SAN JOSE, Calif. — Defenseman Erik Karlsson scored twice in regulation and then added the deciding goal in the eighth round of the shootout to lead the San Jose Sharks past the Minnesota Wild 4-3.
Karlsson capped a stellar night by ending a streak of nine combined misses by both teams, when he beat Cam Talbot with a slap shot.
It was Karlsson's first two-goal game in the regular season in more than three years and Radim Simek also scored as the Sharks rebounded from back-to-back losses in Arizona.
Martin Jones made 22 saves and allowed only two goals in the shootout. Marcus Johansen, Nick Bonino and Kevin Fiala scored for the Wild in regulation.
Minnesota and San Jose will meet Wednesday night in game two of their series.
The Wild are 21-10-2 against Western Division opponents, averaging 9.4 penalty minutes per game, fifth-most in the NHL. Carson Soucy leads the team serving 39 total minutes. The Sharks are 14-16-4 against division opponents. San Jose averages 9.9 penalty minutes per game, third-most in the NHL. Kurtis Gabriel leads the team serving 55 total minutes.
NOTES
Wild: Winger Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild with 16 total assists and has 21 points. Star rookie Kirill Kaprizov has five goals over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Sharks: Evander Kane leads San Jose with 14 goals and has 29 points. Tomas Hertl has 7 points over the last 10 games for the Sharks.