With about a minute left in regulation, Kiefer Sherwood became the Sharks’ last line of defense. Robert Thomas had a chance at an open San Jose net, but the winger’s block protected the exposed goal. It preserved a 2-2 tie and kept the Sharks from losing a game they would eventually win.
Darnell Nurse supplied the more glamorous moment 1:03 into overtime, converting Ivar Stenberg’s backdoor pass near the left post for a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Alexander Wennberg picked up the secondary assist, and Nurse scored his first goal for San Jose since arriving in the July 1 trade from Edmonton.
The result offers two truths that can sit beside each other without arguing. San Jose is 3-1-0, and all three victories have come in overtime. The Sharks are collecting points with resourcefulness, but they are also leaving too much of the job unfinished before the 60-minute mark.
The winning play came after the warning
Nurse’s finish was tidy. Stenberg delivered the pass near the left post, Nurse completed it, and San Jose claimed the extra point. That sequence was exactly what overtime rewards: one accurate pass, one well-timed arrival and no need for a second attempt.
Sherwood’s contribution was less elegant and more urgent. Thomas had an opening at the San Jose goal. Sherwood’s block kept the Blues from taking the lead in the final minute. The skater’s intervention made Nurse’s overtime chance possible.
The Sharks had needed that rescue because the game repeatedly slipped away from them. Connor McMichael opened the scoring 3:52 into the first period, finishing a backdoor tip after a give-and-go sequence involving Mason McTavish. Jonatan Berggren also received an assist. San Jose had to spend the rest of the night answering rather than dictating the terms.
Tyler Toffoli delivered the first response during the second period. At 8:48, he recovered his own rebound near the post while being checked by Colton Parayko and tied the score. The goal came shortly after San Jose’s power play expired, making it an even-strength finish rather than a man-advantage conversion.
That detail matters because Toffoli did not simply cash in on a set power-play chance; he stayed with a loose puck through contact and completed the second opportunity.
St. Louis regained the lead early in the third, and the manner of it should bother San Jose more than the timing. Dillon Dube scored shorthanded at 1:39, keeping the puck during a 2-on-1 before firing high. The Sharks had a power play and instead gave up a transition chance that became a goal.
A team can survive one such mistake. Building a dependable season around surviving them is a much shakier proposition.
Collin Graf restored the tie at 6:05. Sam Dickinson sent the puck toward the middle, where the puck glanced off Adam Jiricek. Graf reacted quickly in the slot with a snap shot into the upper-left corner, and Toffoli earned his second point of the night with the assist.
