San Jose Sharks win an incredible game in Hockeytown over the Red Wings
By Conor Power
This game started well for the Sharks. Despite there being no goals in the first period, San Jose looked sharp. When they got the chance to put the puck in the net, they just lacked the finish. Outshooting the Red WIngs 12-7 in the first was a strong period for a team that seemed to have a ton of confidence coming off the back of that come-from-behind victory over the New York Islanders a few days ago. When things did go sideways, like when Patrick Kane was alone, Mackenzie Blackwood did a fantastic job keeping the Sharks in the game.
In the second period, about halfway through the game, the Detroit Red Wings would take the lead. Nico Sturm lost the faceoff and Mario Ferraro couldn't dig the puck out of his skates as Klim Kostin was able to steal the loose puck and bury it past Mackenzie Blackwood to make it a 1-0 lead against the flow of the game. San Jose had wasted several big chances prior to that goal, and the wastefulness was on display.
Detroit would not wait too long to make it 2-0. Michael Rasmussen tipped a shot from the boards from Daniel Sprong, and the Sharks started to feel the pressure of this explosive Red Wings offense. San Jose was starting to give up more and more as the
Detroit made it 3-0 quickly as another point shot from Ben Chiarot was deflected by Michael Rasmussen again. He tipped it home, and the Sharks' collapse was set in stone. David Quinn had to call his timeout to allow his team to gather their emotions. But the floodgates had seemingly opened in Detroit, and the Red Wings were going to keep pouring it onto the San Jose Sharks.
Lucas Raymond would make it 4-0 Red Wings with the Red Wings third goal in 39 seconds. San Jose just does not defend the rush properly, and it allows the Red Wings to walk in and take a commanding lead. This would spell the end of the night for Mackenzie Blackwood as Kaapo Kahkonen came in to try to wake the team up. To pour salt into the wound, the Sharks were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct from Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Quickly, the Sharks would respond with a short-handed goal. Tomas Hertl would carry the puck up the ice on a 2-on-1, forcing Shayne Gostisbehere to defend the pass. Hertl opts for the shot, and the Red Wings netminder could not keep it out, breaking the shutout bid and allowing the Sharks to build some momentum. It was a good finish, and the Sharks tried to build from here.
San Jose then grabbed another goal on the same penalty kill. Fabian Zetterlund rushed up the ice short-handed and cleanly beat Ville Husso. With the puck in the net, it became a 4-2 game with about 5 minutes left in the second period, and that penalty from Vlasic seemed to have woken the team up. An elder statesman barking enough to get a penalty seemed to wake the kids up.
It continued as just as the Vlasic penalty expired, and the Sharks would cut the lead again. A beautiful stretch pass would let the Sharks break into the offensive zone. A cross-crease pass to Nico Sturm would allow the boys in teal to continue fighting in this one. With Kahkonen between the pipes and just a single goal now being the difference, San Jose had all the momentum in the game. Now, it was about knotting this game up.
Nico Sturm, step up. A beautiful give-and-go around the last Detroit defenseman would allow the Sharks center to tap the puck in around Ville Husso, and a game that was 4-0 Red Wings is now 4-4, and we aren't even at the end of the second period. This was a scoreless game after one. What a second period it was for the entertainment of the fans. This third period would be a big one for David Quinn's players.
Dylan Larkin would restore the Red Wings lead. Lucas Raymond would receive a pass from Fabbri and drop it back to the Red Wings captain, who fired the puck past Kaapo Kahkonen. No chance for the Finnish netminder, but the Sharks now had to try and find a way to fight back and knot this game up at five before it got out of hand again. With less than 7 minutes left, it was not going to be an easy task.
A blast from the point from Mikael Granlund would rebound off the backboard behind the net and at the side of the net, Tomas Hertl tapped the puck home to tie the game up a 5 in one of the most ludocrist games I;ve seen in my life. Less than two minutes left and the Sharks are going toe-to-toe with one of the NHL's offensive juggernauts. After the mini-collapse the Sharks had in the second, this was an incredible comeback.
In overtime, the Sharks would do it again. Fabian Zetterlund would break up the ice and away from Dylan Larkin who was trying to hold the stick of the Sharks forward. Zetterlund tapped it over to Mikael Granlund, and he slapped the puck home to win the game for the San Jose Sharks, who are now 3-2 on this road trip. Through the cities of New York, Boston, and Detroit, the Sharks are winning more often than not.