Sharks 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)
Devin Setoguchi capped a hat trick by scoring 9:21 into overtime as the San Jose Sharks skated to a 4-3 road victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday to secure a commanding 3-0 advantage in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Captain Joe Thornton set up three goals, defenseman Dan Boyle also tallied and Antti Niemi turned aside 38 shots for second-seeded San Jose. The Sharks will look finish off the Red Wings when the teams reconvene at Joe Louis Arena in Game 4 on Friday.
In overtime, Thornton chipped the puck into the offensive zone before feeding Setoguchi shortly after he just came off the bench. Setoguchi then wired a shot past Jimmy Howard for his second overtime winner of this postseason. The 24-year-old Alberta native also ended Game 3 of the conference quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Kings in the extra session.
With San Jose trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Boyle leveled the contest after collecting Kyle Wellwood's centering feed in the right faceoff circle and firing it past Howard for his first goal of the postseason.
Captain Nicklas Lidstrom collected a goal and an assist on Wednesday to pull into a tie for second place among defensemen with Hall of Famer Ray Bourque for career playoff points (180). Hall of Famer Paul Coffey leads all blue-liners with 196 postseason points.
Fourth-liner Patrick Eaves also scored, Henrik Zetterberg notched a pair of assists and Howard finished with 34 saves for third-seeded Detroit.