Sharks Beat Red Wings 3-2 in OT; Fifth win out of last eight for SJ

San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) gets the puck past Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39) as Nick Leddy (2) defends for the game winning goal in overtime at the SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Jan 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime in San Jose on Tuesday. Timo Meier, Jeffrey Viel and Logan Couture scored for San Jose. Adin Hill made 17 saves for the win. Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Leddy scored for Detroit and Alex Nedeljkovic made 37 saves in the loss.

The Sharks played Red Wings just a week ago in Detroit, and lost 6-2. That was the game when Jacob Middleton was injured in a hit from Givani Smith. The Sharks responded by giving up two short-handed goals in the ensuing five minute major. Early in the first period on Tuesday, Jeffrey Viel and Givani Smith fought and went to the box.

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 14:24 with a power play goal from Timo Meier. Jonathan Dahlen carried the puck almost to the goal line before making a backhand pass, through traffic, across the slot to Timo Meier right in front of the goal. Nedeljkovic could not get across in time to stop Meier’s 15th goal of the season. Assists went to Dahlen and Brent Burns.

The Sharks had two power plays in the first period, and had three shots and the goal. Their penalty kill gave up no shots in their one kill.

The Red Wings tied it at 19:38 of the second period, with a two man advantage. Filip Hronek sent the puck to the net from the blue line and Tyler Bertuzzi deflected it in. Assists went to Hronek and Mortiz Seider.

In the second period, the Sharks had one power play and got two shots. Their three-man penalty kill gave up the one shot that went in the net.

The Red Wings took the lead at 1:48 of the third with a goal from Nick Leddy, who carried the puck from one end of the ice to the other and then took a shot around Ryan Merkley. The puck went over Hill’s shoulder for Leddy’s first NHL goal. Assists went to Hronek and Bertuzzi.

Jeffrey Viel tied it back up at 3:18. Viel was chasing the puck to the net when he lost his footing with some help from a defender. He ended up sliding into the net himself and making some contact with the goaltender. An assist went to Brent Burns.

The Sharks pressed hard in the final minutes of the period, but Nedeljkovic held his ground and the game went to overtime.

Logan Couture scored with the Sharks’ only overtime shot. Brent Burns took a shot from the left side of the net and the puck went under the goaltender, coming to rest just above the goal line. Logan Couture was falling down on the other side of the net after fighting for space. He was able to reach across with his stick and nudge the puck over the line. Assists went to Burns and Dahlen.

After a lengthy review in Toronto, the goal was allowed. The review was for off-side and may have also been about the octopus that was thrown onto the ice during play.

The Sharks out-shot the Red Wings 40-19, and did so in each period, 12-6 in the first, 14-6 in the second and 13-6 in the third. The Sharks also led in the face-off circle, winning 52% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, in San Jose against the New York Rangers at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Red Wings 6-2

San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) and Detroit Red Wings center Robby Fabbri (14) scramble for the puck at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tue Jan 4, 2022 (AP New photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks (17-16-1) fell 6-2 to the Red Wings (16-15-3) in Detroit on Tuesday. Pius Suter (2), Tyler Bertuzzi (2), Dylan Larkin, and Robby Fabbri scored for Detroit. Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for the win. Jasper Weatherby and Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 20 saves on 24 shots in the first two periods, and Adin Hill made 5 saves on 7 shots in the third.

The Sharks have given up six or more goals in three of their last four games. In two of those, they scored five or more goals, but the Sharks’ defensive game is struggling. After the game, Brent Burns talked about the power play and the game in general: “It’s just gotta be better. At the end of the day you’ve gotta figure it out, put the next guy in a good spot, you gotta start executing, doing things on the same page. Obviously it’s not good enough.”

Logan Couture and Lane Pederson on the COVID-19 list, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic out as a healthy scratch, the Sharks were short-handed even before they lost Jacob Middleton to injury in the first period. Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the absence of key players and how it may be undermining the team’s confidence:

“You worry about team confidence. That’s what we need to get back here. You know, I think losing [Couture], and not having Mario [Ferraro], and having [Rudolfs Balcers] out for a while, we’re thin, we’re a little bit thin. Some teams can miss three or four players and they don’t miss a beat. And they’re better teams in the league, they’re elite teams. We’re not and that means we’ve got to come together and play a little smarter and a little harder.”

At 13:02 of the first, Tyler Bertuzzi threw the puck to the net from below the goal line. It went off of James Reimer’s stick and into the net. Assists went to Gustav Lindstrom and Dylan Larkin.

Late in the period, Red Wings forward Givani Smith received a five minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton. Middleton left the ice and did not return to the game.

The Sharks started the second period with more than three minutes left on the power play. Instead of scoring, they gave up two short-handed goals. Prior to the game, the Red Wings had gone 100 games without a short-handed goal.

Pius Suter scored the first, after breaking away while Alexander Barabanov tried to chase him down from the other side of the ice.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored his second of the game less than 40 seconds later, also short-handed. This time, the Red Wings left the Sharks power play behind with a two-on-one. Assists went to Carter Rowney and Moritz Seider.

Jasper Weatherby got one back at 4:03. Weatherby deflected a Brent Burns shot while cutting through in front of the net. Assists went to Burns and Jeffrey Viel.

Pius Suter scored his second of the game at 9:32. Michael Rasmussen set him up with a back hand from the goal line and Suter’s quick shot beat Reimer on the glove side. Assists went to Rasmussen and Nick Leddy.

The Sharks put Adin Hill in net to start the third period.

Alexander Barabanov had a Tomas Hertl shot go off of his skate at 1:40 of the third, for his sixth goal of the season.

A couple of minutes later, Dylan Larkin skated around the Sharks defense and shot the puck past Adin Hill for his 16th goal of the season. Assists went to Lucas Raymond and Gustav Lindstrom.

Robby Fabbri scored his ninth of the season at 5:01. He picked off a Brent Burns pass and shot it right into the far side of the net.

Midway through the third, a scrum erupted in front of the Detroit net, ending with two more game misconducts, one to Jeffrey Viel and one to Tyler Bertuzzi. They also received roughing minors, creating two minutes of four-on-four.

The Sharks were out-shot by the Red Wings 31-26. The Sharks prevailed in the face-off circle, winning 52% of the draws. It was Burns’ 631st consecutive game.

The Sharks’ next game will be Thursday in Buffalo against the Sabres at 4:00 PM PT.