The Sharks kept things rolling at home,
beating the Montreal Canadiens in a wild 7-5 game at SAP Center on Tuesday
night. Recently acquired forward Kiefer Sherwood potted his first goal as a
Shark and it turned out to be a big one. Sherwood broke a 5-5 tie with 3:26
left in regulation after the Sharks blew a 5-2 lead in the final period.
Macklin Celebrini scored a goal and added 3 assists to pace the Sharks.
The Sharks young core was pivotal in the win. In addition to
Celebrini's 4 point night, Will Smith and Collin Graf recorded a pair of
points, and Michael Misa added a goal in the victory.
Oliver Kapanen
staked the Canadiens to a 1-0 lead 6:18 into the contest on an odd deflection.
Kapanen carried the puck up the left side before snapping a shot that with John
Klingberg between him and the goal. Klingberg got a stick blade on the shot,
but it knuckled on Yaroslav Askarov.
Graf was moved up to the top line
and it paid dividends later in the period. The young forward got between
defenseman Kaiden Guhle and the net before Will Smith made a feed to the slot.
Graf received the pass then flipped it past goaltender Jakub Dobes for his 16th
goal of the season.
The Canadiens reclaimed the lead 5:09 into the 2nd
period after Phillip Danault tipped a Mike Matheson shot from the point.
Askarov made a trip of spectacular saves to keep the Sharks within
striking distance. Cole Caufield had a wide open net on the left side before
the Sharks netminder slid to his right to make a nifty glove save.
Misa re-tied the game at 10:28 after the Sharks forced the issue around the
Canadiens crease. Dobes would send the puck up the slot right as Misa came
crashing in on net. The Sharks forward lifted a shot that found twine for his
5th goal of the season.
San Jose kicked into high gear with 2 minutes
left in the period. First Celebrini scooped up a loose puck at center ice
before side stepping two defenders than skating into the Canadiens zone and
snapping a shot through Matheson for his 30th goal of the season.
Kiefer Sherwood recorded his first point as a Shark 25 seconds later after he
stripped Kirby Dach of the puck with a strong forecheck in the right corner.
The newly acquired Sharks forward then was able to send the puck to the slot as
he was falling to the ice, finding Alexander Wennberg who put it past Dobes for
the 4-2 lead.
The game got livelier and the goals followed early
in the 3rd period. Sherwood drew the ire of the Canadiens with a swipe at a
puck that was in Dobes glove, inciting a reaction from Josh Anderson and Jayden
Struble, which netted the Sharks a power play.
Smith converted his
19th goal of the season on the ensuing power play to give the Sharks a 5-2
lead. Montreal didn't just fold, but rather cut the Sharks lead to a single
goal with a pair of quick goals.
Ivan Demidov scored at 5:02 on a
power play chance after Vincent Desharnais was called for cross checking after
he was retaliating for a hit on Sam Dickinson. Demidov converted his 13 of the
season to make it 5-3.
Alex Newhook than scored a goal that Askarov
would prefer to redo 18 seconds after Demidov's tally. Newhook got a shot off
from the slot that Askarov appeared to glove, but the netminder couldn't wrap
the leather to squeeze making it a 5-4 game.
Newhook would tie the
game at 5-5 at 10:56 with another power play goal after Sam Dickinson was sent
off for tripping. The call on Dickinson was unfortunate as Demidov stepped on
the Shark defenseman's stick blade.
The Sharks skated on a 4th power
play of the night with 4:57 left in regulation after Montreal was called for
too many men. The Canadiens responded with a pair of shorthanded chances that
should have spelled disaster had Askarov risen to the occasion.
Sherwood would work his magic with 3:26 left in regulation.
The
Canadiens pulled Dobes in the final minute, which ramped up the blood pressures
in the building. Montreal put several shots in Askarov's direction but the
defense buckled down.
Adam Gaudette finally put the final nail in the
Canadiens coffin with an empty net goal with 4 seconds left.
Game
Notes: * Michael Misa extended his goal scoring streak to 3
straight games with his 2nd period tally. The 19-year-old forward has points in
his last 4 straight games.
* Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith extended
their point scoring streaks to 3 games with assists on Collin Graf's 1st period
goal. William Eklund joined the party by assisting on Misa's 2nd period
goal
* The Canadiens had several execs in attendance as the NHL trade
deadline approaches. Patrick Laine is likely to be moved, as he is practicing
with the team but has not been formally removed form the injured reserve.
* Celebrini recorded a game-high 7 shots in the contest. Montreal
out-shot San Jose 35-28.
* Yaroslav Askarov allowed 5 goals, but he
made the big saves in the final 2 minutes to lock down the Canadiens. He would
finish with 30 saves on the night.
