Oct 20, 2022; New York, New York, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
NHL: San Jose Sharks at New York Rangers
The San Jose Sharks secured their first victory of the season when they got the better of the New York Rangers in overtime 3-2 on Thursday evening. Erik Karlsson was the one to end the game 49 seconds into OT with the Rangers struggling to get any offensive momentum in the extra period. Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant started Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trochek, and Adam Fox during the 3-on-3 period, where they turned the puck over right next to Igor Sheshterkin, setting up San Jose’s presence in the offensive zone right from the start. With the Sharks pressuring, Karlsson got wide open in the slot to score the goal on a wide-open net after Timo Meier fooled Sheshterkin in tight. “We tried our best to win the game instead of sitting back and seeing what’s going to happen. … Timo did a good job of staying patient and he found me for an easy goal,” Karlsson said on the game-winner. Just like that, San Jose became 1-5-0.
You have to wonder why Gallant decided to sit Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. For the Swede, he has consistently provided for the team, putting up 4 goals in the first 4 games of the season. After he had a 4-point night against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night, the Sharks shut him out on Thursday night. New York had opportunities in the game early on with two quick power plays. If there is any aspect of the sport that the Rangers dominate, it would almost unanimously be on Special Teams. Unfortunately for the Broadway Blueshirts, the team went flat on the Power Play all game long as they failed to capitalize on 5 opportunities. “The whole first period was special teams,” Kreider said. “We lost the special teams battle, lost the period. We had an opportunity to kind of put our brand on the game early, a bunch of power-play opportunities, a couple of miscues on the penalty-kill. … We leave (down) 1-0 and we’re chasing the game.”
San Jose got the party started early in the 1st with a goal from their captain, Logan Couture. The goal was ironically on the power play, the only goal of its kind that night. The Rangers dealt their damage in the 2nd, with Filip Chytil notching in his second goal of the year on a feed from Chris Kreider. Artemi Panarin was also able to notch in a goal shortly after, extending his status as the NHL’s leader in points (11). Radim Simek tied the game for the Sharks at 2-2 to close the 2nd period. After two periods, the Rangers out-shot the Sharks 21-9. It was an empty scoresheet in the 3rd with the Rangers putting up only 2 shots in the final 20-minute period, signaling the Rangers’ first OT game of 2022. “We got a point out of it and we weren’t great in the third period, we were pretty bad,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “I don’t expect to see that period again.”
Once New York lost the puck right next to their cage, San Jose was on the attack for good. And so, Karlsson got his second point of the evening to secure David Quinn’s first win of the season in his return to MSG. He was fired 18 months ago as the head coach of Rangerstown and now he gets the last laugh as San Jose ended up out-shooting the Rangers 27-23. The NHL can most certainly be unpredictable at times, but for an organization that won 3 of its first 4 games of the year going up against a team on a 5-game losing streak, this one has to sting. The result puts New York at 3-1-1 (7 points) with a win and a loss during their current four-game homestand. The third game will come on Sunday at 5 pm against Johnny Gaudreau and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
