It took a shootout, but the Sharks picked up two points in Florida for their third straight win behind a regulation goal by Logan Couture and shootout goals by Joonas Donskoi and Joe Pavelski. Martin Jones made 20 saves and two more in the shootout.
Jones was the best player on the ice for the Sharks in a quiet, evenly matched first period. He stopped all 11 Panthers shots including three on a late interference penalty to Patrick Marleau, the only one of the period. Panthers backup goaltender Al Montoya, starting instead of longtime Sharks nemesis Roberto Luongo, stopped seven San Jose shots to send the game into the first intermission in a scoreless tie.
A pair of Sharks power plays midway through the second resulted in more chances for the team in red than the team in white, including not one but two Panthers breakaways, though neither resulted in a shot on goal. Montoya made several key saves on another Sharks power play late in the period, and ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr broke the scoreless tie with a shot through Jones’ pads shortly after the residual power play time expired in the third to put the Sharks down 1–0.
With his forward lines in flux due to the absence of Tommy Wingels, Pete DeBoer put Logan Couture out with Joe Thornton and Pavelski in the third, and the move paid off immediately when Couture banged a pass from Thornton home to tie the game up again.
Tic-tac-tied. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/W0Zceltbyc
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 19, 2016
A huge save by Jones to stop Vincent Trocheck on a breakaway kept the game tied at 1–1 as the clock wound down. A late push saw the Sharks attempt seven shots after Couture’s goal, but none made it through to Montoya and the game went to overtime.
In the extra period, Jones robbed Trocheck again to keep his team alive, then Marc-Edouard Vlasic rang a shot off the post at the other end bidding for a point in a ninth straight game. Trocheck was called for slashing with 1:28 remaining in overtime, but the Sharks once again failed to score on the power play to send the game to a shootout.
Donskoi and Pavelski scored in the skills competition and Jones stopped two of three shots to pick up a second point and give the Sharks their third straight win and a 2–0 record to start their current road trip. They’ll be right back at it tomorrow night in Carolina.
Sharks goals (assists): Logan Couture (Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski)
[Fancy Stats] – [Panthers Reaction] – [TOI Log] – [Faceoff Report] – [Event Summary] – [PBP Log]
Fear the Fin’s Three Stars
1) Logan Couture
2) Martin Jones
3) Joe Pavelski
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