AP photo: San Jose Sharks Brent Burns is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the game winner past Arizona Coyote goalie Mike Smith in overtime Tuesday night at SAP Center
By Matthew T.F. Harrington
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks needed every one of their 42 shots to beat the visiting Arizona Coyotes 2-1 in overtime. Brent Burns scored his team-leading 9th goal 19 seconds into the extra period to give San Jose its first win against the Desert Dogs this season. Chris Tierney also scored his second goal of the year and Martin Jones made 18 saves in net for the Sharks (13-9-1).
While Jones was strong in net, Mike Smith once again proved strong against a barrage of Sharks shots. For the second time in as many games against team Teal, Smith made 40-plus saves. Tuesday night Smith turned away 40 to earn the Coyotes (8-10-3) a loser point. On November 19th, Smith made 43 saves at Gila River Arena to give Arizona a 3-2 win and 2-0 record this year against San Jose.
The story would be all Smith if not for a penalty by Martin Hanzal in the final second of the third period. The Coyotes best face-off man and penalty killer got the gate for hi-sticking, giving the Sharks a 4-on-3 advantage in the overtime period.
With a unit of Logan Couture, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton on the ice it was a question of if, not when the Sharks would score. Just a third of a minute into overtime Joe Pavelski fed Burns a one-timer to the faceoff dot to Mike Smith’s right. Burns, always one to capitalize on grade-A chances, buried his 9th goal of the season. The goal, along with 88’s 20 points, are both the best marks in the league by a defenseman.
Despite a barrage of shots, the Sharks were up against an early deficit following a 2nd period goal for second-year wonder Max Domi. Domi took the Coyotes fifth shot and put it in the back of the net 7:19 into the middle frame.
The Sharks own young center Chris Tierney evened the score though, jamming a puck on the goal line past Smith in a scrum with 4:31 left in the 2nd. Neither team would score in the third despite San Jose opening the period with a 5-shot power play.
The Sharks wrap up a two-in-two stretch by traveling down to Los Angeles to face another division rival, the Los Angeles Kings. Following the Battle of California, San Jose returns home Friday night to face the Montreal Canadiens.
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