Sharks slip past Blues in shootout

[January 21, 2021]  Martin Jones made 23 saves as the visiting San Jose Sharks earned a 2-1 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

Marcus Sorensen scored in regulation and Tomas Hertl produced the lone shootout goal in the fourth round for the Sharks, who earned a split in the two-game set at Enterprise Center. St. Louis won the first matchup 5-4 on Monday.

Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington stopped 37 of 38 shots.

The Blues missed two veterans from the blue line, and it showed. Robert Bortuzzo is on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury and Marco Scandella was a late scratch because of an upper-body injury.

Veteran Carl Gunnarsson has been playing in place of Bortuzzo. Rookie Niko Mikkola stepped in for Scandella, making his season debut.
 

The scoreless first period was evenly played, with the Blues outshooting the Sharks 10-9. After allowing eight power-play goals in 14 tries in their first three games, the Blues killed off all three of their penalties in the period.

After Sharks winger John Leonard hit the right post early in the second period, Schenn put the Blues up 1-0. Jordan Kyrou carried the puck into the offensive zone and left it for Schenn, who scored in the slot at 4:27.

Defenseman Vince Dunn nearly gave the Blues a 2-0 lead late in the second period, but he hit the right post after cutting through the right circle.

Sorensen then tied the game with a diving rebound conversion at the right post with 2:03 left in the middle period.

San Jose Sharks left wing Marcus Sorensen (20) shoots and scores against St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) during the second period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The teams exchanged excellent scoring chances during the third period as the game opened up.

Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson hit the inside of the right post with a short-handed redirection. The Sharks also created multiple chances during back-to-back power plays, but Binnington held firm.

The Sharks outshot the Blues 17-3 in the third period.

The Sharks were dangerous at the end of overtime, but San Jose lost the potential game-winning goal with 11.1 seconds left on a goaltender interference ruling against Ryan Donato.

The Blues went 0-for-5 on the power play, leaving them 0-for-14 for the season. The Sharks went 0-for-7 with the man advantage after they entered the night 5-for-11.

--Field Level Media

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