After back-to-back discouraging performances late last week, including a blowout loss to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions on home ice, the Sharks desperately needed some things to go their way Wednesday as they began a four-game road trip against the Washington Capitals.
The Sharks found the winning formula again thanks to a standout performance from their No. 1 goalie and offensive contributions from players mired in extended scoring droughts.
Forwards Noah Gregor and Jonathan Dahlen both scored for the first time in well over a month and goalie James Reimer made 32 saves, including 13 in the third period, to lead the Sharks to a 4-1 win over Washington at Capital One Arena.
Defenseman Nicolas Meloche’s first career NHL goal in the second period proved to be the winner as the Sharks survived some tense moments in the third period for their second victory in their last six games.
“Amazing. Just unbelievable,” Meloche said, adding that it was his mother’s birthday Wednesday. “Just special today.”
The Sharks lost 3-2 to the expansion Seattle Kraken last Thursday and were hammered 7-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
But with the win over the Capitals, the Sharks (22-19-2) now have 46 points and are in a three-way tie for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with Dallas and Calgary, although the Flames (20-12-6) and Stars (22-16-2) have played fewer games.
“I don’t know if it was the biggest (win) of the year, but it was definitely a response game,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “You saw the things that we didn’t do against Tampa: the desperation, the urgency, some depth scoring, some blocked shots. Just sacrificing for each other.
“That was what we stressed the last couple of days. It was about showing up, responding, and picking ourselves off the floor.”
Reimer made 19 saves through the first two periods before Daniel Sprong scored just 14 seconds into the third period to cut the Sharks’ lead to 2-1. Reimer, though, was perfect the rest of the way to help the Sharks collect an important two points with less than a week to go before the NHL all-star break.
The Sharks killed off a delay of game Logan Couture with 6:41 left in the third period, then Dahlen scored another insurance goal with 3:09 to go in regulation time. Dahlen’s last goal came on Dec. 9 against Minnesota.
Andrew Cogliano scored an empty-net goal 21 seconds to cap the Sharks’ scoring.
The Sharks did not have Rudolfs Balcers available Wednesday, as had been anticipated. Balcers had not cleared NHL COVID-19 protocol because his cycle threshold value wasn’t where it needed to be to return to play.
Balcers’ five-day isolation ended Tuesday and he was able to fly with the Sharks to Washington. He also participated in the team’s morning skate Wednesday at Capital One Arena.
With Balcers out, Gregor was moved to the top line with Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov. Couture and Dahlen played with Timo Meier.
It worked out for Gregor, who snapped a 20-game goal drought. Stationed beside goalie Ilya Samsonov, he redirected a pass from Brent Burns into the Capitals’ net at the 7:41 mark of the first period for his second goal of the season and his first since Nov. 30.
The Sharks were playing their second straight game without Erik Karlsson and their first since he had surgery Monday to repair a tear in his left forearm.
Boughner said Wednesday that Karlsson could miss up to 12 weeks, but was hopeful that he could be back by the beginning of April, which would be more of a nine-to-10 week time frame.
“We’re hoping that with the break coming up here in February, it was the right time to do it and hopefully we see him back in the middle or to the end of March,” Boughner said. “I would think that’s the aggressive plan. Erik’s beat timelines before in other surgeries. He’s a quick healer, and so we’re hoping we get him back sometime in March.”
Starting with Wednesday’s game, the Sharks have 25 games between now and the end of March. They play three games in the next six days before their next game, Feb. 14 at home against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Sharks finish the road trip with games against the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, before they play the Lightning on Feb. 1.
