Ducks Rally Past Sharks In Overtime

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their homestand against the San Jose Sharks. Anthony Stolarz got the start in net against Kaapo Kahkonen. Kevin Shattenkirk was out with the flu and Colton White drew in as a result.

Recap

The Sharks got on the board just 38 seconds into this contest. The Sharks had a 2-on-2 rush and Stolarz blocked the first shot, but Matt Nieto got to the rebound and scored.

A few minutes later and the Sharks would make it 2-0. Erik Karlsson took a point shot that beat Stolarz.

Sam Carrick then dropped the gloves on the next faceoff Jonah Gadjovich.

Trevor Zegras would then get the Ducks on the board. John Klingberg broke in towards the net and then passed the puck to Zegras, who beat Kahkonen stick side from the right faceoff dot.

The Ducks then had several power play chances, but couldn’t convert on any of them.

Eventually Anaheim would tie the game as Mason McTavish would find Ryan Strome in front. He deflected a pass from McTavish into the net for the tying score.

In the second period, the Sharks would retake the lead halfway through the period. The Ducks turned over the puck in their own zone and Kevin Labanc would throw the puck at the net. Timo Meier deflected the shot past Stolarz.

A few minutes later the Ducks would tie the game on a strange bounce off the glass. The puck would get dumped into the zone and hit the glass bouncing in the slot area. Kahkonen had committed to the back of the net. McTavish would get to the puck and score in a practically empty net goal.

The Sharks would answer 14 seconds later as Meier got his second of the game. San Jose took 4-3 to the locker room.

It appeared the Ducks tied the game halfway through the period, but the Sharks challenged the play for being offsides. Initially it looked like the goal would come back because Adam Henrique did enter the offensive zone first, but Cam Fowler didn’t have possession of the puck when he entered the zone. Once Fowler got possession of the puck, Henrique had already touched up at the blue line so the goal counted.

The teams were tied at four at the end of regulation so bonus hockey would be needed to determine a winner. In overtime, Troy Terry would find Klingberg in the slot, who beat Kahkonen stick side just inside the post for the win.

Analysis:

This game didn’t start out well for Anaheim and it looked like it could be a long night just six minutes into this one. But the Ducks didn’t say die and rallied back to tie the game in the first period. And each time Meier put the Sharks up by one, McTavish answered both times to tie the game. McTavish had himself a career night with two goals and two assists.

In terms of special teams, the Ducks kept the Sharks off the board on their two power plays. Anaheim did have four chances with the extra man, but couldn’t cash in. The penalty kill has been trending up lately while the power play has been trending down. The Ducks also dominated the faceoff circle winning nearly two-thirds of the draws. Anaheim was able to rally and win despite Stolarz looking a little rusty in net in his first start since being off the IR.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Boston Bruins on Sunday at 5:30 PM.

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January 7th, 2023