William Eklund, Mikael Granlund, Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro all scored goals within the third period to assist the San Jose Sharks earn a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday to open a five-game road trip .
Eklund and linemate Macklin Celebrini also had two assists each, and goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves for just his second win in a Sharks jersey as San Jose snapped a three-game losing streak.
The six goals the Sharks scored were probably the most in a game since Nov. 29, once they defeated the Seattle Kraken 8-5 at SAP Center.
The Sharks proceed their road trip on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Georgiev ended a private six-game losing streak but has been playing higher currently, stopping 62 of 67 shots in games against the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club last week.
Despite taking a 12-6 lead in the primary period, the Sharks held a 2-0 lead.
Rutta's second goal of the season got here after Alexander Wennberg won a battle behind the Red Wings net and sent the puck forward to Will Smith, whose quick shot was stopped by goaltender Ville Husso. The rebound fell to Rutta, whose shot from the blue line beat Husso and scored his first goal since December 2nd.
The Sharks missed nine of the following 10 shots as they struggled to interrupt through their very own zone and likewise incurred a holding penalty on Ferraro. But at the top of that attack, defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic sent a puck forward to William Eklund, who carried it through the neutral zone before sending a deft pass to Sturm, who skated in and set Husso in motion before scoring his fifth goal of the season.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored considered one of those goals for the Red Wings at 1:26 of the second period. Inside the Sharks zone, Wings forward Jonatan Berggren sent a pass across the ice that was intercepted by defenseman Simon Edvinsson. Georgiev blocked his shot from a good angle, but Tarasenko was near the web and fired a shot that helped Georgiev rating his fifth goal of the season and first since December 1.
The game marked Jake Walman's return to Detroit, where he spent greater than two seasons before he and a 2024 second-round draft pick were surprisingly traded to the Sharks for future considerations.
“It will be nice to be in a familiar place and it will probably bring back a lot of good memories,” Walman said Monday. “I'm sure it will be a happy time and I'll have a lot of smiles when I see people I know and people from the city I know.”
The trade needed to feel like pennies from heaven for the Sharks, as Walman got here into Tuesday's game leading the team's skaters in average time on ice (22:49) and all defensemen with 26 points in 32 games.
Walman, 28, spent the primary 57 games of his NHL profession with the St. Louis Blues before being traded to Detroit in March 2022. In 145 games with the Red Wings, Walman had 43 points in 145 games, but never had a likelihood in Detroit just like the one he received in San Jose.
Walman downplayed the emotional aspect of his return after Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman fired him for essentially nothing. However, his coach said it’s human nature for an athlete to wish to do well again after being eliminated.
“There are emotions and feelings when you play against your former team,” Warsofsky said. “Living here, growing up here, whatever it may be, you have to go through these feelings and hide them as best you can, but you can't cover everything up. So I think the most important thing for him is to keep his game simple and get his legs in.”
ORDER CHANGES: Wennberg returned to the Sharks' lineup on Tuesday after missing Saturday's game as a consequence of illness. Wennberg now has five assists in his last 12 games. With Wennberg's return, Carl Grundstrom dropped out of the lineup. Vlasic also returned to the lineup and played his 1,299th. NHL game of his profession after being a healthy player within the last three games. He replaced Henry Thrun.
WINGS IN FIRE: Since former Sharks head coach Todd McLellan took over as Detroit's alternative coach on Dec. 26, the Red Wings were 7-1-0 before Tuesday and were two points out of a playoff spot. A significant reason for the Wings' success was their power play, which went 14-for-28 throughout the team's winning streak.
The Sharks converted each penalties they conceded against Detroit.
“I just notice how connected they are,” Warsofsky said of Detroit’s power play. “They got along very well. Away from the hustle and bustle, they are dangerous; They’re dangerous when it comes to faceoffs.”
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