The Sharks dropped a pair of overtime games
this season to the St Louis Blues. With a minute to play, Monday night's tilt
between San Jose and St Louis the game sat tied 4-4 and looked headed for
another overtime decision. That is until Adam Gaudette carried the puck up the
left wing and snapped a shot past Joel Hofer with 21 seconds left in regulation
to help San Jose win their 2nd consecutive game and draw within 2 points of a
playoff spot.
The goal was Gaudette's 16th of the season, but it may
have been his biggest as a Shark. It couldn't have come at a more important
time. The Sharks held a 2-goal lead through the first 19 minutes of play. The
Blues clawed back to tie the game, but it was Gaudette's time to shine in the
closing moments of the game.
Theo Lindstein put the Blues on the board
first with his 1st career NHL goal 5:28 into the game. Jake Neighbours carried
the puck across the top of the two circles from right to left before sliding
the puck to Lindstein who snapped a shot, using Mario Ferraro as a screen to
beat Yaroslav Askarov.
Robert Thomas helped the Sharks even things up
when he lofted a puck over the glass to put San Jose on their first power play
of the game. Alex Wennberg converted on the mad advantage off a Macklin
Celebrini feed 3 minutes later.
Dalibor Dvorsky put the Sharks back on
the power play at 12:39 when he interfered with Barclay Goodrow. Celebrini
notched the 100th point of the season with a power play goal 44 seconds into
the man advantage. Celebrini fired a shot from the top of the right circle,
hitting Logan Mailloux for a bank shot past goaltender Joel Hofer.
Pavel Buchnevic tied the game at 2-2 after Dmitry Orlov made a precarious pass
from the right wing boards. The Sharks defenseman could have exited the zone by
chipping it up the baords, but elected to move it to the middle of the ice
where Neighbours stepped in front of it and moved it to Buchnevich for a
deposit from the left side.
Celebrini helped San Jose reclaim the lead
with 56 seconds left in the period on a chance from the slot. nick Leddy
carried the puck into the zone on the right side before flipping a backhand
pass to the slot where Celebrini was crashing between two Blues defenders.
San Jose held the Blues to 4 shots in the period, but St Louis
converted 2 of them for goals.
The Sharks traded penalties with St
Louis to start the period 30 seconds apart, which left San Jose an abridged
power play that they would not convert on.
St Louis obliged 9 minutes
in by giving the Sharks a full 2 minute chance. San Jose made the most of their
3rd full chance, converting a 3rd power play goal when Alex Wennberg buried a
chance from outside the right post. Will Smith moved the puck to Tyler Toffoli
who was parked in front of Hofer on the left post. The Sharks veteran forward
then tried to pivot to the left to face the Blues goaltender and jam a chance
from in tight. The puck trickled over to Wennberg on the off post for the slam
dunk goal and a 4-2 lead.
A late Shakir Mukhamadullin hooking penalty opened
the door for the Blues to draw within a single goal of San Jose. Philip Broberg
punched home his 6th goal of the season after St Louis crashed the net, drawing
a pair of defenders over to the right post. Dylan Holloway skated to the post
before sliding the puck to the slot where Broberg easily deposited the pass.
The Blues didn't waste any time trying to push back as the 3rd period
started. The pace of play picked up to a fever pitch and the Sharks were pinned
in a couple instances, but San Jose withstood the rush.
Askarov was
called for tripping Holloway at the 11 minute mark to setup a key 2 minutes of
the game. That enabled the league's 3rd worst power play to go on a 3rd power
play chance. Cam Fowler would convert that chance with a shot from the right
side that slipped past Askarov's glove side.
Gaudette would help the
Sharks shake off their defensive let down in the final 20 minutes by bagging
the all important game winner.
Game Notes: * Macklin
Celebrini became the 3rd Shark in team history to record 100 points. Joe
Thornton and Erik Karlsson are the only other players to have reached that mark
in the Sharks 35 year history. Celebrini also tied Mario Lemieux for most
points by a teenager.
* Alex Wennberg has a 3-point night with a pair
of goals and an assist. It was his 4th 3-point game of the season.
*
Tyler Toffoli recorded his 100th point as a Shark with his assist on Wennberg's
2nd period power play goal.
* The power play converted on 3 of 4
chances. That 4th chance was a result of a shortened man advantage as it came
while the Sharks were killing a Shakir Mukhamadullin penalty.
* The
game winning goal was Adam Gaudette's 3rd of his career.
