The San Jose Sharks returned home on Tuesday (Jan. 23) to take on the New York Rangers following a short trip to Crypto.com Arena to take on the Los Angeles Kings the previous night. The Sharks entered the game with two wins in a row, while the Rangers had lost two of their last three but their most recent outing was a victory against the Anaheim Ducks. The Rangers also currently sit first in the competitive Metropolitan Division. With star goaltender Igor Shesterkin in between the pipes for New York, the Sharks had a difficult night ahead of them.
Sharks Keep Things Competitive Early
The Rangers got the first goal of the night when Adam Fox scored on a scramble in front of the net. The Sharks didn’t get discouraged though, and kept fighting back. They had a couple of opportunities to tie the game, with the most notable being when Kyle Burroughs had a wide-open net following a pass from Tomas Hertl, but he tipped it wide. After giving up the opening goal in the second half of a back-to-back, it would’ve been easy for them to fall back into old habits and drop their compete level, but instead, they kept bringing the energy.
Neither team really seemed to play a great first period, despite some occasional odd-man rushes it was a slow-paced period. After the first frame, the Sharks were still in the game which hasn’t been the case very often when they’re trailing early this season.
The second period instantly put the Sharks in a more difficult situation, as Artemi Panarin sniped a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead just over a minute into the frame. Alexander Barabanov tried to keep the Sharks in it but was robbed by Shesterkin twice in the same play, once on a breakaway, and then a few moments later the goaltender dove out and grabbed the puck without his stick while Barabanov attempted to make a follow-up play.
Power Play Struggles Continue
The Sharks keep getting opportunity after opportunity to bring themselves back into games this season, yet they’re consistently unable to convert on powerplays when it matters. Ironically, they’re not one of the worst in the league with the man advantage, but it seems like whenever they have an important opportunity they’re unable to make the most of it. They’re currently just outside of the bottom third in the NHL when it comes to power play percentage, and last night it became clear why.
The Sharks had two chances in the first half of the game to bring themselves back into it, yet were unable to do so. Having Logan Couture back in the lineup makes this problem more noticeable, as they certainly have the offensive firepower to have a strong first unit, even if there’s limited depth behind it. In fact, the Sharks have yet to score a power-play goal with him in the lineup as they didn’t score one against either of their California rivals.
Sharks Depth Brings Them Back Late
Nico Sturm scored just over two minutes into the third period and made it a one-goal game. Although up to that point, it seemed like the Sharks’ legs were starting to give out, the goal gave them a bit of a boost and brought them back into it. Just a few minutes later, Ryan Carpenter tied the game up at two and we had a brand new hockey game early in the third period.
The Sharks kept bringing pressure from there and started generating quality scoring chances. For the first time of the night, the abundance of blue jerseys in the crowd of the SAP Center was drowned out by the Sharks faithful. For the majority of the night, the arena could’ve easily been mistaken for Madison Square Garden with the number of chants and cheers in favor of the visiting team. The change in energy was evident on the ice as well, as the Sharks’ level of play continued to improve as the cheers got louder.
Eventually, the game went into overtime, which was the second night in a row that the Sharks had to play extra hockey. At the very least, they were walking out with a point but they had the potential to walk away with a three-game winning streak with a miraculous comeback. That’s exactly what they did, as Hertl scored a minute and a half into the extra period and the Sharks won 3-2.
Related: Kahkonen, Eklund and Burroughs Lead Sharks to Win Over Kings
Neither team had played a great game, as the Sharks seemed tired and it looked as if the Rangers were playing down to the Sharks’ level but their talent was pushing them over the edge for the first 40 minutes. It was a far cry from the dominant performances expected from a divisional leader against a bottom-feeder team. On paper, this was a game that should’ve seen the Rangers steamroll San Jose but instead it was a competitive affair and the Sharks walked away with an upset.
