SHARKSPAGE

Sharks come from behind, down Adler Mannheim 3-2 in Germany for final pre-season exhibition

SAN JOSE SHARKS DOWN ADLER MANNHAEIM 3-2 AFTER SHOOTOUT IN GERMANY

After rookie games, split squad games, and pre-season contests laden with prospects, the San Jose Sharks iced the bulk of their NHL roster for an exhibition contest with the Deutscher Eishockey Liga’s (DEL) Mannheim Eagles Saturday night in Germany, and they were pushed to the brink en route to a 3-2 shootout win.

Adler Mannheim right wing Manuel Klinge scored 4:01 into the first period, and the 1-0 lead against the defending NHL Western Conference regular season champions held for nearly 60 minutes. The Sharks did not instantly adjust to the larger 200×100 European ice surface, and solid goaltending by Fred Braithwaite gave Adler (German for eagle) Mannheim confidence early. Despite playing on Friday and earning second place in the DEL with a shutout win, Adler frustrated the Sharks with speed and puck movement in the first period.

The game was not broadcast by traditional means on CSNCA or the NHL Network, but NHL.com offered a German telecast via an online stream and the Sharks added a complimentary radio broadcast on SJsharks.com. The Sharks broadcast nearly took a more serious turn when Joe Thornton was shaken up early in the second period. After running into Jamie McGinn in front of the Adler net, Thornton headed to the bench doubled over with the wind knocked out of him. He was back on the ice a few minutes later without missing a shift.

A sold out crowd of 13,600 fans at SAP Arena provided an enthusiastic backdrop to the game. With large flags waving, chants, and banging drums, it gave the exhibition the feel of an international soccer friendly rather than a hockey game. “That was the best part, they were cheering on both sides. But when it came down to it, they wanted their team to win,” San Jose Sharks right wing Devin Setoguchi said after the game.

“That is European hockey, that is great,” Joe Thornton said of the loud German fans. “I like to think that our fans in San Jose are great, but you come over to Germany, to Austria, to Switzerland and the fans are great, they are very enthusiastic waving their flags, it is fun to be a part of.”

Sharks third line center/wing Torrey Mitchell was one of the Sharks of note in the first two periods. Late in the second he took the puck at the blueline surrounded by Adler players. A hard fake around #77 left him alone on Braithwaite. Mitchell deked again but fanned on the shot as he took it to his forehand. Skating on a line with Wingels and Ryane Clowe, Mitchell turned in one of his best games of the preseason.

Young German goaltender Lukas Lang stepped in for Braithwaite midway through the second period and faced a furious Sharks assault on goal. One night after earning a shutout in DEL league play, he finished with 38 saves on 40 shots against San Jose.

Adler started the final period with another strong forecheck, but Sharks came at them in waves with their strongest sustained pressure of the game. Joe Thornton and Devin Setoguchi scored power play goals less than two minutes apart, Setoguchi’s coming on a 5-on-3, to give the Sharks a brief lead. Jame Pollock tied the game 2-2 with 3:11 left to send the NHL’s European exhibition debut into overtime. Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau connected to nearly end the game, but the referee called off Marleau’s OT goal on a delayed Adler penalty.

In 227 previous international games played by NHL teams during the modern era, the NHL was 1-1 in overtime shootouts (which only date back to 2009). San Jose put the NHL on the board again with shootout goals by Logan Couture, a slick backhand roof shot by Ryane Clowe, and the game winner by Dan Boyle. Video of the shootout round is available via sjsharks.com here.

“I am happy we got to play in that kind of game, it was important for us to play in it,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “It had some seriousness to it, it had some intense moments. We had to shorten our bench, which you normally don’t have to do in exhibition season. We played 4-on-4 in overtime, we got to play in the shootout. There was a lot of good things we got to go through. With that being said, I don’t think we played our best early in the game.”

McLellan was also asked by Comcast’s Brodie Brazil whether his team is playing well heading into the regular season opening games in Stockholm, Sweden. “”Coaches, I don’t know if we ever feel really good about where we are at,” McLellan said. “There are some things we have to work on. It is evident. I don’t think we have had a night yet where all of our top end guys have played extremely well. A lot of the muckers and grinders have done their thing. We have got to get those top end guys going together.”

Game Notes: The game was played without the automatic icing utilized by the DEL, and without the goaltender trapezoid utilized by the NHL. Goaltender Antti Niemi played his second full preseason contest since signing with the Sharks this offseason. Niemi finished with 27 saves on 29 shots, and 3 saves on 4 overtime shootout attempts. Joe Pavelski and Jamal Mayers did not suit up for San Jose to nurse minor injuries, defenseman Andreas Lilja and German born Thomas Greiss were also healthy scratches. San Jose in-arena announcer Danny Miller also introduced the Sharks lineup at the SAP Arena. Lines for San Jose: McGinn-Thornton-Setoguchi, Marleau-Couture-Heatley, Clowe-Wingles-Mitchell, McCarthy-Nichol-McLaren with seven defenseman dressing.

[Update] Sharks-Adler game highlights from Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area.