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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The San Jose Sharks returned to .500 after its 2-1 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday evening.
Unlike Team Teal's previous two games, this game was a 180 degree turn in terms of its defensive play against a speedy Blues team that features four lines that can skate and create scoring chances.
A scoreless first period featured the Sharks defense staying in their lanes and clamping down on the Blues attack when they entered the Sharks defensive zone. The return of Radim Simek to the back six has steadied the boat for San Jose. More importantly, the play of Erik Karlsson, returning back to his Norris Trophy winning form, provided a huge boost for the Sharks as he commanded the play whenever he touched the puck.
"[It's the] best he's looked so far this season," said Sharks head coach Bob Boughner. "He looked like he had his legs tonight. He had a lot more jump in his step. He was sort of our quarterback with our exits out of the D-zone and hitting guys with speed. If you go back and rewatch, you can tell he simplified it a little bit."
Brayden Schenn gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead when he scored from the slot with a wrist shot high glove side at 4:27 of the second period.
St. Louis took control of the second period as they had the Sharks on their heels and had the ice tilted in their favor in what looked like deja vu from the first meeting between the newly division rivals.
San Jose were looking to just survive the middle frame until Marcus Sorensen buried a rebound while falling down after a redirect by Matt Nieto with 2:03 remaining to even the score with his first goal of the season.
Ryan Donato thought he scored the game-winning goal with 11 seconds remaining in overtime, but it was immediately waved off due to goalie interference. Video review upheld the call on the ice.
"When you're in front of the net, sometimes it's hard to exactly know how deep you are. Obviously he [Karlsson] hit Banker [Kevin Lebanc], and your instant reaction is to be in front of the net. Naturally, you're not supposed to skate away from the front of the net. That's where goals are scored. For me, it's just a hockey play. It's an unfortunate bounce. A second earlier or a second later if I got out of the way or even if the puck went in before, or even if he's back in the crease, it's a different game," Donato said.
The Sharks power play went 0-for-7 and had a difficult time setting up scoring chances against the league's worst penalty kill coming into the game.
Evander Kane had a game he would like to forget. He was issued four minor penalties (two for tripping and two for slashing) thanks to some undisciplined play. One of them occurred when the Sharks had just gone on a power play. Luckily for him, the Sharks penalty kill (ranked number one last year) kept the Blues from capitalizing as they went 0-for-3 in the game.
"I know it was a parade to the penalty box all night. It seemed like every time there was any sort of a battle, my stick was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately, the boys did a great job killing the penalties, bailing me out there," said Kane.
Martin Jones had another strong performance in net for San Jose. He finished with 23 saves and four more in the shootout to perserve the victory for San Jose. His counterpart Jordan Binnington also played well, making 35 saves in the losing effort.
The Sharks continue their eight-game roadtrip up to Minnesota. They will begin a two-game series with the Wild on Friday as they look to earn their first regulation victory of the season.
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Right Winger Kevin Labanc after the Sharks 7-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on November 17, 2022.
Goaltender James Reimer after the Sharks 7-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on November 17, 2022.
Head coach David Quinn after the Sharks 7-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on November 17, 2022.