The Sharks found a way to grind out a 3-2 overtime win over the Blues in St. Louis, and it was Stenberg who set up Nurse for the finish.
Tyler Toffoli, Collin Graf and Darnell Nurse scored for San Jose, which had to work through a rocky opening before settling into the game at Enterprise Center.
The first period was a scramble for the Sharks. St.
Louis struck on the McMichael goal after Trouba fell while crossing the offensive zone, turning the sequence into a 4-on-2 the other way and an easy finish. San Jose also took a Kesselring penalty early, a rough way to start even if it was not as lopsided as the Sharks’ loss to the Dallas Stars without Celebrini.
San Jose did generate a few looks. At 10 in, the Sharks rolled out a power-play group of Cagnoni, Stenberg, Smith, Chernyshov and Wennberg, and Wennberg set up Smith for a chance that Hofer stopped.
Later, Fowler got one through that created chaos in front, the kind of play young San Jose defensemen need to learn from. Stenberg also showed some promise using Wennberg as a screen, but the Sharks struggled to create real space and spent too much of the period stuck without a clean breakout or much forecheck pressure.
The second period brought more of the same early, including a bad Stenberg turnover to open the frame. Chernyshov also had trouble with an exit that never got out, and the Sharks kept giving away too much time and space. There were some signs of life from the Wennberg line, and Stenberg won a battle along the wall against Sutter, but San Jose still looked loose.
Misa drew a penalty in front after sticking with a play in the offensive zone, and that set up the Sharks’ first goal. Toffoli finished a strong shift, starting with a high-to-low pass to Trouba that stretched the Blues defense before Toffoli found an opening and shot it. He didn’t need to be spectacular to be effective, and the Sharks needed that kind of veteran presence.
The penalty kill later held firm, giving up only two shots and keeping them to the outside. Nedeljkovic also had plenty to handle throughout the night and kept the Sharks in it with a series of stops. Just before the end of the period, a telegraphed pass from Marchment nearly cost San Jose badly, but Kesselring helped recover on the backcheck and Nedeljkovic made the stop.
The third period started with a Blues goal on a power play, and the Sharks had to respond. They did, and the sequence that led to Graf’s goal started with good work all over the ice.
Trouba broke up an entry with his stick, Dickinson jumped on it and went coast to coast, and though that rush didn’t produce a goal, it tilted the ice. Toffoli helped deny an exit, Dickinson pounced on another loose puck and sent it toward the front, and Graf finished after a fortunate bounce.
Misa also showed more of what San Jose sees in him when he had time and space. He jumped on a poor Blues clear and found Graf for a big chance, a sign of growth compared with last year.
Dickinson stayed involved in just about everything, even if he did cough it up high late in the period. Chernyshov at least helped by tracking back hard to make up for it.
Kesselring continued to stand out defensively, and his work late helped close things down before the Sharks finished the job in overtime. Stenberg’s setup to Nurse delivered the winner, and San Jose walked out with the 3-2 victory.
In Other News...
Sharks Showed Something Important With Celebrini Suddenly Out
The Sharks had to navigate a tough test in St. Louis without Macklin Celebrini, who was unavailable because of a lower-body injury, and the result was the kind of response a young team can point to later. San Jose edged the Blues 3-2 in overtime, with Darnell Nurse delivering the winner and the group finding a way to keep its footing even after losing its captain before the puck dropped.
There was more movement around the roster as well, with Brett Leason placed on waivers, a decision that appears to clear room for another forward to rejoin the lineup once healthy. Between the win and the personnel shuffle, San Jose suddenly has a little more to sort through than just the score sheet, and the next update on Celebrini will loom large after a night that hinted at the teams depth but left the bigger injury question hanging. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Roster Move Just Put Their Early Forward Picture In Focus
The Sharks early-season forward group is starting to take shape, and a recent roster move gave a clearer look at where things stand. San Jose placed Brett Leason on waivers after he did not appear in the teams first three games, a sign the club is getting closer to full health up front after sorting through its opening-week lineup combinations.
Adam Gaudettes progress is the key piece here, as the center is nearing a return from the upper-body injury he suffered in training camp and should slide back into a middle-six role soon. If Leason clears, the expectation is that he will head to the AHLs San Jose Barracuda, leaving the Sharks with a cleaner picture as they try to settle their forward rotation early in the season. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Showed Early Fight In A Road Test Fans Needed To See
The Sharks had enough early push in St. Louis to make this feel less like a routine road night and more like a team trying to show it still had some bite. In a nationally broadcast game, San Jose answered an early Blues lead by tying things up twice, a small but meaningful step for a group that has spent too much of the season chasing games instead of shaping them.
St. Louis eventually found separation with a short-handed goal, and the Blues finished off a 3-2 overtime win, but the effort still offered San Jose a few reasons to feel better about the compete level. The lineup was again without Macklin Celebrini, who missed his second straight game while recovering from a lower-body injury, and that absence only sharpened the focus on how the Sharks responded with one of their more spirited road starts. [Read more 🡒]