Anaheim Sucks @ San Jose Sharks 4-6 - 11/29

While his teammates were on the ice Saturday for their morning skate at SAP Center, San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture was at the hospital, getting treated for an illness that had caused an eye to swell up. Couture was questionable to play against the Anaheim Sucks. But after receiving an IV and taking antibiotics, he participated in warm-ups and then scored the Sharks' first two goals in a 6-4 win. Couture got San Jose off to the fast start it was missing during its four-game losing streak, which ended Saturday. The Sharks didn't hold a lead at any point in their previous four games, but Couture ended that drought at 9:05 of the first period when Patrick Marleau rifled a slap shot from above the right circle into traffic that bounced off Tommy Wingels and two Sucks, then ricocheted to Couture at the right of the crease. Couture fired a wrist shot past goalie Frederik Andersen. Joe Pavelski, Wingels, Tomas Hertl and Matt Nieto also scored for the Sharks (11-10-4), who have won both of their games against Anaheim this season. The Sharks hadn't scored more than three goals in nine straight games before Saturday. Corey Perry scored two goals for the Sucks, giving him a team-high 14. Matt Beleskey and Ryan Getzlaf also scored. Andersen allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced by backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera at 6:06 of the second period with San Jose leading 5-1. The Sucks were coming off a 4-1 loss Friday to the Chicago Blackhawks, but they mustered the energy to wage a furious comeback. They scored three unanswered goals, the first two by Perry and the third by Getzlaf, to cut San Jose's lead to 5-4 at 4:20 of the third period. After Getzlaf scored, McLellan called a time out to deliver a strong message. The Sharks tightened up and Nieto gave them a two-goal cushion with an empty-net goal with 49.2 seconds left. After Couture put San Jose ahead 1-0, the lead lasted 1:48. Anaheim pulled even on Beleskey's 11th goal of the season. Hampus Lindholm sent a shot through heavy traffic and Beleskey redirected the puck past Niemi (30 saves). San Jose moved back ahead on Couture's shorthanded goal at 14:35 of the first period. Lindholm mishandled a pass in the neutral zone, and Couture swooped in for the puck and went in on a breakaway. He wristed a shot between Andersen's pads for his 10th goal of the season. Pavelski increased San Jose's lead to 3-1 via the power play with 14 seconds left in the first period. Joe Thornton sent a cross-crease pass from below the right circle to Pavelski, and he hammered a shot from close range past Andersen. Wingels made it 4-1 at 2:46 of the second period, redirecting Marleau's long blast through Andersen's pads. The Sharks scored again at 6:09 on Hertl's fifth goal of the season. Defenseman Josh Manson made an errant pass in Anaheim's end that went to Hertl along the left boards. He darted toward the slot and beat Andersen with a backhand to the far side. The goal prompted Sucks coach Bruce Boudreau to replace Andersen with LaBarbera. Anaheim cut San Jose's lead to 5-2 at 18:52 of the second period on Perry's first goal of the game. Getzlaf sent a pass ahead to Perry in the slot and he flipped a backhand shot over Niemi's right shoulder. Perry scored again 29 seconds into the third period. Getzlaf sent a long shot toward the net into traffic and the puck bounced off Perry and past Niemi to make it 5-3. Getzlaf made it a one-goal game at 4:20 of the third when he capitalized on a turnover by Marleau in the Sharks zone to score his seventh goal of the season on a nifty backhand. The Sucks had scored a combined six goals in their previous three games. Boudreau split up Perry and Getzlaf to start the game, but he put them back together late in the second period. Sharks forward Mike Brown was activated from injured reserve and was in the lineup for the first time since Oct. 11 when he broke his left hand in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. San Jose placed forward Tyler Kennedy (lower body) on IR to make room for Brown on the active roster. He skated on the fourth line with center Andrew Desjardins and John Scott, who had been a healthy scratch for seven straight games. Defenseman Eric Brewer made his Sucks debut, one day after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. The Sucks have four defensemen on IR (Ben Lovejoy, Mark Fistric, Clayton Stoner and Francois Beauchemin).

Sharks Quotes

Todd McLellan: "I thought he had a [heck] of a game. Probably his best game of the season in my opinion. He was all over the puck, he played well defensively, looked really good. Tonight kind of epitomizes our team. We come out and we do exactly what we want to do. We play with a straight-forward mentality, no turnovers, a hard forecheck, physical, on pucks, special teams are sharp. We get a lead and now we want to play a different game. We want to play a softer cuter game, if you will, make plays. We started to turn pucks over, we weren't as physical. We weren't playing north-south, we weren't shooting, and that timeout was to remind them that that's what got us to the four-goal lead, and we got away from it. We're disappointed we gave up that lead. We're very happy we won the game."
Logan Couture: "We needed it. We haven't been scoring many goals so it was good to find some way to score, shorthanded, power play, even strength. A couple minutes it got away from us in the third, but overall a pretty good game. Felt good scoring when the puck just finds you with an open net, then you get a lucky bounce and you get a breakaway. Felt all right."

Penalties

1st Period
12:41 SJS	Justin Braun  Delaying Game-Puck over glass
18:51 ANA	Jakob Silfverberg  Hi-sticking against  Matt Irwin
2nd Period
06:32 SJS	James Sheppard  Roughing against  Matt Beleskey
06:32 SJS	Tomas Hertl  Roughing against  Devante Smith-Pelly
06:32 ANA	Devante Smith-Pelly  Roughing against  Tomas Hertl
06:32 ANA	Matt Beleskey  Roughing against  James Sheppard
06:32 SJS	James Sheppard  Boarding against  Matt Beleskey
09:37 SJS	Mike Brown  Closing hand on puck
14:04 ANA	Sami Vatanen  Interference against  Tommy Wingels
16:27 SJS	John Scott  Hooking against  Josh Manson
3rd Period
02:56 SJS	Mike Brown  Roughing against  Patrick Maroon
02:56 ANA	Patrick Maroon  Roughing against  Mike Brown
06:30 ANA	Rene Bourque  Hooking against  Matt Nieto
10:13 SJS	Mike Brown  Hooking against  Tim Jackman
12:02 ANA	Ryan Kesler  Interference against  Matt Nieto
17:36 ANA	Josh Manson  Hooking against  Tommy Wingels