San Jose 3, Minnesota 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 25, 2014
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen:
Lonnie Cameron, Kiel Murchison
Attendance:
17562
By SportsDirect Inc.
Sharks 3, Wild 2 (OT): Captain Joe Thornton scored his second goal of the night at 3:30 of overtime as host San Jose rallied from a two-goal deficit to extend its winning streak to six games.
Patrick Marleau also tallied while Joe Pavelski and defenseman Matt Irwin each notched a pair of assists for the Sharks, who have recorded five one-goal victories during their streak. Antti Niemi turned aside 20 shots as San Jose improved to 3-0-0 on its four-game homestand.
Thornton made sure the Sharks raised their record to 49-6-1 when he and Marleau score in the same game, ripping a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past Darcy Kuemper for his eighth goal of the season. Thornton and Marleau will have many more chances to improve the mark as they each signed a three-year contract extension on Friday.
Defenseman Keith Ballard ended his 114-game goal-scoring drought and Matt Cooke also scored for the Wild, who have dropped two of three contests. Kuemper finished with 29 saves.
Cooke opened the scoring 9:33 into the contest with his eighth of the campaign. Thornton's cross-ice pass in the neutral zone missed Brad Stuart, and Cooke skated past the defenseman to grab the loose puck and slipped it between Niemi's pads on a short breakaway.
Minnesota made it 2-0 at 4:16 of the second as Ballard pinched in from the right point and converted a feed from behind the net by Mikael Granlund for his first goal since Oct. 6, 2011. The Wild's two-goal advantage disappeared quickly midway through the session as the Sharks scored twice in a 49-second span to pull even.
Thornton began the comeback at 11:12, shooting the puck over Kuemper's right shoulder from the left circle after receiving a feed from the left side of the net by Pavelski. Marleau forged a tie by sweeping the puck past the goaltender from the low slot after Tommy Wingels was forced to pass after fanning on his shot attempt from the left circle.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota RW Jason Pominville registered his 500th career point with an assist on Ballard's goal. ... Thornton, who has scored only three goals in his last 25 games, increased his career point total to 1,173 - putting him within six of Sergei Fedorov for a share of 47th place on the all-time list. ... Wild C Kyle Brodziak struggled in the faceoff circles, losing 15 of his 17 draws. C Charlie Coyle wasn't much better, dropping 13 of 18, while Sharks C Andrew Desjardins went 14-4.
Top Game Performances
Minnesota |
|
San Jose |
Keith Ballard 1 |
Points |
Joe Thornton 2 |
Keith Ballard 1 |
Goals |
Joe Thornton 2 |
Mikael Granlund 1 |
Assists |
Matt Irwin 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Darcy Kuemper .906 |
Save Percentage |
Antti Niemi .909 |
Darcy Kuemper 29 |
Saves |
Antti Niemi 20 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Minnesota
|
22 |
2 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
9 |
18 |
San Jose
|
32 |
3 |
0-2 |
2-2 |
9 |
41 |
Upcoming Games
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Sharks have a W/L % of .676 after a win and .611 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Wild have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .462 after a loss.