Sharks Stun Maple Leafs In Come-from-behind Ot Win By ‘playing For Each Other'

Sharks stun Maple Leafs in come-from-behind OT win by ‘playing for each other' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Scotiabank Arena was rocking on Thursday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs took a 2-0 lead over the visiting Sharks nearly 15 minutes into the second period. 

But in the end, it was the home team’s crowd that was left stunned after San Jose tied the game 2-2 late in the third period and went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

The Sharks, coming off a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, never quit in the face of steep adversity. 

It truly was a resilient team effort that fueled San Jose’s gritty victory north of the border.

“It’s up and down,” prefaced center Alex Wennberg postgame, after scoring the overtime winner. “But the way we play [and] how hard we work for one another, we’re never giving up. 

“Today — a lot of guys are from Toronto — [we] showed some character [and] found a way to get the win for everyone. [Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic] played unbelievably. We talked about finding ways to win games; I mean, I say it all the time. But it’s all that matters right now.”

Wennberg finished with the game-winner and two assists. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov scored his first goal as a Shark. Center Macklin Celebrini and left wing William Eklund each had one assist. Nedeljkovic collected 30 saves. And defenseman John Klingberg, continuing his recent resurgence, finished with one goal and one assist.

San Jose could’ve accepted its fate on the road in another country. However, the Sharks kept swimming and trusted each other to find life, especially in the final frame.

“Just when we came in [to start the third period], the belief that we could still come back and win the game was fully there in the room; everybody believed it,” defenseman Sam Dickinson said, enjoying the outcome of his first NHL game in his hometown. “I think when we went out there, that was all it was, just going out playing for each other, wanting to get a win.

“And we came out with the result we wanted.”

The promising stats and electric moments were rewarding. But as Wennberg and Dickinson echoed, winning is all that matters to San Jose.

And after Thursday’s thriller, the Sharks received news they value: they now have possession of the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot.

If that wasn’t the definition of a team win for the Sharks, then who knows what is.

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