Sharks rally to beat Maple Leafs 3-2
— The San Jose Sharks rallied from a two-goal third period deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday night.
Justin Braun and Joe Pavelski scored two minutes and seven seconds apart in the final period, Logan Couture landing the shootout winner for the Sharks, who were opening a four-game road trip.
Martin Jones was sturdy with 29 saves for the visitors and perfect in the shootout.
Zach Hyman and Auston Matthews scored for the Leafs, who have dropped two in a row and five of their last six (1-3-2). Frederik Andersen sharp with 40 saves.
Coming off their fourth loss in five games, the Leafs got on the board first, much of the early action surrounding Hyman.
With Matt Martin in the penalty box for boarding, Hyman got in front of a Brent Burns blast from the right point. The shot drilled the 24-year-old in the left knee and he remained down in pain immediately afterward, eventually helped off the ice by teammates Matt Hunwick and Morgan Rielly.
Hyman missed hardly a moment though, returning to score three minutes later.
He got his stick on Matthews’s quick shot from the left faceoff circle, the 19-year-old set up initially by William Nylander. Matthews picked up his 21st point in 28 games, Hyman scoring for the fifth time this season.
It was also the seventh point in the last eight games for the Toronto native, who’s become a favourite of head coach Mike Babcock for his tenacious play.
Matthews, meanwhile, remained an influence in the early going, coming up with two quality chances late in the first. The latter saw him give-and-go with Hyman, Matthews slipping around the defence before getting the puck back and then firing a backhand attempt on Jones.
Fresh after last starting on Saturday, a 32-save win in Boston, Andersen was every bit Jones’s equal. The best of his perfect 14save first period may have been on Mikkel Boedker short-handed. Boedker found himself open in front, fed by Toronto-area native Joel Ward from the corner, but he was ultimately denied by Andersen who sharply anticipated the play.