Eklund nets hat trick with OT goal as Sharks beat Blues
SAN JOSE -- William Eklund scored in overtime to finish a hat trick, Devin Cooley made 34 saves in his first NHL win, and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Saturday.
Eklund buried a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 break 3:56 into overtime. The Sharks responded after the Blues came back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period on goals by Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn, who equalized at 17:31 after St. Louis pulled the goaltender for an extra skater.
Eklund scored two power-play goals minutes apart in the second period for the 21-year-old's first multigoal game. Cooley, a Los Gatos native, got the win in his third career start.
The Sharks improved to 3-0 against the Blues this year and dealt another blow to St. Louis' faint playoff hopes. The Blues entered the game seven points back of the Los Angeles Kings — who host the Vancouver Canucks later on Saturday — for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with six games to play.
San Jose had lost 22 of its last 25 games dating back to Jan. 31.
Joel Hofer made 22 saves for St. Louis.
The Blues — who scratched regulars Torey Krug, Kevin Hayes and Sammy Blais — are the only team the Sharks have beaten multiple times this season so far, including last week when San Jose snapped a nine-game losing skid with a 4-0 shutout in St. Louis.
Sharks defenseman Calen Addison received a game misconduct late in the first period after he argued a cross-checking penalty. Jake Neighbours, who took a hit from the Sharks' Luke Kunin in the second period, left the game with an upper-body injury.
Collin Graf, the Sharks' newest addition, made his debut on the second line. The 21-year-old Graf, considered the top NCAA free agent, signed with the Sharks on Thursday after garnering heavy interest around the league and reported immediately to the team.
Graf, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award the last two seasons, had 22 goals and 27 assists in 34 games at Quinnipiac University last year. He said he picked San Jose because the team was honest with him and he had familiarity with his new teammates from the Northeast.
The Massachusetts native should receive plenty of opportunity to grow with the rebuilding Sharks, who have six games left this season.
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Sharks: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.
