Well, it wasn’t pretty but it sure was effective, and San Jose Sharks fans and players will take the two points. San Jose kicked off their longest road trip of the season by visiting the Detroit Red Wings, and the Sharks emerged with a 3-2 victory behind the strong play of goaltender Martin Jones.
Jones, who struggled on San Jose’s recent home stand where he was pulled twice, stood tall in making 26 saves on the night as his teammates struggled to generate many looks on Jimmy Howard. However, the Sharks were able to make the most of their chances as Melker Karlsson, Matt Nieto and Joe Pavelski all found the back of the net for San Jose.
Once again, the Sharks found themselves in an early hole for the seventh time in eight games. Tomas Tatar took a feed from rookie Dylan Larkin and snapped one far side past Jones to give Detroit a 1-0 lead just 3:13 into the game. Speaking of Larkin, he’s going to be a really good player as his speed and creativity was noticeable all night in generating chances for the Red Wings.
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San Jose was able to answer back behind the reunited trio of Joe Thornton, Pavelski and Karlsson. In playing in only his second game of the season, Karlsson was able to jam one past Howard on the far side for his first goal since last March.
The Sharks were able to take a lead into the intermission as Matt Nieto followed up his wraparound attempt and fired one upstairs to give San Jose a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
The captain extended the Sharks advantage at the midway point of the second period, perfectly redirecting Paul Martin’s shot from the left point for his ninth goal of the season, and team-leading fourth game-winning goal this year. Pavelski is a magician on tips in front and this was another perfect example.
While San Jose did allow a late goal to Detroit, the Sharks were able to leave the Motor City with the necessary two points, where San Jose has fared very well of late (via Darin Stephens).
Sharks are 13-3-1 in their last 17 regular season meetings with the Red Wings, 8-1-0 in last 9 at Detroit (won 4 straight here)
— Darin Stephens (@SharksStats) November 14, 2015
While it definitely wasn’t the Sharks best effort of the year, San Jose managed to find a way to win which is all that matters. Now, they won’t be making any sort of living with only 14 shots on goal, but the Sharks played a solid enough defensive game.
Next: Sharks Looking To Gel On Upcoming Trip
It’s a good start to the road trip for a San Jose team looking to find some consistency and confidence. The next task will be stringing together a pair of victories which they can do when they take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight.