Clayton Keller scored the game-winning goal and provided an assist as the Utah Hockey Club narrowly defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Saturday night in the Bay Area.
Nick Schmaltz contributed a goal and an assist, while Dylan Guenther and Michael Carcone also scored for Utah. Logan Cooley and Mikhail Sergachev each added two assists. Utah has now won two games in a row and four out of their last five. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves to secure the win.
Fabian Zetterlund scored and added an assist for San Jose, while Alexander Wennberg and Mikael Granlund also found the back of the net. San Jose has lost four of its last five games. Vitek Vanecek stopped 36 shots in the loss.
Guenther opened the scoring at 7:27 when his shot from the slot deflected off Wennberg and past Vanecek, marking his team-leading 13th goal of the season. He has had points in five straight games (three goals, five assists).
Wennberg tied the game 1-1 at 14:58 of the first period, beating Vejmelka on the glove side for his eighth goal of the season. Barclay Goodrow, in his 600th career game, assisted on the goal.
San Jose took a 2-1 lead at 14:11 of the second period when Granlund scored off a rebound from Zetterlund’s shot, beating Vejmelka on the short side for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
Utah tied it up 2-2 on a power play at 18:52 in the second when Schmaltz tipped a pass from Cooley past Vanecek for his fifth goal of the year.
Zetterlund gave San Jose a 3-2 lead at 5:00 of the third period when he one-timed a pass from Nikolai Kovalenko past Vejmelka for his 10th goal of the season. Kovalenko now has four assists in two games since being traded from the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Carcone tied the game 3-3 at 9:49 by tapping in a cross-ice pass from Kevin Stenlund for his third goal of the season.
Keller scored the winner with 43.8 seconds left on a power play, beating Vanecek with a shot from the point for his 10th goal of the season. Keller has three goals and three assists in his last five games.
This was the second of three meetings between the teams. San Jose and Utah will conclude their season series on January 10 in Salt Lake City.
