I've waited to say it all season: The San Jose Sharks win their first game of the season. This is not a drill; the Sharks have their first win of the year in their 10th attempt. If you're going to win a game, this is the fashion in which to do it. A roaring comeback at the Delta Center, capped off by an overtime winner from Alex Wennberg, gets the Sharks into the win column for the first time.
However, it was not a great start. Utah hit the bar moments before they broke the ice. San Jose cleared the puck to center ice, but the Hockey Club reorganized and came again. A dump into the corner tipped off Luke Kunin's stick, but Jake Walman could not clear it. Clayton Keller picked it up and wired a pass into the slot for Dylan Guenther, and it's a 1-0 Utah lead early.
Utah made it two before the end of the period. A heavy shot from the point caught Mackenzie Blackwood up high and went straight into the air. With the netminder unable to track the puck, it dropped in the low slot, where Mattias Maccelli won the race and fired it home to double the lead for the home team. Some may blame Blackwood for not controlling the initial shot, but the defense needed to win the race to the rebound.
San Jose got one back in the second period as a two-on-one developed. A stunning chip play by Danil Gushchin off a pass from Henry Thrun lets Fabian Zetterlund break into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1. Zetterlund takes the puck to the net, using Wennberg as a decoy to force a defender to be honest, and a backhand-forehand move lets Zetterlund get the Sharks on the board.
Utah struck again as they swarmed. Eventually, a point shot from Ian Cole stayed low, forcing Blackwood to try to kick the puck away. He's unable to control it, and Marcella is on the doorstep again to put the loose puck over the pads of the former New Jersey Devils netminder, and he grabs his second goal of the night to restore the two-goal lead for Utah.
Before the end of the second period, Utah struck again. Another point shot from Mikhail Sergachev went through the entire population of Salt Lake City in front of Mackenzie Blackwood, who didn't see a thing. Whether it was deflected or not, Blackwood had no chance, and the Sharks had no choice but to throw up a prayer and ask for a miracle. Thankfully, the hockey gods answered in the third period.
A faceoff win in the Utah zone let the Sharks go around the horn. Walman fires over to Mikael Granlund; Granlund's shot is deflected by Zetterlund out in front. Although Connor Ingram is equal to the first shot, he doesn't have much hope after Zetterlund knocks it down as the man who got the Sharks on the board continues the fight back. It's 4-2, and the Sharks are not rolling over tonight.
With less than five minutes to go, San Jose broke back again. With the goaltender on the bench, the Sharks win the faceoff in the Utah zone. William Eklund wins it back to Walman, Walman moves it over to Mikael Granlund, and the Sharks' top scorer picks the corner from the blue line to make it a one-goal game. Last season, even though they lost a lot, the Sharks had a couple of miracle comebacks. Could they do it again?
In the final three minutes, the Sharks needed a goal. They required a big-time scorer to step forward. With Blackwood still on the bench, the Sharks do the same thing. Alex Wennberg wins the faceoff back to Walman. Walman's shot is blocked, but the big-name free-agent addition makes his mark. Tyler Toffoli grips it and rips it home past Ingram, and the hockey gods have answered the prayers of the Sharks.
In overtime, the Sharks got a power play. A faceoff win got the puck back to Mikael Granlund at the point. Granlund's shot goes up over the net but bounces awkwardly off the back glass. It trickles to the side of the net, where Alex Wennberg smacks the rebound home, and the San Jose Sharks win. The Sharks are no longer winless and get two points in the standings.