets, San Jose appeared to at least see the game go into overtime after erasing a two-goal deficit in the third period. Instead, a defensive zone turnover became a goal by Jacket Ryan Johansen with 1 minute, 37 seconds to play in regulation, only the second regulation home loss of the year for the Sharks.

Columbus owns 51 points and a share of seventh place in the Western Conference standings. San Jose is fifth at 55, one point ahead of St. Louis.

The Sharks face three more games to complete the regular season, including Tuesday’s 7 p.m. home finale against Dallas. After playing the Coyotes on Wednesday, San Jose ends the campaign in Los Angeles on Saturday against the defending Cup champion Kings.

Mark Letestu collected three points to key the Columbus offense.

Lestestu drove to the San Jose net and tapped in a feed from Jack Johnson at 16:53 of the first period to begin the scoring. When the Sharks turned the puck over outside the defensive zone in the second period, Lesestu found an unmarked Vinny Prospal with a soft pass, and the left winger completed the breakaway with a snap-shot past goaltender Antti Niemi at the 4:27 mark.

Martin Havlet produced his eighth goal of the season to begin the San Jose scoring. Justin Braun ignited the play by keeping the puck inside the Jacket zone. Braun’s long pass went to Logan Couture at the endboards, and the center spotted Havlat in the low slot with the decisive pass at 7:14 of the second.

The Jackets scored on their first power play of the night when Letestu one-timed a cross-ice feed from defenseman Fedor Tyutin inside the left post as Niemi was screened by both Jacket Marian Gaborik and Shark Brad Stuart at 12:42 of the second period.

San Jose managed only eight shots on goal in the third period, yet garnered enough offense to score two goals.

Andrew Desjardins collected his second goal of the year when he worked the puck from the right boards to the crease and used Joe Thornton as a screen to line a low shot past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky at 6:34.

Defenseman Matt Irwin’s hustle to keep the puck inside the Columbus zone set up the tying goal at 14:57. Scott Gomez earned his 700th career NHL point when his pass led to a Joe Pavelski goal from the right circle for the equalizer.

San Jose finished with a 35-22 edge in shots on net.