The Detroit Red Wings traveled to San Jose tonight (November 2) to take on the Sharks as they continue their road trip up the West Coast. In a back-and-forth matchup between the two former Western Conference foes, the Red Wings earned their second shootout victory in the last three games. beating the Sharks 3-2.
Summary of the game
The first twenty minutes seemed to be more of a period of both teams feeling each other out and having a back and forth. Neither team had the best scoring chances, but the Red Wings did get into the power play twice. The Sharks’ penalty kill remained high even as they struggled this season (28th in the league going into the match) and kept the match at a 0-0 deadlock. The Sharks did have a few chances toward the end of the period, but Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot was up to the challenge. After the first period, the game remained 0-0 with both teams recording five shots.
The scoring finally started in the second period, with Lucas Raymond showing great patience and stickhandling at the point for the Red Wings, working himself into a shot from the spot that was aided by traffic in front of Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Raymond’s shot beat Nedeljkovic over his glove and went off the post to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead with just under two minutes left in the middle frame. Nedeljkovic stayed busy in the period, giving up 14 shots, but Raymond’s goal was the only shot he allowed as the game went to third with the Red Wings leading 1-0.
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The Sharks tied the game early in the third on a rush that ultimately led to Jeff Skinner redirecting a Philipp Kurashev pass right in front of Talbot as he drove hard to the net to tie things up at one apiece less than a minute into the period. The game remained deadlocked until the 10-minute mark of the period, when the Red Wings converted more traffic for Nedeljkovic, with Moritz Seider scoring his first of the season on a shot from the point that went off the crossbar and over the former Red Wings netminder’s blocker, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead. That lead held until the final five minutes of regulation, when Sharks rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson scored his first NHL goal on a strong feed from downfield by Will Smith for a one-timer in the slot that Talbot beat quite easily. The goal came with just over three minutes left in the period, forcing the game into overtime.
A scoreless overtime period was largely controlled by the Red Wings, but both netminders made some big saves to help move the game to a shootout. In the shootout, both goaltenders stopped the first three shots they faced, but James van Reimsdyk played hero for the Red Wings, becoming his team’s fourth shooter to score. Talbot made the decisive save on Tyler Toffoli to seal the deal for his team.
In the win for the Red Wings, Talbot stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced, and for the Sharks, Nedeljkovic stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced.
What’s next
The Red Wings (9-4-2) wrap up their West Coast road trip on Tuesday (Nov. 4) when they travel to Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. The Sharks (4-6-3) return to action on Wednesday (Nov. 5) as they travel to Seattle to take on the Kraken.
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