Sharks back in the game
San Jose snaps losing streak on ‘crazy’ night
There were plenty of reasons for the San Jose Sharks to be motivated on Tuesday night against the host Calgary Flames.
Winless in November. Losers of five straight, four coming after regulation play. And, as the NHL’s best team through October, the visitors were also fresh off a 5-4 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
So, no one should have been surprised to see the Sharks fly out of the gates, score with 1:32 on the board (then, again, with 55.3 seconds left in the opening period), out-shoot the Flames 34-12 in regulation play, and — when Calgary miraculously bounced back to tie the game in the third — seal a 3-2 overtime win.
“It was a crazy one tonight, but we needed two points,” said forward Joe Thornton, who had two assists on the night for the 11-2-5 Sharks. “We felt comfortable. Then, all of a sudden — boom, boom — they’re right back in the game. We were still a confident group and we were playing good all night.
“The coaches just said, ‘Stay with it. We’ll be fine.’ And we did.”
They had looked like they were going to give the Flames the knockout punch in the third period, too, after out-blasting them 17-3 and 11-3 after two frames.
And, if it hadn’t been for Calgary’s Swiss saviour Reto Berra in net, the Sharks would have tallied more than just goals from Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau (who, for the record, scored while Matt Stajan was off for interference with 1:02 remaining in the first period).
“Didn’t give them anything, really,” said Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle. “We were guilty of playing a little too safe and it cost us a couple goals.
“But we got a huge second point which we haven’t managed to do in five or six matches.”
Calgary received a huge boost from their power play which, previously, had been 0-for-30. With Justin Braun off for goaltender interference — a “phantom call” according to Boyle — rookie pivot Sean Monahan who won a clean draw from Thornton and back to Kris Russell who blasted a slapshot at the halfway mark of the third period.
Then, Thornton wound up hanging his head as the Flames knotted the game 2-2 at his expense in the third period. First, Calgary defenceman Chris Butler fired a shot — a bounce that came directly off Thornton’s skate. Then, Butler’s shot hit his stick which bounced out to a perfectly placed Mike Cammalleri for the tying goal.
An unfortunate chain of events according to the 34-year-old veteran of 1,142 games. But no harm, no foul, as Thornton managed to help net the winner — rifling a shot at Berra that was deflected by Brad Stuart 1:13 into overtime.
“I kind of blocked it and it was one of those where it just funnels in front of the net and Cammy just threw it five-hole,” Thornton said. “We’ve been going to overtime and shootouts, it seems like every night. To finally win one is huge for this group.
“We played well (Tuesday). Two hiccups but we played well.”
Overall, the Sharks had only given up 12 shots to the Flames in regulation and another one — a Russell blast off goalie Alex Stalock’s mask — in overtime.
That, of course, pleased San Jose head coach Todd McLellan. But the fact the game was sent into overtime, after his group had been so dominant after 40 minutes?
“A bit of a concern,” McLellan said. “I thought the beginning of the second and the beginning of the third, it took us a little time to re-establish our game. We made a few soft plays that gave them some energy.
“The penalty didn’t help us at all.” Go on ... “You know what? If I had a red flag, I’d throw it as far as I could,” he said. “I think that’s a good case for that type of situation. I’m sure everyone had a chance to watch it again. I think the official knows he erred on it, so we’ll leave it at that.”
McLellan gave his goaltender credit. Stalock, San Jose’s fourthround (112th) overall pick from 2005, was playing only his fifth career NHL game and had taken over for Antti Niemi who is first in the NHL in minutes played by a goaltender.
And, really, the 26-year-old deserved a shout-out — for not falling asleep, at least.
“That’s a hard game to play in,” McLellan said. “I think he had six shots on goal after two periods. It’s hard to play in that type of game. But he stood his ground and played very well.”