SAN JOSE >> In the euphoric aftermath of the Sharks’ first win of the season, veteran centerman Alexander Wennberg made sure everyone within earshot kept the victory — as dramatic as it was — in perspective.
“(It feels) amazing. But here’s the thing: there’s a game tomorrow as well,” Wennberg said Monday night after he scored in overtime to give the Sharks a 5-4 road win over the Utah Hockey Club. “We’re going to enjoy this. But we’re back at it again tomorrow.”
Down 4-1 with under five minutes left in the third period, the Sharks scored three goals in 1:50 to help send the game into overtime. Then, with the Sharks on a power play, Wennberg won a faceoff deep in the offensive zone, collected the loose puck after a Mikael Granlund shot toward the net, and roofed it over Utah goalie Connor Ingram for his first goal of the season.
The win was the first in Sharks history when trailing by three or more goals with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time.
Wennberg was mobbed by his teammates, who were all too eager to end their ugly 0-7-2 skid to start the season. But he and fellow veteran Tyler Toffoli wanted to ensure everyone treated the win like a launching pad, not some crescendo.
The Sharks began a five-game homestand against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday after this newspaper went to press. They also play Chicago and Vancouver later this week, and Columbus and Minnesota next week, giving them a chance to climb closer to .500 and not let Monday’s win be a one-off.
“I think we just have to keep building off it,” said Toffoli, who had a goal and an assist in the win. “Obviously, it feels great. It’s one of those things we talk about, even when we weren’t winning games, to be consistent with our game. We play tomorrow.”
Still, it was a feel-good moment for a team that has had few to choose from this month.
“No matter what the situation is, you can believe,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who earned his win as an NHL head coach. “It’s not just a feeling. It’s in your mind, it’s in your heart, it’s in your soul. We can get that going here.”
After Wennberg scored, Warsofsky leaped in the air and hugged his assistants.
“The relief and the belief,” Warsofsky said. “We’ve got a group of guys in there that are going to believe a lot more now, and that’s what this is all about.
“You’ve got to believe that you can win a hockey game no matter the situation.”
With the Sharks down 4-1, Zetterlund, Granlund, and Toffoli all scored goals less than two minutes apart — all with an extra attacker — late in the third period. Toffoli’s game-tying goal came with 2:42 left in regulation time when he gathered a deflected Jake Walman shot in the left circle and sent the puck past a scrambling Ingram.
Zetterlund jumpstarted the Sharks’ rally with 4:32 left in the third period.
After a faceoff in the Utah zone, Granlund controlled the puck and fired a shot from just inside the blue line. After a scramble beside Ingram, Zetterlund collected the loose puck and scored his second of the game.
The Sharks kept pressing and got another faceoff deep in the Utah zone. On a nearly identical play, Granlund took a pass from Walman and fired a shot that got past Ingram just 25 seconds after Zetterlund scored.
The Sharks outshot Utah 17-3 in the third period.
“We got one on the 6-on-5 there, and then, we just had fun, we just believed it,” Zetterlund said. “I talked to (Granlund) after the game, and we laughed about it. He was just zipping the puck to the net.”
Just on Saturday, with their 7-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks became the first team in NHL history to start two straight seasons with nine consecutive losses.
After the loss, defenseman Mario Ferraro issued a guarantee of sorts, saying, “Tomorrow is a new day. We’re going to get back at it, and we’re going to find ways to improve, and we’re going to get our first win in Utah.”
“I think we’ve believed in ourselves this whole time, and it’s been frustrating at times,” Toffoli said. “But it’s only one win, and we’ve got to build off of it. We’ve got to get better, keep grinding, keep working, keep improving as a group and having fun.
Warsofsky gave himself a few hours to enjoy it. Then his attention turned to the start of the homestand.
“At 12:01, we turn the page,” Warsofsky said Tuesday afternoon. “It’s a new day, and we’ve got the L.A. Kings here, and we got to be prepared for them.”
DELLANDREA TO IR >> Recalled from the San Jose Barracuda earlier in the day, forward Ethan Cardwell made his NHL debut Tuesday. Cardwell was promoted after the Sharks placed forward Ty Dellandrea on injured reserve.
Dellandrea sustained an upper-body injury on Saturday in the Sharks’ game against the Vegas Golden Knights. He did not practice the following day or play Monday.
Dellandrea, 24, will have to be on IR for at least seven days, retroactive to Sunday, meaning he will also have to sit for upcoming games against Chicago on Thursday and Vancouver on Saturday.
Dellandrea has one goal and averaged 12:34 in ice time in nine games this season.
“We don’t think it’s going to be that long,” Warsofsky said of Dellandrea’s absence. “We’ll kind of take this thing day by day, but we don’t think it’s going to be too long.”
Cardwell, 22, had an impressive training camp and had five points (one goal, four assists) in six games this season for the Barracuda. On Saturday against the Henderson Silver Knights, Cardwell had a goal and two assists with a plus-4 rating in a 5-3 Barracuda win.
The Sharks selected Cardwell, now in his second professional season, in the fourth round, 121st overall, in 2021.