Darnell Nurse scored 1:03 into overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 road win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
San Jose twice equalized in regulation, and Nurse’s seventh career overtime winner sealed the comeback victory. Nurse left the bench and moved into the Blues’ zone just in time for Ivan Stenberg to find the defenseman with a well-placed pass.
The Sharks are 3-1-0 this season, with all three victories coming in overtime.
Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist, and Collin Graf had the Sharks’ other goal.
Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 24 of 26 shots. It was Nedeljkovic’s first action of the season after Yaroslav Askarov started San Jose’s first three games.
Macklin Celebrini participated in the Sharks’ morning skate, but the star forward missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.
The Blues are 0-2-1 since a 4-0 shutout over the Dallas Stars in their season opener.
Connor McMichael and Dillon Dube scored for St. Louis, and Joel Hofer stopped 24 of 27 shots.
McMichael’s second goal of the season put St. Louis ahead 3:52 into the first period. The Blues got a 4-on-2 rush into San Jose’s zone, and Mason McTavish made a nice pass to McMichael in front for the close-range finish.
Shots were 12-12 for each team in the second period, as the Sharks recovered from being outshot 11-3 in the opening frame. San Jose’s pressure paid off with the equalizer, as Toffoli converted his own rebound at the 8:48 mark.
A wayward pass from Toffoli led to Dube’s short-handed goal 1:39 into the third period. Dube and Pavel Buchnevich were sprung for a 2-on-1 rush, and with Buchnevich acting as a decoy, Dube took the shot himself and scored his first goal of the season.
Graf followed with his first goal at the 6:05 mark. Sam Dickinson’s backhand pass to the front of the net deflected off Blues defenseman Adam Jiricek, and Graf buried the loose puck.
Robert Thomas had two glorious scoring chances late in the third period, but the Blues forward was denied first by the goalpost, and then a block from Sharks defenseman Kiefer Sherwood.
–Field Level Media
