The San Jose Sharks played at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday (Dec. 7) as the next stop of their long road trip. They were coming off of a very memorable comeback win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday (Dec. 5) and looked to carry their momentum into Detroit and beyond.
After a scoreless first period which seemed to be dominated by the Sharks, Detroit broke the tie with a Klim Kostin goal in the second period. After that, things would get off the rails as the Sharks allowed three goals in less than a minute. Michael Rasmussen scored off of a turnover from Kyle Burroughs then immediately scored on a deflection 12 seconds later.
David Quinn called a timeout to try to get things sorted out, however, Lucas Raymond scored 36 seconds later for the Red Wings. Mackenzie Blackwood came out of the game following the fourth goal, being replaced by Kaapo Kahkonen and Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Tomas Hertl tried to get the Sharks back in it, scoring a short-handed goal to make it 4-1. Fabian Zetterlund added to the tally scoring another short-handed goal on the same penalty, making it 4-2. Vlasic made a play coming out of the box creating a 2-on-1 with Nico Sturm, which allowed Sturm to make it 4-3. He got his second of the night shortly before the end of the period and tied the game at four.
With 6:40 remaining in the third period, Dylan Larkin gave the Red Wings the lead once again when the Sharks got caught pinching too much in the offensive zone. The Sharks pulled their goaltender with roughly 2:40 left in the third, and Tomas Hertl tied it up with just over a minute remaining in regulation. There’d be some free hockey, as the game went to overtime tied at five. Mikael Granlund scored on a 2-on-1 with Zetterlund to win the game 6-5.
Forechecking Creating Secondary Chances
The Sharks’ forecheck was creating a lot of opportunities early in the game. They were following up on shots that missed the net and turning them into another scoring chance, preventing the Red Wings from breaking out of their defensive zone and testing Ville Husso right out of the gate. The three players who stood out the most in that regard seemed to be William Eklund, Justin Bailey, and Tomas Hertl. Oftentimes when a teammate had the puck earlier in the season, it seemed players would get caught puck-watching rather than joining the play to help sustain pressure. That certainly was not an issue last night. It’s not often that the Sharks have out-shot an opponent this season, yet after the first period, they were leading 12-7 in that regard.
Ironically in the second period, the forecheck led to a penalty kill following a very questionable call by the officials. Eklund lost his stick behind the net and when he went to pick it up, Moritz Seider stepped on the stick and fell. It seemed more like an accident rather than a penalty. Of course, unless you had a clear line of sight it would easily appear to be a trip, so it’s not surprising it was called. In the end, it didn’t matter as the Sharks killed off the penalty and Eklund immediately had another strong scoring chance after leaving the box.
Power Play Gaining Confidence
The opening power play of the game started off hot, and to quote Randy Hahn on the NBC Sports California broadcast “It should have been 1-0″. Husso was playing great, but the Sharks’ power play looked great early on as well. Things changed when the second unit took the ice though, as Mike Hoffman’s turnover with roughly 50 seconds remaining in the power play was the beginning of a sequence that allowed Detroit to easily kill off the penalty. The Sharks got their second opportunity with the man advantage early in the third period, and the first unit picked up right where it left off. They were sustaining pressure and creating good scoring chances but were unable to convert once again.
Sharks (& the Goal Post) Keep Kane off of the Scoresheet
Patrick Kane was making his debut for the Red Wings after signing a contract last week. Late in the first period, he seemingly had a wide-open net to score his first goal with the Winged Wheel, but Blackwood did as expected and made an incredible save to keep the game tied at zero. The post also stopped Kane from getting his first assist with the Red Wings in the second period, when Kostin nearly scored a goal after beating Blackwood just under halfway through the period. Roughly five minutes into the third, Kane had a breakaway opportunity on Kahkonen who had replaced Blackwood in the second period, but the post kept the puck out of the net once again. Despite the Red Wings scoring five goals, Kane didn’t record a single point in his debut.
Related: Sharks’ Recent Streak Is Likely Unsustainable
The Sharks defeated the Red Wings in a thrilling game that left many fans speechless as early as the second period. This is certainly going to be remembered as one of the most entertaining games of hockey this season. It’s the second game in a row that the Sharks have completed a massive comeback and they certainly deserved both victories with the amount of effort they brought. Now we wait and see if they’ll be able to carry their momentum into Las Vegas on Sunday when they take on the Golden Knights to finish their road trip.
