Logan Couture took the draw in overtime against Detroit Red Wings center Robby Fabbri deep in the Sharks’ zone before he heard an unusually loud cheer from the fans at SAP Center.
A fake octopus had been thrown on the ice — a tradition only seen in Detroit — and it remained right on the center red line just as the play moved toward the neutral zone. Couture then told a linesman to clear it out of the way before the Sharks moved the puck to the Red Wings’ end.
“It was weird because the crowd was screaming and yelling and I didn’t know what was going on,” Couture said. “I looked up I thought there was a jersey on the ice. Then I got closer and saw it was an octopus.”
Just a few seconds later, Couture elicited his own cheer, scoring at the 1:00 mark of overtime to give the Sharks a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings before an announced crowd of 10,489.
Brent Burns was near the side of the Red Wings net when he shot the puck on Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. The puck began to slide toward the goal line behind Nedeljkovic before Couture fought off a check to poke it into the net as the Sharks improved to 6-0 in overtime this season.
The play was reviewed by the NHL for offside, but the goal stood as the Sharks began their four-game homestand on a positive note.
“It’s something you don’t see every day and it’s kind of their tradition,” Sharks winger Timo Meier said of the sea creature, “and I guess it brought us luck because we scored with it on the ice.”
Burns also assisted on goals by Meier and Jeff Viel in the first and third periods, respectively, to give him six assists in two games.
The Sharks have won three straight and are 5-2-0 since the Christmas break to move into a tie for third place in the Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings with 41 points. Three of the wins have come in overtime and one came in a shootout.
“Those are huge because those are the points you’re looking at at the end of the season,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “It’s nice to see us in these close games. Comfortable in these close games and finding ways to win.”
Adin Hill let in a soft goal at the 1:48 mark of the third period, as a seemingly harmless wrist shot from Nick Leddy from inside the blue line snuck under Hill’s glove for a 2-1 Wings lead.
Just 90 seconds later, though, Viel took a pass from Burns near the Red Wings blue line, charged toward the net, and put a shot on goal. Viel then slid into Nedeljkovic as the puck crossed the goal line and found its way to the back of the net.
“Burns made a nice play up the ice to me and I just saw that the defense was kind of flat-footed,” said Viel, who also fought Detroit’s Givani Smith in the first period. “So I just tried to take it to the net and got a bounce, just driving the net.”
The Sharks (20-16-1) dominated the first two periods from a shots on goal standpoint but were still tied 1-1 with the Red Wings after 40 minutes.
Meier’s power-play goal came at the 14:24 mark of the first period, as he took a nifty seam pass from Jonathan Dahlen and tapped it past Nedeljkovic for his 15th of the season. Dahlen’s assist marked his first point since Dec. 9, as he snapped an eight-game point drought to help the Sharks score just their second power-play goal in the last 21 tries.
Thanks to some terrific goaltending by Nedeljkovic, the score remained 1-0 until late in the second period.
With the Red Wings on a 5-on-3 for 1:40 after minor penalties were called on Mario Ferraro and Tomas Hertl 20 seconds apart, Tyler Bertuzzi redirected a pass from Filip Hronek past Hill to tie the game 1-1.
Nedeljkovic made 25 saves through two periods, and Hill, who was looking to win his third straight start, had 11 saves. Hill stopped a combined 66 of 70 shots to help lead the Sharks to wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers late last week.
Couture and defenseman Erik Karlsson returned to the Sharks’ lineup Tuesday.
Couture missed the last three Sharks games after he and Lane Pederson entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol prior to the team playing the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Jan. 4. Both Couture and Pederson had to isolate in Detroit for five days after their respective positive tests.
“I got to know my hotel room pretty well,” said Couture, who entered Tuesday third on the Sharks with 29 points in 32 games. “I didn’t feel sick at all. Wouldn’t have known that I had anything, which is a good thing. That’s basically the best outcome is to feel healthy, feel good and ready to go.”
Karlsson still wasn’t sure after Monday’s practice that he would be able to play against the Red Wings after he was hurt in the Jan. 4 game. Karlsson injured his upper body that night and missed the Sharks’ games against Buffalo and Philadelphia.
Pederson was a healthy scratch Tuesday as Adam Raska made his NHL debut. Raska started Tuesday’s game on a line with Nick Merkley and Viel.
Source: www.mercurynews.com