SAN JOSE – The Carolina Hurricanes were not giving the San Jose Sharks a lot of room to operate in their own zone in the first two periods of Monday’s game at SAP Center, hounding the puck on the forecheck at every opportunity.
That didn’t necessarily change the way the Sharks wanted to play against one of the best teams in the NHL, even after they fell behind by one goal.
“I thought we were in a great spot,” Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “Everybody felt good about themselves and we were still in it. Even when they scored, it didn’t really affect our game and we just stuck with it and got it done.”
The Sharks got a third-period goal from Kevin Labanc to tie the game before Alexander Barabanov scored at the 1:42 mark of overtime to give the Sharks a much-needed 2-1 win over the Hurricanes before an announced crowd of 10,970.
After a tripping penalty to Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce had just expired, Barabanov, stationed at the side of the Hurricanes’ net, took a pretty pass from Tomas Hertl and scored past goalie Antti Raanta for his third goal of the season.
Barabanov had taken a big hit from Nino Niederreiter in the first period. It looked like Niederreiter made contact with Barabanov’s head, leading him to momentarily leave the game — due to a call from the concussion spotter — before he came back for the start of the second period.
“He’s a tough kid,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said of Barabanov. “Not a very big guy, but he’ll take a hit and make a play and he keeps coming back.”
Sharks goalie James Reimer finished with 22 saves as the Sharks won for just the second time in six games, rebounding after losses to the St. Louis Blues last Thursday and the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
“This is a huge team win,” said Boughner, whose team improved to 9-8-1. “It’s tough saying that after 18 games or whatever, but team confidence is huge.”
The Hurricanes entered Monday with a 14-2-0 record, which included an 8-1-0 mark away from home. They were looking to sweep the California swing after beating Anaheim 2-1 last Thursday and Los Angeles 5-4 on Saturday.
“They are the better team if you look at the standings, but it just shows that we can play against any team,” Karlsson said. “This is the effort that we have to bring, the details we have to stick with, even if it doesn’t always go our way.”
The Sharks only had nine power-play opportunities in their last five games before Monday and did not get any chances with the man advantage in games against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 11 and the St. Louis Blues last Thursday.
Monday, Karlsson himself was more than a little frustrated, particularly midway through the third period when he was tripped inside the Hurricanes’ zone directly in front of one of the referees. Karlsson got up and swung his stick against the glass in frustration.
Karlsson took the high road afterward when asked about the incident, giving credit to officials Kyle Rehman and Trevor Hanson for the way they called the game. But there was no doubt the Sharks felt a bit of frustration for not receiving a power-play opportunity before the 19:38 mark of the third period.
“We were frustrated in the third period. In the 60 minutes, we thought we could have had a couple of calls there,” Boughner said, noting that although the Sharks’ power play had just ended, “it gave us a chance to put some pressure on them and tire those guys out.
“It was a big relief for us. We thought we could have got (a power-play) earlier.”
The Sharks only created a handful of scoring chances in the first two periods. When the Sharks did generate some quality looks, it was usually because of their top line of Timo Meier, Logan Couture, and Rudolfs Balcers.
That trio had nine of the Sharks’ 16 shots through 40 minutes as they trailed the Hurricanes 1-0.
Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo took control of the puck inside the Sharks’ blue line and ripped a shot past Reimer for his fourth goal of the season at the 1:16 mark of the second period.
The Sharks got that goal back near the start of the third period.
After a forecheck by Jasper Weatherby inside the Canes’ zone created a loose puck, Labanc took control and used a wrist shot to beat Raanta for his third of the season at the 3:54 mark of the third. The goal broke an eight-game goalless drought for Labanc, whose other four points this season came on the power play.
Reimer was making his third start in the last four games and was playing his first game against the Hurricanes since he signed a two-year deal with the Sharks in July.
Reimer had a record of 29-11-4 in 47 games over two seasons with Carolina from 2019-2021, and his time in Raleigh, N.C. ended with a .910 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average.
So far this season, Reimer’s played as well as anyone could have expected.
Reimer came into Monday with a .938 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average in nine games – the best totals of his 12-year career so far.
Reimer now has a goals-against average of 1.87.
“He’s been solid for us all year,” Karlsson said of Reimer. “He’s coming in with a great attitude. Even if one squeaks by him in doesn’t really affect him.
“That obviously gives the bench and the players on the ice a bit more confidence.”
The Sharks’ homestand continues with games against Ottawa on Wednesday and Toronto on Friday.
