*Photo from the San Francisco Chronicle*
In the Christmas season, the San Jose Sharks decided to deliver coal to their opponent. Timo Meier had a goal and an assist, Erik Karlsson had a 4 point game, and the Sharks defeated the Minnesota Wild with a 5-2 victory on Thursday night in San Jose.
Karlsson paced the Sharks on the scoreboard with a goal and 3 assists, also extending his current point streak to 9 games. The Wild had a 6 game winning streak entering play Thursday, which the Sharks decided to end for just their 3rd win in 10 games, with a 3-5-2 record in that period.
Sharks head coach David Quinn said that "There was just a lot to like about our game. We've talked throughout the first 34 games that we've had games like this, we've had stretches like this. It's the consistency that we've got to try to bottle. And the thing I really liked tonight was, you know, we managed the puck extremely well. We managed the lead really well."
Just 44 seconds into the game, Karlsson lit the lamp for the Sharks, giving them a 1-0 lead right off the bat. 2:20 into the game was when the Wild answered back, with Joel Eriksson-Ek scoring the game tying goal to make it a 1-1 game. Noah Gregor scored later for the Sharks to make it 2-1 after one period.
On the power play at the 12:47 mark of the second period, Meier scored for the Sharks to lengthen their lead to 3-1 on his 18th goal of the season. Oskar Lindblom then scored to extend the lead to 4-1 before Mats Zuccarello cut into the Wild deficit to make it 4-2 after two periods. The only goal of the 3rd period was an empty net goal by Kevin Labanc to seal the win for the Sharks.
Karlsson said of the win that "I think we played well right from the start. Felt like all the guys were engaged and wanting to play a fast game and get open for guys with the puck, and the guys with the puck were making good decisions. I think overall it was just a solid effort from everybody."
Getting the start for the Sharks was James Reimer, who excelled in net to improve to 7-9-3 with the win. Reimer stopped 24 of the 26 shots that the Wild sent on him, which was good for a .923 save percentage.
Filip Gustavsson started for the Wild opposite Reimer. Gustavsson turned aside 20 out of the 24 shots on goal the Sharks sent towards him, recording a .833 save percentage. Gustavsson took the loss, his record now at 7-5-1 on the season.
Wild head coach Dean Evason said of the loss that "San Jose played hard. They played with a lot of energy. They kept coming at us. We didn't have the sustained offensive zone push that we've had as of late. They put a lot of pressure on us. Give them a lot of credit."
Both teams resume their schedule on December 27 after the Christmas Break. The Sharks face the Vancouver Canucks on the road, with Reimer expected to start. The Wild take on the Winnipeg Jets, with Marc-Andre Fleury the projected starter.
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