Sharks 2021 Game 1 Recap: Sharks 4, Coyotes 3 (Shootout) (1/14/21)

 The Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in a shootout in their 2021 season opener tonight. This was their first game in about ten months since the previous NHL season suspension due to COVID-19.

Tomas Hertl tallied three points in the season opener with two goals in the first period and an assist on the Sharks' third goal by Evander Kane in the third period. Kane also assisted on the first two Sharks goals by Tomas Hertl and recorded a total of three points. Logan Couture recorded one apple on Hertl's first goal of the game.

John Leonard, Nicolas Meloche, and Nikolai Knyzhov each made their NHL debuts for the Sharks tonight. Out of those three, Leonard had a big night, assisting on Hertl's second goal of the game and Kane's goal. Leonard is the only the second player in Sharks history besides Scott Hannan to record a multi-assist game in his NHL debut and the fourth Sharks player to have a multi-point game in his debut. So far, he has been a great addition to the Sharks and will only improve from here.

The Coyotes answered back on goals by Conor Garland and Clayton Keller in the second and third periods respectively. Phil Kessel tied the game for the Coyotes with 3.2 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime and eventually a shootout. 

Martin Jones performed well in the season opener, making some big saves when necessary, such as on a 2-on-0 chance by the Coyotes in overtime. He recorded 34 saves on 37 shots and has improved on his overall performance from last season so far with a .919 save percentage. 

Ryan Donato and Logan Couture scored in the shootout to seal the deal for the Sharks, while Nick Schmaltz scored, Conor Garland hit the crossbar, and Clayton Keller failed his shootout attempt for the Coyotes. 

In addition, the Sharks' penalty kill was one of their strengths last season, and that was no different in this game as they went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. 

San Jose is off to a great start to the 2021 season, and I'm pretty confident they can build on this, continue to play great, and stay competitive all season on their way back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Sharks and Coyotes are back at it again on Saturday to wrap up this first two-game series at 1 pm PT in Arizona. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN