San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl celebrates scoring an overtime goal against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Mar 10, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Mary Walsh
LOS ANGELES- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime Thursday. Brent Burns, Nick Bonino, Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. Zach Sawchenko made 33 saves for his first NHL win. Phillip Danault, Andreas Athanasiou and Trevor Moore scored for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves in the loss.
Thursday saw the return of Erik Karlsson, Jonathan Dahlen and Jaycob Megna. Karlsson had two assists in 25:47 of ice time. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:
“Erik was flying tonight. You could tell he was happy to be back and he was full of energy. I think our team looked like that too. You know, you get Megs and Karly back there, settle things down. You know, we’re not running around as much in our own end, and we’re spending more time in the other team’s end. So, it’s nice to sort of get some guys back from injury and look like a real team out there.”
The Sharks power play scored at 2:39 when Erik Karlsson made a pass to Brent Burns in the middle of blue line. Burns’ one-timer sent the puck in and out before you could blink. Karlsson and Couture got the assists.
Phillip Danault tied it up at 5:58. Sawchenko went to catch the puck on the initial shot but it bounced out of his glove. By then, he was out of position and when Danault found the puck, he had an open net to shoot at. Assists went to Trevor Moore and Andreas Athanasiou.
Athanasiou scored to give the Kings a lead eight seconds later. He took the shot from above the circle without seeming to look where he was shooting and it beat Sawchenko on the glove side. Assists went to Moore and Olli Maatta.
Moore made it 3-1 at 10:40 of the second period with a shorthanded goal. Danault and Moore played a little catch in the Sharks zone before Moore took the shot from the slot.
Nick Bonino trimmed the Kings lead at 12:13 with a power play goal. Jonathan Dahlen took a shot from inside the circle. Quick stopped it but it bounced over him and into the blue paint, where Bonino was able to nudge it over the line. Assists went to Dahlen and Jacob Middleton.
Alexander Barabanov tied it up at 1:21 of the third period. Erik Karlsson took a quick shot from up at the blue line and Barabanov managed to deflect it just as he arrived in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.
Tomas Hertl scored the game winner at 1:15 of overtime. Hertl carried the puck over the line, across the ice and behind the net. When Hertl went past the net, Quick dove for the puck but missed it and Hertl carried on, around behind the net to score with a backhand. It was his first goal in 13 games. Assists went to Barabanov and Burns.
The shot count for the game was close, 36-30 Kings. In each period, the Sharks were within three shots of their opponent, a significant improvement over recent games. The Sharks won 53% of the face-offs.
The Sharks next play on Saturday at home, at 6:30 PM PT against the Kings again.
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