With an unforgettable night, Sharks defenseman makes his case to stay in lineup

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Nicolas Meloche was already looking forward to seeing his mother, Natalie, in south Florida this week, helping her celebrate her birthday before the Sharks play the Panthers in Sunrise on Saturday night.

Now Meloche will be able to bring his mom a special gift – the puck from his first NHL goal.

Meloche scored his first career goal in 21 NHL games on his mom’s birthday Wednesday, a second-period snipe that proved to be the game-winner in the Sharks’ 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

“For sure calling her after I’m done here,” Meloche said. “Just special that it’s on her birthday. We talked earlier. She’s in Florida right now. It’s fun. I’ll be able to give her the puck (Thursday or Friday), so it’s great timing.”

Meloche has patiently waited for opportunities to play with the Sharks since he was acquired by the team from the Colorado Avalanche prior to the start of the 2019-2020 season.

Meloche, 24, played seven NHL games last season, and six more from Oct. 30 to Nov. 11 this season when four Sharks defensemen, including Erik Karlsson, were out for COVID-related reasons. Meloche has seen spot duty here and there since that point but hasn’t been able to stay in the lineup full time.

He’s getting another chance to play right now. Karlsson will be out of the lineup long-term after he had surgery Monday to repair a small muscle tear in his left forearm, and Sharks coach Bob Boughner is looking for ways to fill that void.

For the moment, Boughner is loving what he’s seeing from Meloche.

Besides the defenseman’s pretty goal, which he snapped past Ilya Samsonov from the high-slot off a Matt Nieto assist after he jumped into the play, Boughner enjoyed the physical presence that the 6-foot-3, 211-pound Meloche brought.

Meloche, the Avalanche’s second-round pick in 2015, finished with five hits, adding a dimension that Boughner felt was sorely lacking from his team last weekend.

“I really liked him down in the trenches,” Boughner said of Meloche. “I thought he was big and heavy. I thought he was physical, he won a lot of battles, made some good plays on some exits.

“That’s what we need from Mel every night. We’ve talked a little about that before, me and him, is making sure when you’re in that lineup, make it hard for me to take you out. Give me a reason to play you again, and he definitely did that tonight.”

Boughner lamented how soft he thought the Sharks played in their own end in Saturday’s 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Far too many stick checks and plenty of free passes to Lightning forwards in front of the Sharks’ net for his liking.

In the Sharks’ first game since Karlsson’s surgery, Boughner traded some skill in Ryan Merkley for some size in Meloche, who was with the 6-foot-6 Jaycob Megna for an imposing third defense pair.

Merkley had his share of struggles in the loss to Tampa Bay and it’s fair to speculate that he’ll again be a scratch for Saturday’s game with the Panthers at FLA Live Arena.

In any case, Boughner is looking to find ways to make do without Karlsson and his 23 minutes of ice time per game for the next two months and possibly beyond. Meloche had 15:45 of ice time Wednesday.

“It (stinks) to see (Karlsson) go down, but it means that other guys need to step up and myself as well,” Meloche said. “I’m just trying to get that opportunity and do the best I can to help this team win.”

Meloche did just that with a second-period block on a Brett Leason shot that kept the Sharks ahead 2-0.

“I saw the net was wide open,” Meloche said, “and blocked it.”

Now, when Meloche meets with his mom later this week, she’ll likely be able to watch him play Saturday.

“Amazing. Just unbelievable,” Meloche said. “Just special today.”

ROAD DOG: James Reimer made 32 saves Wednesday and now has a 5-5-0 record in 11 road games with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. In 12 home games, Reimer is 8-3-1 with a 2.92 GAA and a .908 save percentage.

BURNS STEPS UP: Brent Burns assisted on Noah Gregor’s first-period goal, giving him one goal and 12 assists in the 10 games that Karlsson has missed this season. The Sharks are 6-3-1 in those games.

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