Sharks vs. Blues: Darnell Nurse's Overtime Winner Makes San Jose 3-0 in Extra Time

Some teams have a closer in the bullpen. The San Jose Sharks apparently have one for three-on-three. Darnell Nurse took a backdoor feed from Ivar Stenberg 1:03 into overtime and buried it past Joel Hofer, and San Jose spoiled the Blues' home opener on Thursday night.

The Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 at Enterprise Center, and all three of their wins this season have come in overtime. Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist, Collin Graf scored the tying goal in the third, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves in his first start of the season.

A Blues First Period, Then a Slow Leak

St. Louis looked like the sharper team early. Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish played give-and-go through the neutral zone, and McMichael tapped it in at the back door at 3:52 of the first for a 1-0 lead. Jonatan Berggren also assisted. It was McMichael's second goal in as many games.

San Jose's coach did not pretend otherwise.

"Not a great first, got better as the game went on," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said.

The Sharks evened it at 8:48 of the second, seconds after a power play expired. Toffoli followed his own shot and, with Colton Parayko draped all over him, stuffed the rebound in at the near post. Michael Misa and Jacob Trouba assisted. Per the AP, Kiefer Sherwood helped by planting himself in front of Hofer.

Dube's Moment, Graf's Answer

The third period opened with a long-awaited goal. Shorthanded, Dillon Dube carried the puck down the left wing from his own blue line, kept it on a 2-on-1 and went upstairs on Nedeljkovic at 1:39 for a 2-1 St. Louis lead. Per NHL.com, it was his first NHL goal since Nov. 16, 2023.

The lead lasted 4:26. At 6:05, Sam Dickinson tried to center it, the puck pinballed off Blues defenseman Adam Jiricek into the slot, and Graf wasted no time snapping it upstairs to tie it 2-2. Dickinson and Toffoli assisted.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery was not thrilled with how his team managed the lead.

"I thought we were in complete control of the game, and we need to be comfortable winning 2-1," Montgomery said. "It's like we want to try and win 3-, 4-1."

The Turning Point: Sherwood's Block

The game swung on a play that never shows up as a goal. With about a minute left in regulation, Robert Thomas had a look at a wide-open net from the slot, and Sherwood threw himself in front of it.

"'Woody' (Kiefer Sherwood) makes a heck of a play there with a minute left there to block that shot (on Robert Thomas in the slot with a wide-open net) to get us a point," Warsofsky said.

That block is the difference between a regulation loss and a road win. Overtime took just 63 seconds. Stenberg found Nurse alone at the back door, and Nurse calmly finished. It was his first goal as a Shark since San Jose acquired him from Edmonton on July 1.

"It felt amazing," Nurse said. "It was nice to battle back."

He also gave the assist man his flowers.

"I was trying to yell off the bench, but (Stenberg) has eyes. He sees the whole game," Nurse said.

Nurse, Toffoli and Nedeljkovic

Nurse played 22:38 and finished plus-1 with two blocked shots on top of the winner. Toffoli, with a goal and an assist, was a constant threat, and Warsofsky singled him out afterward.

"I thought 'Toff' was really good tonight," Warsofsky said.

Stenberg played 17:21 and made the pass of the night on the winner, Misa finished plus-2 with an assist, and Alexander Wennberg won 11 of his 20 faceoffs in 20:00 of ice time.

Nedeljkovic stopped 24 of 26 shots in 61:03. At the other end, Hofer made 24 saves on 27 shots and deserved better. The Sharks were the more physical team by a mile, out-hitting St. Louis 37-24, with Trouba and Dickinson each landing four hits. San Jose also won the shot count, 27-26.

The Sharks did it without captain Macklin Celebrini, who missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury, per the AP. NHL.com noted San Jose is 4-10-1 in games he does not play, which makes this one a little sweeter.

Stats That Matter

• 1:03: Overtime goal time for Nurse, his first as a Shark.
• 3-0: San Jose's record in overtime games this season.
• 37-24: Hits, Sharks over Blues.
• 0 for 6: Combined power-play output. San Jose went 0 for 4, St. Louis 0 for 2.
• 804: Games with the Blues for Colton Parayko, who passed Barret Jackman for second on the franchise list for games played behind Bernie Federko (927), per NHL.com.

What It Means

San Jose improves to 3-1-0 and 1-1-0 on the road, bouncing back from Monday's 5-0 loss at Dallas. That the Sharks are winning without their captain, and doing it in coin-flip overtime situations, is either a sign of real resilience or a hot streak that will regress. For now, the points count the same.

St. Louis falls to 1-2-1 and has lost three straight since opening the season with a 4-0 win at Dallas. The Blues did get a point, and Parayko's milestone gave the home crowd something to celebrate. The AP described his 804th career game as breaking Jackman's franchise record for games played by a defenseman.

McMichael, though, was frustrated with the way the Blues let it slip.

"We kind of just got up by one and kept falling asleep and let them back into the game and that's the type of stuff that hurts you in this league," McMichael said. "We've got to tighten that up."

San Jose hosts Edmonton on Saturday, and St. Louis hosts Columbus on Saturday night.

The Takeaway

Three-on-three overtime is hockey's version of a reality show finale: chaotic, a little random, and somehow always ending with the same contestant winning. Right now, that contestant is San Jose. Montgomery called overtime a place where "anything can happen," and he is right. It just keeps happening for the Sharks.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.