Coyotes stop Sharks in shootout
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Brendan Perlini and Radim Vrbata scored goals and goalie Mike Smith stopped two of three shots as the Arizona Coyotes beat the Sharks 3-2 in a shootout at SAP Center on Saturday night.
The Sharks produced all five of their shots in overtime on a power play courtesy of Arizona captain Shane Doan, who tripped Tomas Hertl at 2:09.
San Jose outshot Arizona 35-26 through regulation on the strength of a 14-6 advantage in the third period.
The Sharks briefly took their first lead at 2:18 of the third period when Logan Couture scored his 18th goal of the season.
Patrick Marleau got a piece of Alexander Burmistrov's attempted clear to create a turnover. After getting the puck back from former Coyotes Mikkel Boedker, Marleau fed Couture in the mid-slot for a wrist shot that sailed over the right blocker of Smith.
The visitors struck back 26 seconds later, however, as Ryan White got credit for his fifth goal of the season when the Arizona center's wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle ramped up the stick of Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon and over the left glove of goalie Martin Jones at 2:44.
The game was tied 1-1 after a chippy opening 40 minutes.
The Coyotes broke a scoreless tie on the power play at 12:23 when Doan scored his first goal since Dec. 23. The Sharks were within 10 seconds of killing off a too-many-men minor.
Doan's wrister from the high slot eluded San Jose goalie Martin Jones as neither penalty-killing defensemen Paul Martin nor Brent Burns could close fast enough to prevent the Coyotes' captain from shooting.
Doan's fifth of the season snapped a 16-game goal-scoring drought, and was his first since notching his 400th career goal against Toronto. The strike came while Couture and Arizona's Max Domi were exchanging shoves in the neutral zone for a good 10-to-15 seconds without anything called.
The hosts struck back late in the period when Dillon scored his first goal of the season. Dillon was denied in close by Smith, but squeezed his stick between the goalie's legs to backhand the loose puck over the goal line at 17:15.
Marleau extended his points streak to a season-high six straight games by providing the primary assist.
The Sharks had a golden opportunity to score first, but failed to take advantage of a full two-man 5-on-3 after Smith attacked Sharks rookie Timo Meier following a whistle late in the first period. Arizona defenseman Luke Schenn compounded the problem with a rough, but the Coyotes allowed only one shot while down two players.
NOTES: Sharks F Micheal Haley returned for the first time since Jan. 18 after a stint on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Haley joined the fourth line alongside LW Melker Karlsson and RW Kevin Labanc. Haley leads San Jose with 61 penalty minutes. ... Arizona continues to play without injured C Brad Richardson (broken leg). D Kevin Connauton, C Peter Holland and RW Josh Jooris were healthy scratches. ... San Jose next plays at Buffalo on Tuesday to open a four-game road trip. ... Arizona next hosts Montreal on Thursday. ... Arizona C Martin Hanzal appeared in his 600th career game Saturday. ... San Jose continues to play without injured LW Joonas Donskoi (upper body) and D Dylan DeMelo (broken wrist). C Ryan Carpenter and D Tim Heed did not dress. ... Coyotes G Mike Smith was outspoken in regard to the league mandating goalies wear the new slimmed down pants by Saturday. "I think the timing is just horrendous," he told the Arizona Republic. "To change any equipment in the middle of the season is just absurd to me. It just doesn't make any sense. Why not wait two more months and make a change at the start of a season instead of the middle of a season."