The San Jose Sharks started their four-game road trip with a 3-2 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night.
David Schlemko returned to the Sharks’ lineup while Marc Edouard-Vlasic remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Zach Hyman blocked a Brent Burns shot early in the game. Just a few minutes later, Hyman redirected a snap shot from Auston Matthews past Martin Jones to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead.
The Sharks trailed 1-0 after the first period, despite having a 14-13 edge over the Leafs in shots on goal.
The Sharks seized the momentum early in the second period.
Nazem Kadri put the puck into the net, but was given a penalty for goaltender interference on Martin Jones. However, the Leafs challenged the call. The review was inconclusive and the no-goal call stood. As a result, the Sharks received a power play.
Matt Nieto went to the box for interference on Frederik Andersson at 6:40. The Sharks’ penalty-killing unit was hoping to kill off the penalty, but the Leafs ended their opponent’s initial hopes after doubling their lead on a 5-on-3 power play just a little over a minute later. Auston Matthews faked a shot from the point and fired puck past Jones for his 13th goal of the year.
The Sharks had a plethora of scoring opportunities, leading 26-20 in shots, but were unable to capitalize on them. The Leafs carried a 2-0 lead to the locker room through two periods.
Justin Braun ended a 34-game scoring drought dating back to Mar. 28, 2015, against the Los Angeles Kings at home. Braun went bar down and buried a backhand shot past Andersen for his first goal of the year, cutting the Leafs’ lead in half midway through the third period.
Four seconds after Matt Hunwick went to the box for interference, Joe Pavelski tipped the puck past Andersen to tie the contest 2-2 with a power-play goal for his ninth of the year.
After regulation and overtime ended with the Sharks and Leafs deadlocked at 2-2, the contest headed to a shootout to determine the winner.
The Sharks haven’t had a shootout in a long time, but managed to pick up where they left off. Neither Joe Pavelski or Mitchell Marner scored in round one. Matthews missed in round two, but Logan Couture scored. The contest went down to the wire with Jones making a save on a Nikita Soshnikov shot to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead over the Leafs.
With the shootout victory, the Sharks secured two points in the series opener. Jones finished with 29 saves for San Jose. Andersen made 40 saves in a losing effort for Toronto.
Up Next
The Sharks return to action Wednesday when they face the Ottawa Senators at 7:00 p.m. EST on CSN California and 98.5 KFOX.
