SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:
A HISTORIC COMEBACK
Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over the New York Islanders, the Sharks’ first comeback win of the season, saw San Jose score four unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of play (8:05 of regulation, 4:55 of overtime) en route to the team’s second road win of the season. Coming in San Jose’s 2,705th all-time contest, including regular season and playoffs, and 1,250th overall win – it was the third time ever that the Sharks erased a three-goal, third-period deficit en route to a victory, joining Apr. 23, 2019 against Vegas (Game 7, First Round) and Dec. 8, 2010 at Philadelphia. William Eklund became the third-youngest player in NHL history to register the primary assist on the game-tying goal then go on to score the overtime winner and fourth-youngest to score an OT goal in Sharks history.
JUST KEEP SWIMMING
After a trying first 11 games to start the season in which San Jose went 0-10-1 to open the campaign, the Sharks have rebounded with .500 hockey over the club’s last contests – a record of 7-7-1, including wins in five of the past seven home games and the team’s first road wins of the season, Dec. 1 at NJD and Dec. 5 at NYI. Within the last 15 games, San Jose has avenged losses to teams from the first 11 games with victories over Vancouver (Nov. 25) and Washington (Nov. 27).
HERT SO GOOD
Forward Tomáš Hertl leads the Sharks with 21 points (7g, 14a) on the year, most recently scoring his sixth-career hat trick in San Jose’s come-from-behind win against the New York Islanders. Hertl, who has nine points (3g, 6a) in the past six games entering Dec. 7 at DET, recently posted back-to-back two-assist efforts (Nov. 24 and 25), passing Owen Nolan for sixth on the Sharks’ all-time multi-point games list (110). Earlier this season he also passed Nolan (206) for sole possession of fifth on the Sharks’ all-time goals list and for sixth (Nolan – 451) on the team’s all-time points list. He is two game-winning goals from tying Jonathan Cheechoo (36) for fifth on the team’s all-time GWG list. Hertl entered 2023-24 after posting a career-best 41 assists in 2022-23, a season in which he tallied 63 points (22g, 41 a) in 72 games. It was the second time in his career that he hit the 20-goal plateau in consecutive seasons and the first since 2017-18 (22) and 2018-19 (35).
HERE’S GRANNY
Forward Mikael Granlund enters Thursday’s game against the Red Wings with 12 points (2g, 10a) in the past 11 games, most recently registering a pair of assists in the Sharks’ come-from-behind win over the Islanders on Tuesday. Inside the 11-game run is a three-point effort (1g, 2a) in the Dec. 1 win at New Jersey, the first three-point game by a Sharks skater on the year and his first since Feb. 23, 2023, a game in which he posted two goals and an assist against the Sharks as a member of the Nashville Predators. He netted his first goal as a Shark in last Saturday’s (Nov. 25) win against Vancouver, a highlight-reel marker to take a 3-2 lead in the third period’s opening minute. He has found the score sheet in five of the past six games, totaling nine points (2g, 7a) in that window.
THE DUKE ABIDES
Forward Anthony Duclair has found the score sheet in three consecutive games, posting five points (3g, 2a) in three games since the calendar flipped to December. With back-to-back multi-point efforts in the first two of those three games, Duclair has tallied back-to-back two-point nights twice this season [previous: Nov. 4 (1g, 1a) and Nov. 7 (1g, 1a)]. With his production, Duclair has pulled within a single score of the team lead of seven, currently held byTomáš Hertl and Fabian Zetterlund. The forward is now fifth on the club with 10 points on the season.
FREE WILLY
Forward William Eklund is tied for eighth in the NHL with three game-winning goals on the season, most recently finishing a three-goal comeback against the New York Islanders on Dec. 5. He registered the primary assist on the game-tying goal as well, becoming the third-youngest player in NHL history to record the first helper on the game-tying score (in the final 1:30), and he’s the fifth-youngest Shark in team history to score in overtime. Since joining the league, Eklund has the sixth-most points among players with 50 or fewer games played and is tied for 21st among the group (min. 10 GP) with 0.44 points per game.
ZETT SETTER
Forward Fabian Zetterlund took the team lead with his seventh goal on the year, coming Sunday against the New York Rangers to establish a career high, besting his 2022-23 total of six set in 67 games split between the New Jersey Devils and the Sharks. He scratched the goal column with San Jose on Oct. 17 against Carolina, his first marker with the club since being acquired as part of the trade that sent Timo Meier to the Devils in February and went on to finish the contest with his first multi-point effort (1g, 1a) as a member of the Sharks. Zetterlund has six points (4g, 2a) over the past 15 games since the team’s 0-10-1 start and has found the back of the net in three of the past six contests.
DETROIT RED WINGS NOTES:
MAN GAMES LOST (games missed / out since)
Total Man Games Lost: 28
Individual Man Games Lost: Robby Fabbri (12), Austin Czarnik (3), Klim Kostin (3), Jeff Petry (3), Ville Husso (2), Dylan Larkin (2), Jake Walman (2), Christian Fischer (1)
TONIGHT’S GAME
DETROIT RED WINGS (14-7-3) vs. SAN JOSE SHARKS (7-17-2)
Thursday, December 7, 2023 / 7:00 P.M. ET / LITTLE CAESARS ARENA / TV: Bally Sports Detroit / RADIO: WXYT 97.1 FM
TONIGHT: 101st all-time meeting, 50th in Detroit … First of two games this season, only game at Little Caesars Arena
ALL-TIME vs. SJ: 60-30-4-6 / HOME: 35-10-1-3 / LAST 10: 6-2-2 / IN 2022-23: 2-0-0 / THIS SEASON: 0-0-0 DET top scorers vs. SJ: David Perron (14-26-40 in 54 GP), Patrick Kane (12-26-38 in 47 GP), Alex DeBrincat (4-12-16 in 14 GP), Andrew Copp (5-7-12 in 19 GP), Dylan Larkin (2-8-10 in 13 GP), Shayne Gostisbehere (2-8-10 in 14 GP), Robby Fabbri (2-4-6 in 12 GP), Michael Rasmussen (1-3-4 in 5 GP), Moritz Seider (1-2-3 in 4 GP), Daniel Sprong (1-2-3 in 6 GP)
SJ top scorers vs. DET: Anthony Duclair (8-12-20 in 25 GP), Mike Hoffman (8-11-19 in 30 GP), Mikael Granlund (7-7-14 in 28 GP), Kevin Labanc (4-5-9 in 9 GP), Fabian Zetterlund (1-2-3 in 4 GP), Givani Smith (0-1-1 in 1 GP)
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS
* The Red Wings are second in the NHL with 91 goals through 24 games (excluding shootout-deciding goals). * Detroit averages more goals per game (3.79) than any other team in the Eastern Conference through games played on Dec. 6. * The Red Wings are 14-0-2 this season when scoring four-or-more goals. * Detroit’s 5-3 win at Buffalo on Dec. 5 marked the 10th time Detroit has scored at least five goals in a game this season. * The Red Wings rank second in the NHL with 35 second-period goals, and are tied for sixth in the league with 31 third-period goals. * Detroit is 10-2-1 this season when scoring first, and 6-1-1 when doing so on home ice. * Detroit is a perfect 7-0-0 this season when leading after one period. The Red Wings are 12-2-0 when ahead after two periods. * The Red Wings have scored a power play goal in seven-consecutive games. Detroit is 10-for-32 (31.3 percent) on the man advantage over its last seven contests. * The Red Wings have tallied 24 power play goals through 24 games. In all, 10 different Red Wings players have scored at least one power play goal this season: Alex DeBrincat (4), Dylan Larkin (4), David Perron (4), Moritz Seider (3), J.T. Compher (2), Robby Fabbri (2), Shayne Gostisbehere (2), Andrew Copp, Lucas Raymond and Jake Walman. * Detroit has scored multiple power play goals nine times during the 2023-24 season, including in three of its last six games. * The Red Wings are tied for fifth in the NHL in 5-on-5 goals (56). Detroit was tied for 27th last season in 5-on-5 goals (146).
