Nobody would ever expect the Ducks to make a win easy on the Sharks.
After a shootout loss to the Hurricanes on Friday night, the Sharks were looking to exploit the Ducks' weaknesses early and put them on their heels. And despite being in the midst of a losing streak, Anaheim wasn’t going to go quietly into the night.
Ducks netminder John Gibson continued doing his best to halt the Sharks’ best attempts, but he and Anaheim eventually fell 4-3 in overtime at Honda Center.
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The Sharks outplayed the Ducks for the better part of the game, but they still found themselves tied at 3 halfway through the third period. The score remained knotted up through the third-frame buzzer, until San Jose came roaring back and Timo Meier did what Timo Meier does best -- pushing in his own rebound and getting the game-winner in OT.
Here are three takeaways from the Sharks' exciting win.
Scoreboard alone didn’t show how well Sharks played
If you only looked at the scoreboard during intermissions instead of watching the game, you undoubtedly missed how dominant the Sharks looked.
San Jose Sharks
While the Ducks were able to keep the score close, the Sharks continued creating chances and trying to find the back of the net. Through the first 20 minutes alone, 10 different San Jose players had at least one shot on goal, as the team owned the clock 19-8. By the second intermission, every Sharks skater had at least one tally in that column.
That frame alone showed how big Gibson has been between the pipes for the Ducks. San Jose’s second line alone -- which first put the Sharks on the board -- looked like it could’ve scored two or three goals on Anaheim before the first period expired.
Not that the Sharks didn’t come out firing on all cylinders in the second stanza. Or that they rebounded from letting the Ducks back into the game in the third and made a big statement in overtime.
On that note …
That Hertl-Couture-Meier line was insane
This isn’t the first time the second line -- although I know some of you recently have taken to referring to them as the top line -- has led the offense to victory. This combination has found a rhythm and creates chances every time they’re on the ice together
Meier continues to lead the Sharks in goals, and he clearly has created strong chemistry with his linemates. That chemistry was on full display on the Sharks’ third goal of the game when the trio charged up the ice. Couture made a swift cross-ice pass that helped set Meier up perfectly to send the one-timer past Gibson’s blocker.
The rookies are coming alive
Following up Antti Suomela’s first career NHL goal Friday night, center Rourke Chartier found the back of the net Sunday. Hertl made a strong play to swing the puck around in front of Anaheim’s net, and Chartier skated up close to beat Gibson.
There was plenty of conversation ahead of the regular season about who would fill in at center on the bottom lines with Chris Tierney's departure in the Erik Karlsson trade. Not even a month into the Sharks’ 2018-19 campaign, the two rookie centers are rising to the occasion and putting points on the board.
