Sharks rally late to beat Jets

There’s something to be said for perseverance.

From the Sharks’ perspective Friday, all they could do was continue to apply pressure on Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and hope they could eventually break through.

It finally happened in the third period, as Melker Karlsson and Timo Meier scored goals 89 seconds apart to help the Sharks earn a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Jets at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Karlsson tied the game 2-2 off an assist from Joel Kellman at the 5:18 mark of the third period, and Meier gave the Sharks the lead with his 19th of the season at the 6:47 mark.

Goalie Aaron Dell finished with 29 saves as the Sharks won their third straight road game, with another one coming Saturday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild. Dell had 17 saves in the third period alone as the Sharks survived some hairy moments in the final minutes.

Hellebuyck stopped 83 of 86 shots in the first two meetings between the Sharks and Jets in San Jose this season. Hellebuyck made 51 saves in Winnipeg’s 3-2 win on Nov. 1. On Nov. 27, Hellebuyck made 32 saves in the Jets’ 5-1 victory.

Friday, the Sharks had 24 shots in the first two periods, which included five shots on their first two power-play opportunities. But Hellebuyck only allowed Marcus Sorensen’s goal at the 14:51 mark of the first period.

The Sharks allowed ?second-period goals by Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler, with Connor’s goal at the 8:21 mark of the second coming with Evander Kane serving an interference penalty.

Kane took an elbowing penalty at the 13:17 mark of the third, but Dell made six saves to help kill the penalty.

Before Friday, the Sharks were 1-22-0 when trailing after two periods.

Sorensen’s goal snapped a personal ?25-game goal drought as his line with Alexander True and Dylan Gambrell got the Sharks on the scoreboard.

True, in his fourth NHL game, took a pass from Gambrell and carried the puck from behind the net to the front. Sorensen, stationed in the crease, got a stick on and tapped it in for his sixth goal of the season and his first since Dec. 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Jets challenged the goal, feeling the Sharks had interfered with Hellebuyck, but NHL’s Situation Room determined Sorensen was making a play on the loose puck in the crease.

The Sharks outshot the Jets 13-3 in the first period.