Not much has gone right for the Sharks this
season in terms of wins and losses. It is a rebuilding year after all. So
rolling into Winnipeg to take on the league's best team, expectations were
expectedly low. Playing on back-to-back nights also firmly lined San Jose up
behind the 8-Ball. Yet, San Jose carried a lead into the last minute of play
before the Jets tied the game. Winnipeg would go on to score in overtime to
take the 2-1 decision, ending a promising performance as the Sharks made their
2nd of 7 stops on their current road trip.
Goaltender Vitek Vanecek
deserved better, stopping 33 shots against a team that was trying to extend a
franchise best winning streak. The Sharks goaltender was what the Sharks needed
for 59 minutes. Unfortunately, they needed him to play above board for 65
minutes.
The Sharks played a controlled game in the 1st period,
keeping things simple through the first 20 minutes. Jack Thomson and Nikolaj
Ehlers mixed it up at the 13 minute mark earning each player a trip to the
penalty box.
Adam Lowry was then called for goaltender interference
1:18 later to setup a brief 4-on-3 power play for the Sharks. William Eklund
converted with a snipe from the right dot at 15:07 that found the upper left
corner of the net. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith worked with Eklund to move
the puck up top before Celebrini sent a no-look pass to Eklund for the one-time
chance.
Winnipeg was handcuffed by penalty issues in the 2nd period,
taking a pair of infractions that setup the Sharks 2nd and 3rd power play
chances of the night. San Jose did nothing with those two chances, but they
were able to setup several decent scoring chances.
Jake Walman was
sent off for lofting a puck over the glass at 16:59 giving the Jets their
league's best power play their first chance of the game. The Sharks killed the
threat then pushed the puck back into the Jets zone late. Tyler Toffoli just
missed doubling the Sharks lead when a puck landed on his stick on the right
side, but his attempt rang off the right post.
Celebrini took an
ill-advised holding penalty 49 seconds into the 3rd period trying to gain
position on a loose puck in the offensive zone. San Jose once again denied the
Jets with a calm approach that didn't overreact to the play in front of them.
Ty Dellandrea missed on a golden opportunity to
score in the 6th minute. The forward found himself facing Hellebuyck 8 feet out
holding the puck, but his release was delayed, which allowed the Jets to squash
the chance.
Colin Miller rang a shot off the post at the 9:20 mark,
narrowly missing on a chance to tie the game.
The Jets pulled
Hellebuyck with 1:38 remaining in regulation. That would get the Jets the extra
attacker that allowed Winnipeg to bag the equalizer with 25.9 seconds left in
regulation. Winnipeg was throwing everything at Vanecek, but a long rebound
kicked over to the left side where Morrissey scooped it up and snapped a long
shot that found the upper left corner.
Mark Scheifele ended it with a
goal from the doorstep. The Jets forward dropped the puck to Ehlers in the high
slot then skated past Alexander Wennberg to the front of the net. Ehlers fired
a shot that bounced off Vanecek, rebounding right to Scheifele for the put
back.
Game Notes: * With his 1st period goal, William
Eklund extended his point scoring streak to 5 games. Tyler Toffoli entered play
with a 6-game streak.
* Winnipeg entered the game on a 9-game winning
streak, the longest in franchise history. That would be extended to a new mark
after Mark Scheifele scored in overtime.
* Macklin Celebrini led all
Sharks with 3 shots on goal.
* Attempting to preserve their 3rd period
lead, the Sharks managed only 3 shots on goal in the final frame. Winnipeg
countered with 13 shots in the period, including Josh Morrissey's game-tying
goal.
* San Jose had 21 blocked shots, indicative of more long range
shots, than higher quality attempts from in tight. Winnipeg only had 9 blocked
shots. Winnipeg led San Jose in shots 35-18.
