Logan Couture scored in regulation and added the lone goal in the shootout Thursday night as the host San Jose Sharks snapped a seven-game losing streak by edging the New York Islanders. 4-3.
The Sharks also received goals from Alexander Barabanov and Jasper Weatherby, and Tomas Hertl had two assists.
San Jose’s James Reimer made 44 saves in regulation and overtime — including 13 in the third period and five in the extra session — before stopping two attempts in the shootout and seeing another shot go wide.
The Sharks had been 0-3-4 since their last win, a 4-1 road decision against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 26.
Brock Nelson, Zach Parise and Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders, who have lost nine of 14 (5-7-2). Parise’s tally was the 400th of his career. New York goalie Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.
New York’s Zdeno Chara played in his 1,652nd game, breaking a tie with Chris Chelios for the most games played by a defenseman in NHL history. The 44-year-old veteran saw 16:26 of ice time and also became the oldest player ever to earn a fighting major when he tussled with Jeffrey Viel — who was born nine months before Chara made his NHL debut in 1997.
Nelson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead by redirecting Scott Mayfield’s shot with 5:04 left in the first period.
An interference penalty on Pelech led to Barabanov’s goal 59 seconds later, when the left winger fired a shot past Sorokin, who was screened by four players.
A turnover by Pelech helped the Sharks take their first lead with 2:28 left in the first. Viel swiped the puck from Pelech and dove while dishing to Weatherby, whose shot glanced off Pelech and fluttered past Sorokin.
Parise scored his milestone goal with 7:12 left in the second, when Sebastian Aho fed him from behind the net before Parise fired a shot under Reimer’s legs.
The teams then traded goals in a 19-second span late in the period.
A roughing penalty on New York’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau resulted in the power play that yielded Couture’s go-ahead goal — scored on a shot he fired under Mayfield’s legs and past Sorokin’s stick — with 3:29 remaining. Pelech promptly tied the score with a slap shot that sailed under Reimer’s glove.