The Sharks start their Eastern Canadian road trip off with a bang as they shut out the Montreal Canadiens 4-0.
This is now the Sharks’ seventh-straight win in Montreal, as the Sharks have had the Canadiens’ number in recent years. Team Teal opened the scoring early in the first period via Matt Nieto from Alexander Barabanov and Logan Couture. The Canadiens challenged it for offsides, but the goal stood after further review. The Sharks had some significant penalty kills in the second period, along with big shot block by Matt Benning to preserve their 1-0 lead. The scoring didn't pick back up until early in the third period, when the Sharks scored two more just minutes apart via Tomas Hertl's sixth goal of the season and Logan Couture's 13th goal of the season. The Sharks' third goal of the game was also Cooch's seventh goal in the past eight games and ninth of the month, going five-hole on a breakaway. Kevin Labanc, Nick Cicek, Matt Benning, and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic all assisted on the Sharks' second and third goals in this one. Lastly, Team Teal topped this one off with a few minutes remaining with an empty-netter for Tomas Hertl's second goal of the game from Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier.
Kaapo Kahkonen bounced back from his previous two starts in a huge way, recording 28 saves and his first shutout as a Shark. In addition, Jeff Viel was recently called up from the Barracuda and made his first appearance for the Sharks this season against the Canadiens in Montreal. This was meaningful and a dream come true for Viel as he grew up a Habs fan, would frequently attend games at the Bell Centre as a child, and always wanted to play in that building when he got to the NHL.
Overall, this is a massive win for this Sharks team, as it helps them gain some confidence and put some of their recent struggles behind them. Kaapo Kahkonen's best performance of the season is just what this team needed, and hopefully they can continue to build on this and be more consistent. Next up, the Sharks travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs for the second game of a back-to-back set tonight at 4 pm PT.
Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Bay Area News Group
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