Sharks Game 23 Recap: Sharks 3, Blues 2 (OT) (3/8/21)

 The Sharks come from behind to defeat the Blues 3-2 in overtime to close out their current homestand and end their three-game skid. 

The beginning of this game saw another tilt involving Kurtis Gabriel, this time against Kyle Clifford. Their fight stemmed from discussions they had during warmups. There were plenty of huge swings between the two before they were escorted to the box for five minutes each. 

Scoring in the first period was limited to Niko Mikkola's first NHL goal for the Blues to give them a 1-0 advantage. The Sharks tied the game at one in the second period on Marc-Eduoard Vlasic's first goal of the year, with assists from Ryan Donato and Patrick Marleau. It was a marvelous play and great to see Pickles go top shelf  and get on the scoresheet. St. Louis got their lead back late in the second on a tip-in by Brayden Schenn originally shot by David Perron to make it 2-1 Blues. 

San Jose had difficulty staying out of the penalty box for the first two periods. Most notably, Kevin Labanc took two consecutive penalties in the second for high-sticking and tripping. As a result, Labanc was benched in the third period and the Sharks stayed out of penalty trouble for the rest of the game. 

Team Teal ties the game at two in the third on Logan Couture's team-leading 13th goal of the season. There was an official review following Couture's goal to see if there was goaltender interference or a distinct kicking motion, but it remained a good goal. Assisting on the game-tying goal were Ryan Donato and Rudolfs Balcers. Balcers was arguably the best forward on the ice last night. This goal ultimately sent the game to overtime, where Evander Kane scores the game-winner 41 seconds in on a beautiful feed from Erik Karlsson, completing the Sharks' comeback.

Devan Dubnyk was also a significant factor keeping the Sharks in this game, stopping 24 of 26 shots against for a .923 save percentage. In addition, the Sharks' penalty kill has been strong in this game and as of late. 

The Sharks finished their latest stretch of home games with a 2-4-1 record, considering they faced some tough opponents during this homestand. Their next game isn't until Friday against the Ducks in Anaheim, which is the first of their next four games on the road in Anaheim and Vegas. Tomas Hertl has been taken off the NHL's COVID Protocol list and is expected to be available for the Sharks' next game. 

Other News & Notes: 

• The Sharks have reassigned forwards Noah Gregor and Alex True to the Barracuda in the AHL. 
• The NHL has reached a seven-year deal with ESPN to become one of their US broadcast partners starting next season. This comes as the NHL's current deal with NBC is set to expire after this season. I find this new broadcast deal exciting as it will help grow the game of hockey and reach wider audiences in the US. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app, Sportsnet Canada