Sharks Bounce Back, Defeat Wild 4-3 in Shootout

The Minnesota Wild continued their road trip on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, when they faced the San Jose Sharks. The Wild had their full roster healthy with the exception of Daemon Hunt, while the Sharks were without Timothy Liljegren, Adam Gaudette, Will Smith, Philipp Kurashev, Vincent Desharnais, and Logan Couture.

Jesper Wallstedt was in the net for the Wild while Yaroslav Askarov was in the net for the Sharks. The game started out in favor of the Wild, but the Sharks fought back and took the lead into the final period. The Wild forced their way back into the game, and it was tied 3-3 going into the final minutes. The game required overtime to determine a winner, and that didn’t do it, so they needed a shootout, and the Sharks came out on top. This moved the Wild’s record to 24-10-7 and the Sharks to 20-17-3.

Game Recap

The Wild got on the scoreboard first with a goal from Vladimir Tarasenko near the halfway point of the first period. Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza assisted him. That was the only goal in the first period, and the Wild took the lead into the second.

The Sharks got on the board early in the second period with a goal from Igor Chernyshov to tie it 1-1. Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund assisted him. The Sharks took their first lead of the game late in the second period with a goal from Jeff Skinner on the power play. Dmitry Orlov assisted him, which gave his team the 2-1 lead.

The Sharks extended their lead in the third period with a goal from Celebrini. Chernyshov assisted him to make it 3-1. The Wild answered back a short time later with a goal from Marcus Foligno. Zach Bogosian and Jake Middleton assisted him to make it 3-2. Just a couple of minutes later, Mats Zuccarello scored to tie the game up 3-3, and he was unassisted.

The third ended tied, and they needed overtime, where no one scored, and a shootout was needed. The Sharks came out on top in the shootout and took the win 4-3.

The Wild will remain on the road for a back-to-back on Friday, Jan. 2, against the Anaheim Ducks and Saturday, Jan. 3, against the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks will remain at home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.