SAN JOSE — On a night when the San Jose Sharks’ top forwards might have been feeling the effects of playing a third game in four days, the team’s depth players provided a much-needed jolt of energy.
Nico Sturm and Ryan Carpenter scored third-period goals 2:08 apart, tying Tuesday’s game with the New York Rangers and creating a buzz inside SAP Center.
Tomas Hertl then scored at the 1:29 mark of overtime, taking a pass from Jan Rutta and firing a shot past Igor Shesterkin, as the Sharks beat the Rangers 3-2, giving them their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 29 saves for the Sharks, whose next game is Saturday afternoon at home against the Buffalo Sabres.
Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin both scored even-strength goals for the Rangers, who took a 2-0 lead into the third period. Shesterkin had 15 saves in the first 40 minutes to stymie the Sharks, who were coming off wins over Anaheim on Saturday and Los Angeles on Monday.
The Sharks’ best chance to score in the first two periods as Tomas Hertl sent a pass to Kyle Burroughs right beside the Rangers net. But with Shesterkin out of position, Burroughs tapped the puck wide of a wide-open net, which would have tied the game.
Sturm’s third goal of the season came at the 2:19 mark of the third period as his shot from a sharp angle bounced off Shesterkin and into the Rangers’ net, giving him his first goal since Dec. 7 when he scored twice against the Detroit Red Wings
Carpenter scored his third of the season at the 4:27 mark of the third period, as he took a pass from Rutta and fired a shot past Shesterkin to tie the game 2-2.
The Sharks were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against the Rangers, including a third-period kill after Calen Addison was called for cross-checking at the 14:06 mark.
