Matt Nieto scored the game-winning goal at 1:17 of the third period to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. Melker Karlsson, Joel Ward and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, who were opening a five-game road trip. Martin Jones made 28 saves, and Joe Thornton had two assists. Ryan Callahan and Cedric Paquette scored for the Lightning, who have lost four of their past five games.
Nieto's game-winner came after Tampa Bay failed to keep the puck in the San Jose zone, setting up a 2-on-1 opportunity the other way. Patrick Marleau fed Nieto, who went backhand to forehand to beat Lightning goalie Ben Bishop past his outstretched right pad. Pavelski's 26th goal gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 6:34 of the second period. He put a shot past Bishop from the slot after Thornton hit him with a pass from behind the net.
Paquette scored his first goal in 22 games with a shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Jones to the short side at 8:46 of the second to tie it 2-2.
Ryan Callahan opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season and first in 19 games at 17:51 of the first period. He scored with a backhand shot from the slot off a pass from Alex Killorn. Ward tied it 1-1 at 1:43 of the second with a slap shot from the point that went through Bishop's pads.
Karlsson put the game out of reach with 1:43 remaining when he scored off Thornton's feed. Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr tried to play the puck behind the Tampa Bay net, but it hit referee Gord Dwyer and ended up on Thornton's stick. Karlsson was open in the slot and scored with a wrist shot to make it 4-2.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic extended his NHL career-high point streak to eight games with an assist on Ward’s goal. It’s tied for the longest streak by a defenseman in San Jose history (Brent Burns, Dec. 22, 2015-Jan. 12, 2016; Sandis Ozolinsh, Feb. 5-21, 1994). The Pittsburgh Penguins (64 points), who were idle, moved past the Lightning (64 points) into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference by virtue of having played one fewer game.
Sharks Bites
Peter DeBoer: "It was a good hockey game. I thought Tampa played well, showed up and was ready to play. First [few] minutes they had us on our heels. But we found our game and ... I like the way we won. [Jones] gave us some saves early and the goal really backed them off a little bit. I liked our composure, even when we got behind or they tied it up. We had a good feeling of confidence and we played that way."Joe Pavelski: "Coming out of the first, they had the lead, but we thought in the second half of that period we took control of it and had some chances. Some guys made some plays at the right times."
Joe Thornton: "For a passer, it's nice when the guys are finishing the way they are. We're just working for our chances and right now they are going in the back of the net for us."
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