The six-game losing streak is finally over. It wasn’t always pretty, but for two periods it was absolutely magnificent. San Jose is back in the win column after a whole host of Sharks busted out of lengthy slumps in a 6-5 overtime victory over a woefully mediocre New York Rangers team on Tuesday night.
This doesn’t replace Logan Couture and it doesn’t assuage concerns about the play of Justin Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic of late, but it does show the Sharks are fully capable of playing the style of hockey we’ve become accustomed to. San Jose used four lines with (mostly) great success as the fourth line of Chris Tierney, Timo Meier and Joonas Donskoi dominated.
Tierney scored two goals, bringing him to nine on the season and notching a new career high. He’s now at 20 points, matching the amount he tallied last season and coming one shy of what he recorded in far fewer games in his rookie campaign. Tierney is an interesting player who appears to fit in great as a fourth line center; if that continues to be his usage with solid wingers, I like him on this team.
San Jose got help from Jannik Hansen, who scored his first goal in teal, and Tomas Hertl, who tallied his first point in ages. Mikkel Boedker got on the scoresheet for the first time in a long time as did Brent Burns. It seemed everyone who scored did so for the first time in ages. That may have something to do with the Sharks failing to generate any offense during their long losing streak, but who knows, I’m not a doctor.
The win doesn’t come without its blemishes, but I’d be lying if I said I cared right now. The Sharks are tied for second in the Pacific, two points behind Anaheim, and face a tough test against Edmonton on Thursday. The prognosis for Couture is anything but rosy (or certain) so let’s just enjoy this once for now.
Winning: still better than losing. I just checked.
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