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SAN JOSE — Brent Burns made sure that the Sharks season-high losing streak didn’t reach an embarrassing pre-Joe Thornton era mark.
Burns blasted in a shot from the point just 22 seconds into overtime at SAP Center on Saturday, ending the Sharks losing streak at seven games with a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
In doing so, the Sharks clinched home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which kick off on April 10.
Burns scored the game-winning goal on the power play after Evander Kane drew a penalty with 55 seconds left in regulation by driving hard to the net.
The win allowed the Sharks to avoid their longest losing streak since they lost 10 games from Nov. 5 to Nov. 30, a skid that led to Doug Wilson’s trade for Joe Thornton.
The Sharks surrendered the opening goal for a fifth straight game when William Karlsson scored his 12th goal against the Sharks in 14 games with the Golden Knights. Karlsson gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the first by one timing a pass from Jonathan Marchessault in the slot.
The Golden Knights carried a 2-1 lead into the second intermission after the squads traded goals in the middle frame. Tomas Hertl got the Sharks on the board at the period’s 58-second mark by netting his 35th goal. Hertl recorded his fourth goal in five games by pouncing on a rebound, dancing around Shea Theodore and firing the puck through goalie Malcolm Subban’s five hole. Joonas Donskoi and Timo Meier recorded the assists on the goal. Evander Kane tied the game at 2-2 in the third, scoring his 29th goal into a wide-open net. Hertl created the opportunity at 7:22 by driving the net and throwing it back into the crease as a Golden Knights defender took Subban out of the play.
Then, the Sharks and Knights swapped nearly-identical goals in the middle of the period. Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 11:24 by blasting in a bouncing puck from the point off a faceoff play. Then, Shea Theodore evened it up by potting his own goal off a faceoff play at 12:04 of the last stanza.
Cody Eakin regained the lead for Vegas at 5:30 of the second, flipping in a backhander after the Sharks defense left him alone in front of the net. The Sharks will return to action at SAP Center on Sunday, completing a four-game homestand with a bout against the Calgary Flames.
