The Carolina Hurricanes' captain was home with an injury, and their only All-Star was in the dressing room with another injury. Backstopped by a goalie who hadn't started a game since Christmas, they trailed in the third period at a supremely daunting road arena.
And under those improbable circumstances, the Hurricanes pulled out a victory that could turn out to be a landmark in their up-and-down season.
Michael Leighton made 37 saves before Sergei Samsonov scored the shootout winner in the Hurricanes' 4-3 victory over the Sharks on Thursday night.
Ray Whitney tied it with 12:30 left in regulation for the Hurricanes as they survived without captain Rod Brind'Amour and high-scoring forward Eric Staal, who left the game before the third period because of a lower-body injury. After Carolina pounced on a San Jose turnover to create Whitney's tying goal, Leighton kept the Sharks' scorers out of the net until Tuomo Ruutu and Samsonov could finish off the shootout.
"This win shows we can compete against any team in the league," said Leighton, who had played just 37 minutes of mop-up duty while Cam Ward started 17 straight games. "I think we were unbelievable in the third period. We never gave in. ... The last couple of months have been pretty tough and not too fun for me. I just spent the time working and trying to keep my game sharp."
Carolina hadn't won in San Jose since March 4, 2000, but Staal's injury dampened the celebration.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 26 shots for the Sharks, who lost back-to-back games at the Tank for the first time all season. Ryane Clowe had a goal and an assist, and Alexei Semenov scored his first goal of the season for the Sharks, who dropped to 23-2-3 at the Tank with just the third set of back-to-back losses all season for the Western Conference leaders.
In the clubs' first meeting since March 24, 2007, All-Star defenseman Dan Boyle returned to the Sharks' lineup after missing three games to rest a wrist injury that popped up before last month's All-Star break. San Jose had the last four days off after a 4-2 home loss to Chicago, just the Sharks' second defeat in regulation at home this season.
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1of18Carolina Hurricanes Sergei Samsonov (14) shoots the winning goal in a shootout against San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov (20) in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less2of18The referee tries to break up a fight between San Jose Sharks Alexei Semenov (21) �and Carolina Hurricanes Matt Cullen (8) in the 1st period of a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less3of18Carolina Hurricanes Sergei Samsonov (14) shoots the winning goal in a shootout against San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov (20) in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less4of18San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton (19) and Carolina Hurricanes Eric Staal (12) �in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less5of18San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski (8) tries to get the puck past Carolina Hurricanes Eric Staal (12) and goalie Michael Leighton (49) �in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less6of18Carolina Hurricanes Ray Whitney (13) scores past San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov (20) in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less7of18San Jose Sharks Douglas Murray (3) and Carolina Hurricanes Matt Cullen (8) clash in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less8of18San Jose Sharks Dan Boyle (22) hits the puck between the legs of Carolina Hurricanes Ray Whitney (13)�in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less9of18San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton (19) looks for the puck�in a NHL game against the Hurricanes at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less10of18San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton (19) warms up prior to action�in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less11of18Carolina Hurricanes goalie Michael Leighton (49) �blocks a shot by San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton (19)�in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less12of18San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski (8) loses his balance against Carolina Hurricanes Eric Staal (12) and goalie Michael Leighton (49)�in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less13of18San Jose Sharks Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) and Carolina Hurricanes Jakub Petruzalek (56) battle against the boards in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less14of18San Jose Sharks Christian Ehrhoff (10) �and Carolina Hurricanes Joni Pitkanen (25) battle for control of the puck in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less15of18San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov (20) blocks a shot by Carolina Hurricanes Sergei Samsonov (14) �in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less16of18San Jose Sharks Rob Blake (4) and Carolina Hurricanes Ryan Bayda (18) clash in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less17of18San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov(20) blocks a shot in a NHL game against Carolina at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less18of18San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski (8) congratulates Marc-Edouard Vlasic (left) after his goal in a NHL game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, February 5, 2009.Michael Maloney/The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
All that rest and motivation didn't help San Jose's vaunted top line of Joe Thornton, captain Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi, which hasn't scored a goal that didn't go into an empty net in the Sharks' four games since all three skaters participated in All-Star weekend.
"It's our responsibility to score, and we've just got to get going," Setoguchi said. "But it's not just about scoring. All three of their goals came off our turnovers, and we've just got to be better in that area."
