Exactly a week ago, the Sharks took a gut
punch from the Detroit Red Wings. On Tuesday night, the Sharks exacted a little
revenge by scoring in overtime to help the California teams sweep the Red Wings
on their current California swing. Logan Couture swept home the game winner in
an odd sequence that took a video review to confirm.
Tied 2-2 in the
extra frame, the Sharks carried the puck into the Detroit zone before Brent
Burns tried throwing it to the front of the net from the left side. The puck
hit goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in the skate, then sat perched near the goal
line. Nedeljkovic found the puck at the last second and tried glowing it as he
dove back into the crease.
Couture was laying on his backside outside
the right post and was able to get his stick on the puck just as Nedeljkovic
tried to cover it. The goal immediately went to review, but it wasn't clear
what was being reviewed.
Couture clearly hit the puck with his stick,
but a Red Wings fan had thrown an octopus on the ice before the Sharks carried
the puck into the Detroit zone. It was clarified that the NHL office in Toronto
was looking to see if Jonathan Dahlen was offside. That was negated and the
goal stood.
The Sharks have struggled to draw penalties this season,
but the Red Wings obliged with a pair of cross checking infractions that setup
power play chances for San Jose. The Sharks misfired on the first chance, but
would not be denied on their second man advantage.
Timo Meier
converted after a Robby Fabbri penalty, scoring on a slam dunk chance at 14:24.
Jonathan Dahlen drove the puck deep, skating it up the right side. Drawing a
pair of defenders to him, Dahlen slid the puck across the top of the crease to
Meier on the left for the no doubter. It was Meier's 15th goal of the season.
A Sam Gagner tripping penalty at 11:58 of the 2nd period went
squandered by the Sharks, who would only generate a pair of shots on the
chance.
The penalty bug bit the Sharks late in the period and it cost
them. Mario Ferraro was whistled for holding at 17:39, then Tomas Hertl tripped
goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic as he tried to pick the puck out of the netminder's
skates 20 seconds later to setup a lengthy 5-on-3 for the Red Rings.
Tyler Bertuzzi converted just before Ferraro's penalty expired by redirecting a
Filip Hronek shot from the high slot. Bertuzzi was parked on the left post and
easily altered the flight of the puck, slipping it past Adin Hill with 22
seconds left in the period.
Adin Hill's knock has been his mental
lapses from time to time. That was in full effect 1:48 into the 3rd period when
he whiffed on a harmless shot from Nick Leddy from teh blueline that eluded the
Sharks netminder. Sharks and Red Wings skaters were all entering the sharks
zone when Leddy released his shot, so it was unscreened and not a difficult
puck to handle. The goal was Leddy's 1st of the season.
The Sharks got the goal back 90 seconds later when
Jeffrey Viel went hard to the net and was upended by defenseman Mortiz Seider.
The Sharks rookie was able to get his stick on the puck forcing it toward
Nedelkjovic, but then it was difficult to determine what happened. The puck
ended up in the Red Wings net and referee Jake Brenk signaled good goal.
Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill elected not to challenge the goal
because Viel was pushed from behind, and he risked taking a penalty if the
challenge failed.
San Jose did a great job to maintain the puck in the
offensive zone late, which setup several scoring chances. Meier missed on a
golden chance to take the lead with 3 minutes left in regulation when his shot
attempt clanked off the right post.
Game Notes: *
Rookie forward Adam Raska made his NHL debut for San Jose. Raska skated 9
shifts for 6:24 of ice time and recorded 3 hits in the game.
* Jeffrey
Viel dropped the gloves 5 minutes into the contest with Givani Smith, which was
likely in response to Smith's hit on Jake Middleton last week in Detroit.
Middleton suffered a concussion on the hit and has sidelined since then.
* Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider took a puck to the face early in
the 2nd period on a clearing attempt by a Sharks player. Seider would return to
the game after a lengthy trip to the locker room for repairs.
* The
Sharks had both Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson in the lineup. Couture and Lane
Pederson were removed from the NHL's COVID protocol list. Karlsson was dinged
up in Detroit and missed the last two games with an upper body issue.
*
The SAP Center was littered with red jerseys on Tuesday. The announced
attendance was only 10,489, but there were far fewer in the building.
* The NHLPA officially filed a grievance with the NHL over Evander Kane's
contract termination. Stay tuned for lots of legal drama in this one.