The Sharks and Coyotes slug it out in a high-scoring thriller, and the Sharks come out of this one in the shootout 8-7 in what was easily the highest-scoring game in the NHL this season.
It was an ugly win with poor puck management from both teams, but I’m incredibly thankful that San Jose won because it would’ve been downright embarrassing if they lost in any way, shape, or form to the worst team in the league this season.
There’s a lot to cover in this one, so let’s begin: The first few minutes of this game featured Jonah Gadjovich and Jan Jenik dropping the gloves. Moments after the tilt, the Sharks scored the first of several goals in this contest, which first appeared to be scored by Logan Couture but was given to Alexander Barabanov after Barabanov tipped it into the net. Timo Meier was credited with the secondary assist on the first goal. The Coyotes tied it a few minutes later from Lawson Crouse. The Sharks regained their lead on Nick Bonino's fifth goal of the season from Matt Nieto and Andrew Cogliano. Before the end of the first period, the Coyotes re-tied the game on Janis Moser's first NHL goal.
The madness continued in the second period with the Sharks going ahead 3-2 on Radim Simek's first goal of the season. Jayden Halbgewachs recorded his first NHL point on the Simek goal, and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic recorded the secondary assist. The Sharks went ahead by two seven seconds later on Jeff Viel's first NHL goal, with assists from Jonah Gadjovich and Lane Pederson. This ties a Sharks franchise record for shortest time span between two goals. Arizona gets one back a few minutes later via Clayton Keller. It wasn't long before Timo Meier added to the scoresheet by batting one out of midair for his 13th goal of the season. The Coyotes get back within one on Janis Moser's second goal of the game and second NHL goal moments before the end of the second period.
The third period was just as wild as the first two, if not more wild. Tomas Hertl returned from COVID protocol before this game and scored his 15th goal of the season to start the third period, getting an assist from Noah Gregor. The Coyotes continue to keep pace with the Sharks, with Lawson Crouse scoring his second goal of the game to make it 6-5 Sharks. Logan Couture gets the Sharks' two-goal lead back with his tenth goal of the season from Alexander Barabanov and Erik Karlsson. Late in the third period, the Coyotes proceeded to score two goals from Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew Ladd to tie the game at seven and force overtime and eventually a shootout. Two successful attempts from Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl in the shootout ensured the Sharks' victory over the Coyotes.
This game also marked Brent Burns' 1200th NHL game, becoming the 36th defenseman in NHL history to reach that plateau.
In a nutshell, defense and goaltending were optional from both teams in this crazy game. James Reimer and the Sharks defense shouldn't have allowed seven goals to the Coyotes, but I understand the Sharks may have been rusty from having the past week off, and these aspects sure made this game quite entertaining. In other words, this Sharks-Coyotes contest was on steroids, and very few, if any, expected these teams to score a combined 15 goals.
The Sharks' next game is Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:30 pm PT, as the Flyers make a visit to SAP Center as part of their California road trip.
Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App
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