Center Alexander Wennberg assisted on the game-tying goal, then scored the winner at the 2:49 mark of overtime to lead the San Jose Sharks to a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.
After a Leafs turnover, Wennberg took the puck into the offensive zone and passed it over to William Eklund for a one-timer that goalie Dennis Hildeby stopped. With the puck still loose, Wennberg went to the front of the net, controlled it with his skate, and shot it in for his seventh goal of the season.
The NHL reviewed the play for offside, but Eklund dragged his skate to stay onside — barely – on the 2-on-1 with Wennberg.
Wennberg finished with a season-high three points, and defenseman John Klingberg added two, including the game-tying goal with 1:25 left in regulation time, as the Sharks improved to 2-2-0 on this five-game road trip that ends Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Wennberg screened Hildeby on the play.
“I thought they were checking for the kick, but I’m pretty sure I got a stick on it,” Wennberg said. “You score and celebrate, and all of a sudden, you get called back looking for a review. But I’m happy we found a way to win. It’s a tough game, working our way back, and we showed some identity finding a way to win.”
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic finished with 28 saves for the Sharks (15-14-3).
The Sharks trailed 2-0 after allowing goals to Leafs forward Dakota Joshua and Auston Matthews, with Matthews’ power play goal coming at the 14:32 mark of the second period.
Defenseman Dmitry Orlov scored his first goal as a Shark at the 15:31 mark of the second period to cut the Leafs’ lead to 2-1.
Then, with the Sharks pressing and trailing by one, Klingberg took a pass from Macklin Celebrini and fired a shot from inside the blue line that got past a screened Hildeby for his fifth goal of the season.
The Sharks thought they tied the game with 11:06 left in regulation time, as a centering pass from Barclay Goodrow got past Hildeby. But after a Leafs coach’s challenge, it was determined that Adam Gaudette had put himself offside before he passed the puck to Goodrow.
“I thought we shot ourselves in the foot with a couple puck playing mistakes, but for the most part, I liked the way the guys competed,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We worked hard, did a lot of the things that we’ve been talking about, and I thought we were resilient.
“For us to come out here and get two points — it wasn’t looking too good there for a little bit, especially after the offsides — so, credit to the group.”
Ty Dellandrea had a chance to give the Sharks an early lead after he was awarded a penalty shot with 8:14 left in the first period after Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly hooked him. But Dellandrea’s shot was stopped by the Leafs’ 6-foot-7 Hildeby, who made 11 saves in the first period.
Nedeljkovic, who made 10 saves in the first 20 minutes, was making his third straight start Thursday with Yaroslav Askarov still slightly under the weather. Askarov missed Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers with an illness, stayed there overnight, and flew from Philadelphia to Toronto on Wednesday.
Askarov could be available to start on Sunday.
Nedeljkovic stopped 26 of 29 shots in the Sharks’ 4-1 loss to the Flyers and entered Thursday with a 4-6-2 record and a .899 save percentage in 14 games.
Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin was playing for the first time since Dec. 1 when the Sharks beat the Utah Mammoth 6-3. He was close to playing on Tuesday, with Timothy Liljegren dealing with a lower-body injury, but was scratched again as Liljegren played and had 18:30 of ice time.
Mukhamadullin, who was paired with Mario Ferraro on Thursday, had a goal and four assists in his first 14 games this season.
REAVES’ RETURN
Sharks winger Ryan Reaves was asked Thursday at Scotiabank Arena about his unceremonious departure from the Leafs in July.
“They basically said that I couldn’t play in this league anymore,” Reaves said. “And I’m back.”
In the second year of a three-year, $4.05 million contract, Reaves was healthy scratched 15 times in the Leafs’ first 42 games last season. He ended up only playing in 35 of 62 games before he was placed on waivers in March and assigned to the AHL, where he hadn’t played since 2011.
“I think throughout the year, not just that situation, I think there were other situations that could have been handled differently,” Reaves said. “At the time, I had been in the league for 15 years, and just a little honesty and communication would have been nice. But every team handles things differently.
“It is what it is. I ended up in a great organization in San Jose, and I’m having a great time playing there. I guess (Toronto) was a stepping stone to get here.”