Jets blow tire in 3rd period to let Sharks dance by for comeback victory
Melker Karlsson and Timo Meier scored goals 89 seconds apart early in the third period to help lift the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Marcus Sorensen also scored for the Sharks (25-28-4), who are 4-3-0 in their past seven games.
Aaron Dell made 29 saves for San Jose.
Kyle Connor scored his team-leading 29th goal of the season with some highlight-worthy moves on the power play and Blake Wheeler had a goal and assist for the Jets (29-25-5).
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots for Winnipeg, which was playing the fourth game of a season-long six-game homestand (2-2-0) and are 4-3-1 in its last eight games.
The Sharks led 1-0 after the first period and the Jets held a 2-1 lead after two.
Sorensen’s sixth goal of the season at 14:51 of the first counted after a Winnipeg coach’s challenge was unsuccessful. Sorensen banged in a loose puck from a crowded crease, but the Jets claimed it was goaltender interference because Hellebuyck’s pad was pushed.
The Sharks outshot the Jets 13-3 during the first period.
Connor and Wheeler gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead with goals 86 seconds apart in the second period.
With former Jets forward Evander Kane in the penalty box for interference, Connor got a pass from Wheeler near the edge of the crease. He then moved the puck between his own legs with a backhand, then changed to the forehand to pop the puck up past Dell at 8:21.
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Wheeler scored at 9:47 with a high one-timer through traffic.
The Sharks held a 24-14 advantage in shots on goal after middle period.
Karlsson and Meier made it 3-2 with goals at 5:18 and 6:47 of the third.
Meier, who scored the game-winner off a rebound, has six points (three goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.
Veteran San Jose defenceman Brent Burns picked up an assist on Meier’s goal in his 1,100th NHL game. It was also the 34-year-old’s 528th consecutive game, the second-longest active streak among defencemen behind Florida’s Keith Yandle (854).
Winnipeg went on the power play with 6:43 remaining in the third after Kane crushed Jets defenceman Neal Pionk from behind into the boards.
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The Jets put six shots at Dell with the man advantage, but his glove knocked away a shot by Wheeler and a blast by Patrik Laine was blocked.
Winnipeg sent a flurry of shots at Dell in the final minute, with one hitting the post and Dell smothering the puck on another.
Winnipeg was 1 for 3 on the power play and San Jose 0 for 3.
San Jose ends a two-game road trip with a late-afternoon game Saturday in Minnesota. Winnipeg hosts Chicago Sunday night.
