The Sharks may have arguably played their best game on their current road trip, but the Minnesota Wild hand the Sharks their tenth-straight loss 5-4 in overtime to close out the road trip. The Wild also clinch a playoff spot with their win on Sunday.
Team Teal stayed in this one for the entire duration of the game, but they still couldn’t get over the hump. The Wild scored two quick goals in the first period from Dimitriy Kulikov and Jared Spurgeon, but the Sharks followed them up with one of their own from Rudolfs Balcers. In addition, Thomas Bordeleau recorded his first NHL point with an assist on the Sharks' first goal of the game, and Noah Gregor was credited with the secondary assist.
Matt Nieto tied the game at two on a breakaway opportunity early in the second period, getting apples from Nick Bonino and Brent Burns. About five minutes later, Matt Boldy regained the lead for the Wild. Around the halfway point of the second frame, Noah Gregor found a large open hole on Marc-Andre Fleury and ties the game at three with helpers from Brent Burns and Rudolfs Balcers.
The Sharks grabbed their first lead of the night early in the third period via a shorthanded goal by Nick Bonino, getting assists from Tomas Hertl and Nicolas Meloche. Later on in the third, the Wild tied the game at four to force overtime, with this goal being credited to Kevin Fiala.
The Wild earned the second point in overtime and sealed the deal on Jared Spurgeon's second goal of the game.
James Reimer returned to the crease against the Wild, recording 23 saves.
Despite their tenth-consecutive defeat, one main highlight of this game was the NHL debut of Thomas Bordeleau, who was inserted as the third-line center. He is the 18th rookie to make his NHL debut this season for the Sharks and already made an immediate impact on this team. Kid's definitely got a bright future ahead of him.
It may not seem like it at first, but at their current pace of play, the Sharks' current losing skid will end sooner than many people realize, but no one knows when exactly yet. Team Teal returns home for their next three games starting on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 pm PT.
Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App
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