Playing 24 hours after their thrilling
overtime win over Colorado, the Sharks turned in an about face in the energy
department, but they scratched out a point in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red
Wings in the shootout. Rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson scored his 1st career
NHL goal late in the game to get the Sharks to the overtime and shootout.
For Dickinson, it was a memorable night. His entry level contract
kicked into gear by virtue of him being in the lineup, his 10th appearance this
season. He responded by scoring a bi goal personally, but an even bigger goal
for San Jose who were lucky to earn the point in the standings.
San
Jose was also short a key forward in William Eklund, who was scratched for an
undisclosed injury.
If the goaltending plays an average game on
Tuesday, San Jose could have bagged 7 of 8 points on their now concluded 4-game
home stand.
The Sharks were sluggish to start things and a pair of
penalties didn't help matters. Saturday's star Philipp Kurashev was sent off
for hooking at 2:57, then the Sharks were forced to kill a penalty that was
either induced by players or coaches complaining to the on-ice officials from
the bench.
The Sharks dispatched both Red Wings chances to keep things
scoreless.
San Jose had an even tougher time keeping up with the Red
Wings in the 2nd period, but goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic kept his net tidy. The
Sharks skaters certainly made things interesting, with multiple puck handling
miscues that resulted in quality scoring chances for the Red Wings.
A
tripping penalty to Travis Hamonic setup the only power play chance of the
period for San Jose, but they did nothing with the opportunity.
Mason
Raymond finally broke the scoring seal with a top shelf wrist shot from the
right dot. Nedeljkovic was screened on the play and likley never saw the shot
as it clanked off the cross bar and into the Sharks goal.
San Jose
would finish the period with 4 shots and 9 total for the game by the end of the
2nd period. The Red Wings started Cam Talbot in net, but nobody may have
noticed since the Sharks never got the puck within any proximity of the
goaltender.
Jeff Skinner gave his teammates a jolt by scoring 49
seconds into the 3rd period. The forward gathered a Philipp Kurashev pass
skating up the left side, then flipped it past Talbot right as he drew even
with the crease.
Moritz Seider went high on Nedeljkovic at 10:16 to
help Detroit reclaim the lead. San Jose has been loosey-goosey with the puck in
their own end, allowing the Red Wings to hold the zone and eventually get the
shot from the high point that beat Nedeljkovic.
Seider made his mark later in the period by
agitating Macklin Celebrini with some rough stuff that resulted in a Sharks
power play, but Celebrini was also penalized which forced him to sit for 2
minutes.
Dickinson tied the game with 3:05 to play in regulation by
scoring his big goal. The rookie gathered a rebound off a Will Smith chance
while perched in the slot and wristed it home from 18 feet out.
In the
overtime period the Sharks immediately had a chance to end things when Kurashev
hit Alexander Wennberg with a long lead pass, but the angle of the pass made it
tough to control, allowing a Red Wings defender to get back.
Both teams
exchanged great chances in the extra period, but both goaltenders stood tall.
In the shootout, Celebrini, Will Smith, Kurashev and Tyler Toffoli all
missed their chances. Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, and Dylan Larkin missed before
James Van Riemsdyk beat Nedeljkovic for the winner.
Game
Notes: * The Hockey Fights Cancer initiative was the order of the
night at SAP Center.
* By virtue of his placement on the lineup card
for Sunday's game, the Sharks triggered defenseman Sam Dickinson's entry-level
contract. Dickinson still could return to junior if he were to struggle, but
his free agency timer has started.
* San Jose played Dickson out of
necessity. They had 7 defensemen in the lineup as a precaution for Timothy
Liljegren who took a puck to the face in Saturday's game. Liljegren did play,
but the lineup more meant the Sharks played with 11 forwards, essentially
negating the 4th line or any regular minutes.
* William Eklund was a
scratch as he sustained some sort of injury on Saturday. The Sharks placed Ryan
Reaves on the injured reserve and recalled Ethan Cardwell from the Barracuda.
Reaves was an injury scratch on Saturday.
* Philipp Kurashev extended
his point scoring streak to 5 games with the primary helper on the 3rd period
Jeff Skinner goal. He has 4 goals and 4 assists in that span.
