*Photo from the East Bay Times*
The matchup between the San Jose Sharks and the Carolina Hurricanes turned into a goalies duel on the pacific coast. One goal would make all the difference. Kevin Labanc scored, Alexander Barabanov scored the winning goal, and the Sharks defeated the Hurricanes 2-1 in overtime on Monday night.
By winning, the Sharks snapped a skid in which they had lost 4 of their last 5 games. Prior to Labanc scoring in the 3rd period, the Sharks had been held scoreless for 135 minutes and 58 seconds. It's a necessary win for the Sharks, who improve their record to 9-8-1 this season, good for 5th place in the Pacific Division standings.
Labanc said of his goal that "With us being down 1-0 that was a big goal. It's a big one for us against a great hockey team. They're a good, hard defensive team. We just have to make sure we aren't turning pucks over because they feed off of those turnovers and then the puck is going back the other way."
Tony DeAngelo got the Hurricanes on the board first, scoring just 1:16 into the second period, breaking the extended deadlock with his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Seth Jarvis and Teuvo Teravainen. Labanc then tied it for the Sharks 3:54 into the 3rd period, assisted by Jasper Weatherby and Mario Ferraro on his 3rd goal of the season.
It remained scoreless until overtime, when Barabanov got the puck on a pass from Tomas Hertl. Barabanov sure made the most of the chance, snapping one into the back of the net 1:42 into overtime, giving the Sharks a 2-1 win. Ferraro got the secondary assist on the winning goal for a two point night.
Facing his old team the Hurricanes, James Reimer made the start for the Sharks, and performed well, saving 22 of the 23 shots he faced, posting a .957 save percentage in the winning effort. With the win, Reimer's record improved to 5-3-1 in 9 starts this season.
Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said of Reimer's performance that "He's been solid for us all year. 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."
Making his 3rd start of the season for the Hurricanes, Antti Raanta took the loss, saving 25 of 27 shots he faced from the Sharks, posting a .926 save percentage in what was still a great effort from Raanta. With the loss, his record drops to 2-0-1 in limited action this season.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the game that "I thought we were way better tonight. It was a good game. We played well, they played better. We couldn't get pucks through, but we were trying to do the right things. We gave them a few chances at the end, I didn't love our last couple of shifts. We had a solid game. I didn't love our power play, that could have been better. That's the difference in the game."
The Sharks and Hurricanes both get back in action on Wednesday, with the Sharks likely starting Reimer again in a matchup against the Ottawa Senators. The Hurricanes face the Seattle Kraken, with Frederik Andersen likely to get the start.
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