Logan Couture's Comeback inspires San Jose Sharks to 5-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks
By Conor Power
The San Jose Sharks have yet another win on the season. With Logan Couture finally back on the ice, the team welcomed him to the lineup with two points over the Orange County rival Anaheim Ducks. It was another difficult game, but it was two points in the standings at the end of the day, and a huge feel good story for a team that needs it.
It started in a manor that seems to sum up the Sharks season. The puck was fired in deep by Nikita Okhotiuk, and Fabian Zetterlund was able to gather the loose puck. He tried to fire it around the boards, but it hit the skate of the referee and bounced out in front to Filip Zadina who buried it! However, Ryan Carpenter entered the zone early, and the Anaheim Ducks were able to successfully challenge the call to remove the fotunate bounce from the board.
The Sharks would then get the first goal of the game, as the two senior citizens of the organization combined. Logan Couture coming back from his injury that has kept him out all season allowed him to set up a defenseman that has joined the rush, That was Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and the elder statesmen of the team were able to give the Sharks the lead. It was a storybook start for team teal.
The Anaheim Ducks found a way to score but not score at the same time. A bad turnover from Mackenzie Blackwood allowed the Ducks to take possession and fire it at the net. It deflected of Okhotiuk, and towards the net. There was no conclusive evidence either way that the puck crossed the goal line, as Blackwood seemed to cover the net on the exact frame that the puck may have crossed the goal line. In the end, it was was awarded, and credited to Jackson Lacombe. His first in the NHL, of course. San Jose led for all of 15 seconds.
San Jose got the lead back as the Sharks kept the puck in the zone as Tomas Hertl was able to cut a clear out. He was able to fight through several Ducks players, and find another defenseman streaing into the back post as it was Kyle Burroughs grabbing his first goal as a Shark, and the team in teal were back in front. It was now a case of not giving it away again.
Fabian Zetterlund was able to add to the Sharks lead as the puck was dumped up the ice. He was just able to shrug off the checking Duck that was LaCombe. This created a two-on-one, and Zetterlund was able to just rip it home. It was now a 3-1 Sharks lead, and they now just had to build on it. It was a strong offensive display for the team in teal.
Adam Henrique decided that the Sharks were not allowed fun. A goal mouth scramble resulted in the puck hitting the end boards, and Blackwood getting turned around. As the puck bounced back, Henrique flipped it up and past the Sharks netminder to make it a 3-2 lead at the end of the second period, and it means that this third period is going to be much closer than it needs to be.
Jan Rutta would pick up a puck at the right point, and blast it onto the net from distance. Thanks to the screen in front, it had a chance of solving John Gibson in the Blueshirts net. It went up and over the shoulder for the fours Sharks goal of the game. An offensive outburst by Sharks standards, and it looked like the two points were coming for the team in teal tonight. That said, there was plenty of time left.
On the penalty kill, the Sharks would lose the offensive zone faceoff allowing the Ducks to rim it around the boards over to Troy Terry. He was able to find a seam pass over to Mason McTavish, and the Ducks were back within one. This was going to be a nail bitter down to the finish, as the Sharks refused to make anything easy for themselves.
However, Tomas Hertl would hit the empty net, and the Sharks would welcome back both Logan Couture and Nico Sturm to the lineup with two points. In a season where winning had not been easy for the team, this could be huge for building confidence. Bringing back the captain and adding veterans to this lineup will improve the roster, and it'll make this team more competitive, as we saw tonight.