Blues 4, Sharks 3 (OT)
SAN JOSE -- Patrik Berglund scored at 1:12 of overtime to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at HP Pavilion.
Left wing Vladimir Sobotka recorded a hat trick for St. Louis, which trailed 3-1 entering the third period.
Berglund deflected a shot by Barret Jackman from the left side that narrowly snuck by Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock, who replaced Antti Niemi in the net in the third period after St. Louis' tying goal.
The Sharks appeared in complete control, taking a 3-1 lead into the third. But Sobotka answered back with two goals within a 1:20 span early in the period.
Sobotka snapped off a wrist shot that squeezed past Niemi into the right corner of the net at 4:18 for his second goal. Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle was called for interference a minute later and the Blues found themselves on a power play.
Sobotka struck again. With Chris Stewart providing a screen in front of the net, Sobotka fired a shot from the right side that hit off Niemi and trickled past him for the tying goal.
San Jose coach Todd McClellan immediately replaced Niemi with Stalock, who was just recalled earlier in the day from Worcester.
The Sharks entered the game not having scored more than two goals in regulation and overtime in any of their previous 12 games, but they got some of the offense from secondary players that they've been searching for.
Scott Gomez punched in a goal that broke a 1-1 tie at 7:45 of the second period, taking advantage of a puck that came loose during a scrum in front of the net. It was just Gomez's second goal in 17 games.
Then San Jose got a rare goal from its second power-play unit with just under four minutes left in the period. Defenseman Matt Irwin uncorked a slap shot from near the blue line that slipped past Blues goaltender Jake Allen to make it 3-1 at the 16:31 mark.
The Blues grabbed the lead about five minutes into the game when Sobotka cashed in for his first goal on a rebound at the 4:51 mark. But San Jose tied it on Logan Couture's goal at 15:19, which came on a rebound after Tommy Wingles drove the puck in from the right side and fired a shot that left Allen out of position.
NOTES: Sharks forward Wingles was activated from the injured reserve list before the game and he assisted on Couture's first-period goal, which tied the game 1-1. Forward Marty Havlat (lower body injury) went on the injured reserve list. ... Sobotka's first-period goal was his fourth goal in St. Louis' last five games, and the third consecutive game in which he's put one in the net. ... The Sharks recalled goaltender Stalock and forward Matt Pelech from Worcester before Saturday's game. With Thomas Greiss day-to-day because of a sore neck, Stalock backed up starting goaltender Niemi. Goaltender Thomas Heemskerk was reassigned to Worcester. ... Rookie Allen drew his second straight start in the net for the Blues, with regular goaltender Jaroslav Halak scheduled to play in Sunday's road trip finale at Anaheim.
