At 3:18 of overtime, Igor Chernyshov took a game that had become unnecessarily complicated and ended it with a slapshot. Assisted by Macklin Celebrini, the shot gave the San Jose Sharks a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center and completed a three-point night for the forward.
Chernyshov’s finishing deserves the spotlight in the Bay Area club’s victory. He scored twice, added an assist and supplied the deciding goal. That is a substantial individual performance, especially because his second goal came after the Sharks had built a 4-2 lead, watched it disappear and then had to start over in overtime.
The celebration can be upbeat without pretending the Sharks protected their advantage well.
Chernyshov’s first contribution arrived during San Jose’s second-period surge. At 12:32, Nolan Allan made it 3-1, with Michael Misa and Chernyshov credited with the assists. The goal capped a stretch in which the Sharks turned a 1-0 deficit into a two-goal lead in less than 11 minutes.
Tyler Toffoli began that push at 1:48 of the period, redirecting a power-play chance with assists from Ivar Stenberg and Celebrini. Kiefer Sherwood put San Jose ahead at 9:52 with an unassisted goal, and Allan followed.
It was a useful supporting cast: Toffoli finished with a goal and an assist, Celebrini had two assists, and three different Sharks scored before Chernyshov took over the final act.
Los Angeles still managed to keep the margin fragile. Quinton Byfield scored on a power play with two seconds remaining in the second period, trimming San Jose’s lead to 3-2. The Kings converted twice on three power plays, while the Sharks went 1-for-2. Special teams helped create the Sharks’ cushion, but Los Angeles’ efficiency with an extra skater prevented that cushion from becoming comfortable.
Then Chernyshov restored it. At 4:08 of the third period, he scored on a backhand, assisted by Toffoli and Jacob Trouba, to make the score 4-2. It was the kind of finish that gave San Jose room to breathe. The problem was that the Sharks did not hold that room for long.
Erik Haula’s tip-in at 10:21 pulled the Kings within one. Artemi Panarin tied the game at 15:00 with a slapshot assisted by Byfield. Both goals came at even strength, which matters to the diagnosis. San Jose cannot file the collapse entirely under penalty trouble; Los Angeles also found a way through during ordinary five-on-five play.
The shot totals make the comeback understandable without explaining every detail of it. Los Angeles finished with 35 shots to San Jose’s 25 and held a 14-8 edge in the third period. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 31 of 35 shots for the Sharks, while Anton Forsberg made 20 saves on 25 for the Kings.
