National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 3, San Jose 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, February 26, 2015
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees: Chris Rooney, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: Trent Knorr, Steve Miller
Attendance: 17562

Red Wings 3, Sharks 2: Luke Glendening scored the tiebreaking goal with 75 seconds to play in the third period as visiting Detroit rallied to beat San Jose for the first time in five meetings.

Glendening took a feed from Gustav Nyquist at the bottom of the right faceoff circle and beat Antti Niemi with a spinning backhander just over five minutes after Pavel Datsyuk scored the tying goal. Rookie Teemu Pulkkinen tallied on the power play, defenseman Danny DeKeyser collected a pair of assists and Jimmy Howard turned aside 20 shots as the Red Wings improved to 3-1-1 on their six-game road trip.

Defenseman Matt Irwin and Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, who lost for the fourth time in five games and dipped to 3-7-2 in February. Niemi finished with 32 saves as San Jose was outshot by a staggering 31-8 margin over the final two periods.

San Jose dominated the opening 20 minutes and got the only goal at the 7:06 mark on Irwin's shot from the blue line that made it through a maze of players and past a screened Howard. Stephen Weiss set up the tying goal on the power play at 3:53 of the second, patiently waiting before sending a pass that Pulkkinen swept home from the left side.

The Sharks reclaimed the lead during a man advantage three minutes later as Logan Couture's shot caromed off the end boards before Marleau buried it from the doorstep for his 13th goal. Detroit swarmed San Jose and finally drew even on Datsyuk's backhander from the slot with 6:28 remaining in the third.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Sharks C Joe Thornton collected the 892nd assist of his career on Irwin's tally to move past Dale Hawerchuk for 20th place on the all-time list, while Marleau tied Doug Gilmour and Peter Stastny for 58th place with his 450th NHL goal. ... Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg missed his third straight game and said he continues to feel "symptoms" since getting elbowed in the head by Dallas' Jamie Benn on Saturday, but he skated with the team Thursday for the first time since the incident. ... Datsyuk has collected seven goals and 11 points in his last seven games. ... Sharks LW Raffi Torres, who has been sidelined since April, underwent season-ending knee surgery Wednesday in Minnesota.
Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   San Jose
Danny DeKeyser 2 Points Matt Irwin 1
Pavel Datsyuk 1 Goals Matt Irwin 1
Danny DeKeyser 2 Assists Logan Couture 1
Teemu Pulkkinen 1 Power Play Goals Patrick Marleau 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jimmy Howard .909 Save Percentage Antti Niemi .914
Jimmy Howard 20 Saves Antti Niemi 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Detroit 35 3 1-5 3-4 12 30
San Jose 22 2 1-4 4-5 14 38
Upcoming Games
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Sharks have a W/L % of .467 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .559 after a win and .577 after a loss.