The San Jose Sharks beat the struggling Detroit Red Wings in overtime last night to move back into a playoff spot. Only a week ago the Sharks seemed to be sinking to the bottom of the Western Conference but with back-to-back wins the Sharks are back in the race for the postseason.
Joe Pavelski opened the scoring less than a minute from puck drop to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Marty Havlat scored for the first time since returning from injury to put San Jose up by two but Pavel Datsyuk answered right back to finally get the Red Wings on the scoreboard. After a scoreless 2nd period Valtteri Filippula tied the game mid-way through the 3rd period which meant this game would need overtime.
The Sharks are glad to have Marty Havlat back in the line-up as he scores the overtime winner on Jimmy Howard. Howard denied him once but Havlat managed get the puck into the back of the net as a scramble took place in front of Howard.
I don’t know if the Sharks could smell the fear on the Detroit Red Wings but last night was a huge victory for San Jose. Detroit’s struggles continue as their record for their last 10 games is 3-6-1 but with Datsyuk back in the line-up maybe they get things together once again. You have to remember that just a month ago the Detroit Red Wings were on a record breaking winning streak but with the recent injuries of Todd Bertuzzi, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk the Red Wings are having trouble finding the back of the net.
