San Jose Sharks Hold Off Detroit In See-Saw Battle

Mar 26, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Matt Nieto (83) celebrates with the bench after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings typically play tight, close games when these two former rivals square off. On Thursday night, the two teams played a highly entertaining game that was close again, but much more wide open. San Jose was able to outlast Detroit in a high scoring affair as the Sharks held on for a 6-4 victory Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.

The Sharks didn’t take long to strike as Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot found its way past Jimmy Howard for his ninth goal of the year after a terrible reverse pass by Jonathan Ericsson went straight to Melker Karlsson who fed Vlasic at the point just 19 seconds into the game.

San Jose built upon their early lead as Chris Tierney found Matt Nieto all alone in front and his shot squirted through Howard for his eighth goal of the season. Nieto and Tierney both have improved as the year has wore on and it’s nice to see some late chemistry beginning to develop between the two youngsters.

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Unfortunately, the Sharks early work would all be undone in the span of two minutes and 30 seconds. Following a mad scramble in front of goaltender Antti Niemi, the puck would find its way into the back of the net, and Tomas Jurco would get credit for his third goal of the campaign just 50 seconds after the Sharks went up 2-0.

The Red Wings would even things up in a back-and-forth first period as Tomas Tatar would deposit his team-leading 27th goal of the season after a turnover from Tierney. Despite the mistake, Tierney would respond as his wraparound attempt would carom in off Joakim Andersson to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.

The fast pace first period would lead Mike Babcock to make a change in goal as Petr Mrazek replaced Howard. Howard has struggled mightily the past two games allowing eight goals on the last 32 shots he’s faced.

After a furious start to the game, things would settle down in the second period. Each team would trade penalty kills and the Sharks penalty kill would make a huge impact in this one. Detroit entered this matchup with the number one power play unit in the league at 24.9 percent, but San Jose was able to kill off all four attempts on the night.

Heading into the final frame, San Jose must have been reminded about their recent struggles closing out games. Last time out, the Sharks took a 2-1 lead into the third period only to see the Ottawa Senators score four unanswered goals to rout San Jose 5-2. Also, in their only other meeting this season, Detroit scored two late goals to steal a victory in San Jose.

The third period resembled the wide open scoring barrage of the first period. San Jose would score first in the early moments as Logan Couture would rip one past Mrazek just 31 seconds into the third. Detroit would answer back as Stephen Weiss would cut the deficit back to one more than three minutes later.

Not to be outdone, Patrick Marleau would snap home his 16th of the season to restore the San Jose advantage to two at the 4:56 mark. Again, Detroit would not allow the Sharks to pull away as Henrik Zetterberg’s 17th of the season would make it a one-goal game once more. In the end, San Jose was able to hold off the Detroit surge as Marleau would add his second of the night on an empty-netter to seal the victory.

It was a pleasant sighting to see the Sharks explode offensively after two devastating defeats. While San Jose’s defense still leaves plenty to be desired, the offense picked up the slack and it was a positive sign to see Couture and Marleau play well.

At this point in the season, it’s all about closing strong and playing the right way as the Sharks look to establish an identity for next year. On this night, San Jose can feel good about lighting the lamp six times against a playoff opponent and finding a way to win.