SAN JOSE — The Anaheim Ducks overcame Erik Karlsson‘s first NHL hat trick in a 6-5 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old completed the hat trick when he tied it 5-5 with 2:12 remaining in the third period on a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle. It was his 850th NHL game.
Karlsson leads all defensemen this season with 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 12 games. It was the first hat trick by a defenseman in Sharks history.
“The puck went in, which is all that matters,” he said. “It’s nice [for the team] to score five goals, but at the same time we let in five as well.”
Adam Henrique scored his first two goals of the season, and Troy Terry and Kevin Shattenkirk each had two assists for the Ducks (3-6-1), who have won two in a row following a seven-game skid. Anthony Stolarz made 39 saves.
“It was an up-and-down game,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “There was a ton of emotion in the game, a ton of emotion on our bench. When you can bend and not break, and when you can learn to channel your emotions in the right direction, I think it’s a great learning experience.”
Video: Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry scores SO for the Ducks
Timo Meier scored two goals for the Sharks (3-8-1). Kaapo Kahkonen made 39 saves.
“It’s very disappointing,” Meier said. “I thought we battled back. I thought we didn’t play our best game, to be honest. We made some mistakes. But then again, we found a way to tie it up. Then [we] took a penalty in overtime, and that cost us some energy.”
Henrique made it 1-0 at 5:16 of the first period when Shattenkirk was left alone long enough to set him up for a wrist shot.
Karlsson tied it 1-1 at 6:18 with a shot through traffic before scoring again at 6:41 to give San Jose a 2-1 lead.
Frank Vatrano tied it 2-2 at 10:52 when Isaac Lundestrom set him up with a pass beside the net, and Henrique’s second of the game made it 3-2 at 19:45 when he skated around Matt Benning and scored on a backhand.
Henrique scored 19 goals in 58 games last season.
“It certainly gets the monkey off his back,” Eakins said. “When he got that first one, the bench was loud. It wasn’t like just an ordinary goal. And then for him to grab another one, even better.”
Video: ANA@SJS: Karlsson nets his 1st career hat trick
Meier tied it 3-3 with a power-play goal at 3:28 of the second period, but Ryan Strome put Anaheim back in front 4-3 at 15:10 when he scored on a deflection.
Meier was credited with the tying goal 21 seconds later at 15:31 when Jakob Silfverberg accidentally directed shot the puck past Stolarz from the right circle.
“Yeah, it was a weird play,” Meier said. “Lucky on my side, bad luck on his side. But the puck hasn’t been going in [for me]so you’ve just got to stick with it.”
Max Comtois gave the Ducks a 5-4 lead at 11:31 of the third period when he scored from one knee.
Comtois and Terry each scored in the shootout for Anaheim.
“The first period might have been as bad a period as we’ve played all year,” San Jose coach David Quinn said. “But give Anaheim credit; they came ready to play. I liked how we responded. We had a much better second period, did a good job killing penalties, and got a power-play goal.”
NOTES: Karlsson is the first NHL defenseman to score a hat trick since Jakob Chychrun had three goals for the Arizona Coyotes against the Ducks on April 4, 2021. It was Karlsson’s third straight multipoint game. … It was Anaheim’s first road win this season (1-5-1). … The Sharks are 1-5-1 at home.
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