Kevin Labanc tied the game early in the third period and Alexander Barabanov scored just as a power play expired in overtime to give the Sharks a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Hurricanes on Monday night in San Jose.
The result spoiled another solid performance by Carolina goaltender Antti Raanta, who made 25 saves — including several in the final minutes of regulation — to help the Hurricanes earn a point for the fourth straight game during their West Coast road trip.
“I feel good. I feel confident,” Raanta said. “It’s fun to play. Just, obviously, you want to get those two points.”
The Hurricanes shot the puck plenty at opposing goaltender and former teammate James Reimer, but the Sharks used two layers of players in the defensive zone to block as many shots (23) as Carolina got on goal.
“We just didn’t get bounces,” Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo said. “A lot of times when a team’s doing that, you’re going to get it to hit off somebody and go right to one of our guys because nobody’s covered when you’re blocking twice like that. But no bounces tonight — it is what it is.”
The one that did get by Reimer — who improved to 4-3-1 on the season with a .940 save percentage and 1.87 goals-against average in his second tour of duty in San Jose — of course came on a sequence that featured a blocked shot.
DeAngelo, playing on the first pairing with Jaccob Slavin after Ethan Bear tested positive for COVID-19, saw his first attempt from the right point blocked. Teuvo Teravainen attempted a centering feed that was deflected back to DeAngelo, and the defenseman scored his fourth goal of the season with a slap shot that beat Reimer (22 saves) high to the stick side.
“They were screening their own goalie, so I just tried to pick a spot,” DeAngelo said.
The Hurricanes, however, struggled all night to get shots on net, and the power play also failed to generate much in just two opportunities.
“Our power play wasn’t very sharp. … We didn’t get much zone time, didn’t get many shots,” DeAngelo said. “That wasn’t good enough. When you have two power plays, especially one in the third, us 10 guys, both units, you’ve gotta try to find a way to get one. You can’t keep going 0-for-2, 0-for-3 or whatever. So we’ve got to start bearing down there.”
The Sharks had only one man advantage, but they made it count.
Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce was called for tripping in the final minute of regulation, and the Sharks capitalized when Tomas Hertl snuck a pass under sliding defenseman Ian Cole to Barabanov for a tap-in at 1:42 of overtime for the win. The goal came after Pesce had left the box and counted as an even-strength tally, but it was the late 4-on-3 that created the opportunity.
“They get a power play goal — it doesn’t count as one, but it’s essentially a power play goal — and we didn’t,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Other than that, that was a good effort.”
For a while it looked like Carolina would leave San Jose with a 1-0 win, but a Slavin turnover allowed Labanc to get off a shot that sneaked under Raanta’s right arm at 3:54 of the third period to tie the game.
“I don’t know if it hit a little bit on Tony’s stick or not, but I feel like I can make that save and keep us in the lead,” Raanta said. “But that’s hockey and sometimes bad bounces happen.”
The Hurricanes still gained a point in the standings remain atop the NHL at 14-2-1, and Carolina has already banked seven of a possible eight points through four games of their six-game road trip. The next stop is in Seattle on Wednesday, for the franchise’s first game against the Kraken, followed by a cross-country trip to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Friday before returning home.
Brind’Amour seemed to indicate he expects more fallout from Bear’s positive test. The coach was unsure of the defenseman’s status or what Bear’s quarantine will entail, but he was visibly concerned about the virus spreading further through his team’s locker room.
“You look around the league, it’s very rare that (only) one guy gets it,” the coach said. “It’s just kind of an unfortunate thing everybody’s dealing with, and we’ll take it as it comes.”
Notes: Seth Jarvis played his 10th NHL game, meaning the first year of his entry-level contract will be burned this season. He had an assist on Carolina’s only goal, giving him points in four straight games. His three-game goal streak did come to an end. … The Hurricanes won just 20 of 51 faceoffs. … Reimer improved to 6-6-3 in his career against Carolina. … The Hurricanes have allowed just eight power play opportunities by opponents through four games of their road trip and have yet to allow a goal.
