Brent Burns scored a power-play goal 19 seconds into the overtime period to lift the San Jose Sharks 2-1 over the Arizona Coyotes in overtime at SAP Center on Tuesday night.
Sharks fans were greeted with some good news as forward Melker Karlsson along with defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brenden Dillon returned to the San Jose lineup. Karlsson has missed seven games due to a left ankle injury. In last Saturday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, Dillon was an unexpected late scratch and Vlasic left after two periods with an undisclosed injury.
In the meantime, the Coyotes were attempting to win their third straight game. Goaltender Mike Smith was in net for the Coyotes. Smith was out with a leg injury after Arizona’s 3-2 win over San Jose on Nov. 1.
The Sharks grabbed an early lead just one minute into the opening frame as Patrick Marleau picked up a pass from Chris Tierney and fired a backhand shot past Smith’s right shoulder. Unfortunately, the San Jose goal did not count after the officials reviewed the play and said it went along the goal line.
The Coyotes managed just one shot on goal with 12:38 left to play in the first.
However, the amount of scoring opportunities for both teams gradually increased, and the Sharks held a far-fetched 14-5 advantage in shots. The game remained in a scoreless tie after 20 minutes.
The Coyotes opened the scoring at 7:19 of the middle frame. Max Domi received a cross-ice pass from Radim Vrbata and ripped a snap shot past Jones’ blocker for his fourth goal of the season.
Chris Tierney then picked up a puck in the corner, skated to the front of the net and beat Smith five-hole to tie the game at 1-1 with 4:31 left to play in the second. Mikkel Boedker picked up his first career assist on Tierney’s second goal of the season.
“We’re sticking to our game plan,” Tierney said. “We’re getting pucks into the net.”
The Sharks outshot the Coyotes 29-10, but the score was tied 1-1 after 40 minutes.
In the final frame, a brawl in front of the San Jose bench led to coincidental minors for roughing — served by Sharks rookie Kevin Labanc and Coyotes forward Jamie McGinn.
The animosity between the two Pacific Division teams did not stop there. Dillon went to the penalty box following an interference call. Subsequently, Coyotes forward Ryan White received a 10-minute penalty for misconduct.
The Coyotes took a timeout with 33.8 seconds left in regulation.
Martin Hanzal was called for high sticking with 0.3 seconds remaining. The Sharks went on a late power play that carried itself into the overtime period.
Burns had the game-winning goal when he unleashed a one-timer from the circle to give the Sharks a 2-1 win over the Coyotes in overtime.
Jones finished with 18 saves in the San Jose victory. Smith made 40 saves in the losing effort for Arizona.
Burns had a pretty good look in the second period, but he didn’t put much thought into that particular aspect.
“It was good,” Burns said. “They gave me the puck a lot. I turned my back on a lot of them, but everyone thought I was going to shoot. I wasn’t going to shoot 95 times, but I tried my best. That’s why I shoot.”
Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer mentioned that he was pleased with his team’s overall performance.
“Bottom line is, I thought we deserved the win,” DeBoer said. “We worked hard enough for the win, we stuck with it — I liked our composure tonight.”
The Sharks will head to Staples Center to face the rival Los Angeles Kings. Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST on NBCSN.