Blue Jackets Win In Overtime Against Sharks 3-2

For the first time all season, the San Jose Sharks are officially in a slump, losing 3 games in a row, including the first two at home.  For the second time this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeat the San Jose Sharks at home, both in overtime.

This was a game defined by mistakes and turnovers.  Columbus scored two goals in the first period on their first two shots, both coming from bad passes from San Jose defenders trying to get the puck out of their zone.  First, Jason Williams intercepted a pass and immediately shot it over Evgeni Nabokov's glove.  Then, Kristian Huselius stole the puck from San Jose in Columbus's offensive zone, and put the puck on Rick Nash behind the defense for a breakaway score to give the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.
The Sharks slowly fought back.  In the first minute of the game, San Jose drew a penalty and scored on the power play, when Christian Ehrhoff faked a shot which threw off rookie goaltender Dan LaCosta, then passed it to Devin Setoguchi for a clear shot at the net.  In the third period, after an icing call against Columbus, Ehrhoff blasted a shot past LaCosta, who was screened by two San Jose players in front of the net to tie the game 2-2.
The overtime was wide open, with many odd-man rushes and multiple scoring chances for both teams.  But aggressive forechecking by San Jose led to a 2-1 chance for Columbus, and R.J. Umberger shot the puck, which trickled behind Nabokov.  Christian Backman found it and tapped it in for an easy game winning goal to end the match 3-2.

The common themes in the three losses for San Jose were turnovers and unsuccessful special teams play.  Two turnovers by the Sharks led to two quick goals for the Blue Jackets.  The Sharks were also unable to convert multiple power play opportunities, going 1 for 5 and often failing to even enter the offensive zone.  The Sharks once again outshot their opponent 30 to 20, but most of the shots did not yield any rebounds or second opportunities for their skaters to get a goal, and they were relatively easy saves for the Columbus goaltender LaCosta, who was starting in his first NHL game.  San Jose's next game will be against the Boston Bruins in Boston, as the top team of each conference will face off for the first time this season.