Devils rally late, defeat Sharks in shootout for first win in four games

SAN JOSE -- Janne Kuokkanen scored the tying goal late in the third period to help the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Kuokkanen tied it 2-2 with 2:56 left, giving the Devils a late tying goal for the second night in a row. Pavel Zacha scored with 24 seconds left in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Friday.
Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves for New Jersey (5-3-2), which won for the first time in four games. Jesper Bratt and Damon Severson scored in the shootout for the Devils.
"When you get a chance to finish the game like that and the icing on the cake to a road trip, it's a great feeling," Severson said.

Brent Burns had two assists for San Jose (6-5-0), which has lost two straight games after winning two in a row. James Reimer made 26 saves.
"It's always disappointing to lose, but I'm quite happy with the effort and the commitment the guys showed," said Sharks assistant John MacLean, who is filling in while coach Bob Boughner is in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Jonathan Dahlen put the Sharks ahead 2-1 on a power play at 4:21 of the third period. It was his fifth goal of the season, tying him with Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings for most among NHL rookies.
"It's all credit to my linemates and everybody around me who is making it easy on me," Dahlen said. "I'm playing with great players and they're helping me out a lot, so all credit to them."

Rudolfs Balcers scored at 4:48 of the second period to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Mario Ferraro set up Balcers with a cross-ice pass, and he scored up close on Bernier's glove side.
Ryan Graves tied it 1-1 at 16:45. Sharks defenseman Santeri Hatakka turned the puck over at the blue line, and Nico Hischier set up the defenseman for a snap shot for his first goal with the Devils.
"They've got a lot of players out, we've got a lot of key players out of our lineup, and I thought both teams skated well, competed hard, played well defensively," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "It looked like a game that was going to be a 1-1, 2-2 type game, and that's exactly what it turned out to be."
NOTES: The shootout was the first between New Jersey and San Jose. It was the Devils' first shootout win of the season; they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 31 in their only other. ... Burns tied Sergei Zubov for most points in NHL history by a defenseman with one team after being traded (549; Minnesota Wild to Sharks for Burns, Pittsburgh Penguins to Dallas Stars for Zubov). ... Ferraro played 31:12, and Burns played 30:29. It was the seventh time in Sharks history that two skaters each played at least 30:00.