San Jose’s resilience was the real MVP tonight against the Maple Leafs. Brent Burns‘ overtime goal gave the Sharks their second straight win in Canada.
For those of you rushing to see the new Star Wars, here’s the gist of it: the Sharks were in the lead, then they blew it, and then they came back to win it in overtime. A smoking hot start by the Sharks and their star players was overshadowed by a poor showing in the 2nd period, but San Jose clawed their way back from a 4-2 deficit at one point to win 5-4 in OT.
It really was an impressive start for the San Jose Sharks who recorded a new season-high 21 shots in the one period. The Sharks managed to put an early end to Maple Leafs’ starter Garret Sparks‘ night with two quick power play goals from Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau. Jonathan Bernier, who has struggled with the Leafs this season (0-8-2 with 3.42 GAA before this game), replaced Sparks in net.
A look at Pavelski’s PPG at 2:01 in the 1st period:
And Marleau’s PPG at 11:32 in the 1st period:
Marleau’s goal capped off the Sharks scoring in the second. San Jose continued to play a strong game, but an unfortunate turnover by Marc-Edouard Vlaisc with just over five minutes left to play in the first got the Leafs on the board. Peter Holland got Toronto’s comeback started and the period ended with the Sharks ahead 2-1.
Although San Jose stayed on the puck and had their chances, Toronto ran away with the momentum in the second. The Sharks were on the penalty kill twice in the second period, and successfully killed off both penalties, but the Maple Leafs still came out on top 3-2 after 40-minutes of play.
Toronto’s tying goal:
After another Leafs goal to make the score 4-2 in the 3rd period, San Jose finally came back with their first goal since the 1st period. Toronto barely had time to celebrate before Marc-Edouard Vlasic tallied his fourth goal of the season from Justin Braun. Vlasic’s goal came a minute after Michael Grabner put one past Martin Jones.
Vlasic’s response:
The Sharks scored again at 11:49, Matt Nieto snapping one past Bernier to tie the score 4-4.
Nieto’s equalizer:
No winner emerged after 60-minutes of play and the Sharks and Leafs went into overtime. Burns’ OT winner was his 11th goal of the season, and sealed the deal for San Jose.
Burns’ OT winner:
Good thing the Sharks managed to pull off this win, because with the Los Angeles Kings shutting out the Canadiens 3-0 in Montreal and the Coyotes nipping at the Sharks’ behind, there just isn’t much wiggle room in the division. The Sharks are still very much “in it” and it was a good win to remind everyone of that.
Plus, how satisfying it is it that Brent Burns, the Wookiee of the team, got the OT winner tonight? Now I can go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens in peace.
Sharks Goal (Assists): Joe Pavelski (Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau), Patrick Marleau (Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns), Marc Edouard-Vlasic (Justin Braun), Matt Nieto (Chris Tierney, Joonas Donskoi), Brent Burns (Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski)
Sharks Saves: Martin Jones – 27 saves
[Fancy Stats] – [Maple Leafs Reaction] – [Event Summary] – [PBP Log] – [TOI Log] – [Faceoff Report]
Fear the Fin Three Stars:
1. Brent Burns
2. Patrick Marleau
3. Joe Pavelski
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