San Jose
Tomas Hertl scored the first goal of the home portion of the San Jose Sharks’ preseason Friday night before the visiting Anaheim Ducks rallied for a 3-2 win in overtime in front of 15,760 fans at SAP Center at San Jose.
Hertl, the 19-year-old who was the Sharks’ first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, corralled a rebound of an Adam Comrie shot and jammed the puck past goaltender Victor Fasth at the 14:42 mark of the first period.
The Sharks (1-1 in preseason) host the Phoenix Coyotes Saturday night, then take on the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night to cap the three-game homestand. The regular season opens Thursday Oct. 3 with the Canucks in San Jose.
Hertl “did a lot of good things,” said head coach Todd McLellan.
“He made some nice plays. He wasn’t a liability,” McLellan continued.
The Ducks moved to 3-1 in pre-season action on Ben Lovejoy’s one-timer from the top of the slot that ricocheted past goaltender Antti Niemi at 2:48 of the 4 on 4 OT.
San Jose earned leads a 1-0 and 2-1 before the Ducks rallied to force the overtime. Emerson Etem turned a cross-crease pass from Devante Smith-Pelly into a stuff shot past Niemi at 2:48 of the second for the 1-1 tie.
Patrick Marleau and Tyler Kennedy connected on a 2-on-1 short-handed rush to take a 2-1 lead on Kennedy’s blast inside the right post at 8:18. Duck winger Corey Perry left it at 2-2 with a 20-foot shot from the left flank at the 16:01 mark.
Both Elem and Shark Raffi Torres left the game in the second period after a collision in the Sharks zone.
“It was a complete accident,” said McLellan. “I hope they’ll both be well and ready to play.”
