The Dallas Stars came calling on Saturday
afternoon at SAP Center after already beating the sharks twice this season.
With the season series wrapped up back in December, Dallas came to town looking
for point to hang in the race for the best record in the Western Conference.
The Sharks had other ideas. San Jose would battle back from another 3rd period
deficit to get the game to overtime where Tyler Toffoli cranked a shot on the
power play to take a 5-4 victory.
The Sharks power play was the story
of the game. They had 6 power play chances in the contest and they would
convert 4 of them for goals, including Toffoli's game winner 1:58 into the
extra period.
The Sharks veteran one timed a William Eklund setup form
the high slot, clanking his shot off the left post and into the Stars net for a
3-game winning streak.
Toffoli had two goals and an assist in the
contest. Adam Gaudette added a goal and an assist, with Macklin Celebrini
adding 3 assists.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 16 saves to earn his 7th win
of the season.
Rookie Justin Hryckowian gave the Stars the 1-0 lead
7:33 into the contest after picking Vincent Iorio pocket at the Stars blueline
and racing up on a breakaway chance that he finished with a shot that beat
Nedeljkovic glove side. Iorio had just received a pass from Mario Ferraro when
Hryckowian poked it up ice. He was off to the races at that point.
Nick Leddy showed why his minutes have been limited this season late in the
opening period. First, the defenseman got a stick under Jason Robertson armpit
that the Stars forward clamped down on to draw a delayed hooking penalty. Then
while the Start threw an extra skater on the ice for Leddy's infraction, Leddy
lost track of the puck which deflected behind him as has sat sitting on the
left post. Robertson scooped it up and lifted a shot past Nedeljkovic as Leddy
sat their motionless with his back to the puck.
San Jose out-shot
Dallas 11-9 in the opening period, but Dallas carried the 2-goal lead into the
1st intermission.
The Sharks woke up in the middle period, drawing 3
power play chances with some heavy skating and a motivated forecheck.
An Esa Lindell tripping penalty at 3:59 setup the Sharks first goal. Celebrini
collected a Toffoli pass on the right side and skated out of the right corner
before flipping the puck out toward the slot where Alexander Wennberg one timed
it home for the power play goal.
San Jose would score again on the
power play at 14:49 when Igor Chernyshov skated the puck to the bottom of the
right circle before dropping it back to the slot where Jeff Skinner redirected
it home. Skinner had defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin draped all over him, but he was
able to get his stick on the puck to redirect it past goaltender Casey Desmith.
The Sharks looked destined to reach the 2nd intermission tied, but a
lapse in the final minute would prove to be costly.
First a defensive lapse allowed the Stars to race up
ice 2-on-1, which finished with Kyle Capobianco snapping a shot under
Nedeljkovic' left arm to put the Stars back on top 3-2. Then defenseman Timothy
Liljegren fumbled a puck behind his own net and ended up taking tripping
penalty while stationary at the buzzer. That setup a full 2 minute power play
for Dallas to start the 3rd period.
Miko Rantanen potted a back
breaker at 7:53 after the Sharks filed to get a clear. After forcing the puck
to the front of the Sharks crease, Sam Steel tried putting a shot on net that
hit a skate and kicked up into the air where Rantanen swatted it out of the air
and past Nedeljkovic.
Lybushkin was sent off for hooking at 8:43 to
give the Sharks their 5th power play of the afternoon. The Sharks took full
advantage, potting their 3 goal of the day on the man advantage when Tyler
Toffoli swept home a put back chance after Celebrini bounced a shot off
DeSmith.
The goal was Toffoli's 12th of the season and 2nd in as many
games. It also extended his scoring streak to 3 straight games.
Adam
Gaudette helped the Sharks tie the game at 4-4 at the 15:01 mark on a redirect
off a Sam Dickinson shot/pass from the left point. Dickinson blasted the puck,
aiming wide right where Gaudette was parked. DeSmith was late to react as the
puck lifted shin high over the goaltender's butterflied pads.
The last
minute of regulation was wild. First Pavol Regenda had a chance on a play in
front of the net, but DeSmith stood tall. The Stars then worked the puck to the
Sharks end of the ice where Wyatt Johnstone had a chance to end it but
Nedeljkovic denied him.
Rantanen was called for holding 57 seconds
into the overtime to setup Toffoli's big goal.
Game
Notes: * Macklin Celebrini extended his point scoring streak to 13
games with his assist on the Alexander Wennberg goal, tying Nathan MacKinnon
for the 2nd longest streak by a teenager in NHL history. The streak is the
second longest in Sharks history behind only Rob Gaudreau's franchise mark.
* The game marked the first time the Sharks scored more than 2 power
play goals this season.
* Even with the 5 goals, San Jose was a -15
collectively in the game. Nick Leddy, Barclay Goodrow, Mario Ferraro, Zack
Ostapchuk and Ryan Reaves were all -2 in the game.
* The Sharks will
have a quick turnaround and square off against the Vegas Golden Knights on
Sunday night. The game marks the 2nd of 4 consecutive back-to-back games. They
will face Washington and Detroit next Thursday & Friday, then they face
Florida and Tampa Bay the following Monday and Tuesday.
* Will Smith
resumed practicing, but the Sharks have not provided a timeline his return.
Ryan Warsofsky did say that the forward is 5 to 6 days ahead of Philipp
Kurashev who is scheduled to represent Switzerland in the upcoming Olympics.
