The Sharks are back in the win column and have won four of their past five, edging the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 2-1 overtime victory.
Team Teal struck first late in the second period on Jack Thompson's first NHL goal, with assists from Will Smith and Fabian Zetterlund. It initially seemed as if it would be Carl Grundstrom's first goal of the season early in the second period to put the Sharks on the board first, but Columbus challenged it for offsides and that initial first goal was overturned. Luckily the Sharks made up for it later in the second period with Thompson's first goal in the big league. Towards the midway point of the third period, Kirill Marchenko evened things up at one for the Blue Jackets to eventually force bonus hockey. At roughly three minutes into OT, Alexander Wennberg scores a beauty of a goal for his third and second OT winner of the season to secure the victory for San Jose, with assists going to Fabian Zetterlund and Vitek Vanecek.
Speaking of Vanecek, he had a career performance and was the primary factor in the Sharks' OT victory over Columbus, recording a whopping 49 saves on 50 shots against and an assist on the Wennberg OT GWG. He also improved his save percentage from a .879 to a .902 with last night's incredible performance. In addition, it was announced yesterday that Macklin Celebrini would make his long-awaited return from injury to the Sharks lineup last night against the Blue Jackets to play in only his second NHL game. This is a massive boost to this Sharks team, who could use every ounce of his talent and impact on any given night to perform their best. Ty Dellandrea has also returned from the IR, while Danil Gushchin and Ethan Cardwell were re-assigned to the Barracuda in the AHL, and Jake Walman was a healthy scratch.
Overall, there wasn't as much offense in this one from both teams, but the Sharks came through on both sides of the pick when it mattered most. Not only did Vanecek shine in net, but Will Smith took steps forward in his game against Columbus as well. The Sharks' current homestand concludes on Thursday, when the Sharks host the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 pm PT.
Sources: NHL App, Locked on Sharks Podcast, ESPN
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