Power-play drought ends just in time for Sharks
SAN JOSE » There wasn’t a wild celebration when Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker scored a power play goal late in the third period of Thursday’s game with the St. Louis Blues.
Instead, as Boedker skated to the bench seconds after he ended the Sharks’ longest- ever power play drought, he flashed more of a wry, knowing smile.
Boedker’s goal with themanad- vantage with 7:48 to go in regulation time was also the game-winner, as the Sharks earned a workmanlike 2-0win over the Blues for their third victory in four games.
“Honestly, I didn’t see it go (in),” Boedker said. “I heard the ping off the post, so Iwas like, ‘ah, no.’ And then I just saw (Joonas Donskoi) with his hands in the air, and I was ‘Alright, it went in.’ That was why I didn’t celebrate more than I did.”
Donskoi and Dylan DeMelo both has assists on the goal, which ended a 0-for-29 scoreless streak with the man advantage that dated back to Feb. 8, when the Sharks scored two power play goals against the Vegas Golden Knights.
“I think (reporters) talk about it a little bit. We don’t seemto focus on it,” Boedker said when asked about ending the streak. “Obvi-
ously, we know the opportunity that we missed. I think we were 0-for-28. We know that. We know what’s going on. It’s just a matter of sticking with it. We have all-star players in this group that’s going to take us out of the hole.”
The Sharks allowed a season-low 16 shots, including two in the third period. All were stopped by goalie Martin Jones as he earned his fourth shutout of the season tohelp the Sharks move back into second place in the Pacific Division. Tomas Hertl added an empty-net goal with 14.1 seconds left in the third period.
Starting with Wednesday’s practice, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer moved Kevin Labanc to the top unit with Logan Couture, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane.
The second unit had Hertl, Donskoi, Boedker, Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
“It’s nice to get the streak out of the way,” DeBoer said of the power play drought. “I thought we had a couple real good looks earlier in the first. I felt confident that it was going to come. I didn’t feel it was irreparably broken at any point during the streak, but it’s nice to get one.”
Thursday’s game represented another opportunity for the Sharks on their homestand to solidify their playoff footing against a team that’s been struggling of late.
The Blues entered the game with just one win in their last nine games. They entered Feb. 11 alone in third place in the Central Division with 71 points, and came into Thursday in sixth place with 75 points, still just two points back of the second wild card spot in theWestern Conference.
The Sharks started their homestand with lopsided wins over also-rans Edmonton and Chicago to get to 79 points, and are coming off of a 4-2 loss to Columbus on Sunday.
“It wasn’t an easy game,” DeBoer said. “I thought St. Louis battled hard. (Blues goalie Jake Allen) made some big saves. What I liked was our resiliency. We stuck with it, didn’t try to force it and knew that if we stayed with it long enough that it would come and eventually we were rewarded.”
The Sharks had one opportunity with the man advantage in the first two periods Thursday, and managed two shots on goalwith Blues defenseman Vince Dunn in the penalty box for hooking early in the second period.
Boedker may have had the Sharks’ best chance to score in the second period. With the teams at even strength, a loose puck came out to himright in front of the Blues’ crease, but he wasn’t able to get a decent shot away. A rebound try by Hertl was stopped by Allen.
“I didn’t see it come out until the last second, and it kind of scooted just left of the net,” Boedker said. “So, when you get those, you think the puck is coming my way tonight and you just have to stick with it. When the chance like the one on the power play came along, you just have to make sure you finish.”
• ForwardMelkerKarlsson was scratched from Thursday’s game. Karlsson did not practice either Tuesday or Wednesday. Marcus Sorensen took Karlsson’s spot on the fourth line alongside center Eric Fehr and winger Barclay Goodrow.
• Carter Hutton suffered a neck injury Thursday morning, so the Blues signed Palo Alto native Ben Wexler to serve as the emergency backup goalie. Wex- ler, 23, played three years for the University of Illinois from 2014-2017. The Blues also recalled goaltender Ville Husso from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL under emergency conditions, but Husso was not able to get to Thursday’s game in time. Hence, Wexler was brought in.
• Members of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox CathedralChurch sang theAmerican national anthemThursday night