Logan Couture and Dan Boyle scored in a shootout Thursday night
as the San Jose Sharks rallied past the New York Islanders 2-1 at
soldout HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE
Logan Couture and Dan Boyle scored in a shootout Thursday night as the San Jose Sharks rallied past the New York Islanders 2-1 at soldout HP Pavilion.
Antero Niittymaki made two saves in the shootout before Boyle secured the extra point with a backhander into the net to give San Jose an insurmountable 2-0 edge in the three-round session.
The win lifted San Jose into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, holding 16 points after 14 games.
The Sharks have two games left on the current homestand, a 7 p.m. Saturday game against Calgary and a 7:30 p.m. showdown on Monday with Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles.
The Islanders brought an eight-game losing streak into Thursday’s game. During that stretch that dropped the club into a tie for the fewest points in the NHL (10) with New Jersey and Edmonton, the Isles never led at any point during that streak.
After a scoreless first period, New York grabbed a 1-0 lead at 4:51 of the second period.
PA Parenteau handled the scoring chore for the Isles. The winger controlled the puck behind the San Jose blue line, then skated outside the left faceoff circle before turning toward at the net at the top of the slot to whip a hard shot into the top right corner of the net. Jack Hillen and John Tavares earned assists.
A six-second span of Isle miscues in the second period aided the Sharks’ comeback.
Hillen went to the penalty box for interfering San Jose’s Ryane Clowe at 14:04. At the 14:10 mark, Isle Mike Mottau was penalized for delaying the game by sending the puck over the glass.
San Jose made it 1-1 16 seconds into the 5-on-3 advantage. Defenseman Boyle controlled the power play from the top of the slot. The puck worked from Patrick Marleau to Joe Pavelski at the bottom of the left circle. Pavelski’s cross-ice pass to Boyle at the top of the right circle led to Boyle’s shot that skimmed off the hip of New York’s Mark Eaton and past goalie Dwayne Roloson at 14:26.
Boyle’s successful shot was his 50th career power-play goal.
San Jose posted a 12-8 edge in shots on net in the first period. Both teams had one power play.
New York had a chance to open the scoring at 2:30 of the second period. San Jose’s Jason Demers pushed a soft pass across the top of the New York zone that Josh Bailey intercepted. The Islander sped up-ice on a breakaway and was able to put a shot on net from point-blank range that Niittymaki kicked aside.
San Jose fashioned an 8-7 edge on shots in the scoreless third period. The Isles produced the only three shots of the five-minute overtime.
