(AP) — Ron Wilson was surprised the Dallas Stars lost a late lead. Imagine the San Jose coach’s astonishment that it was a rookie who led the Sharks’ rally Monday night.
Devin Setoguchi scored two goals in the third period of his first NHL game to help the Sharks come from behind and beat the Stars 4-2.
The Sharks came into the game 24th in the league with 25 goals, and they had scored just one in each of their last two losses. The slump continued as San Jose trailed 2-1 despite firing off 25 shots through two periods on Dallas goalie Marty Turco.
But the 20-year-old Setoguchi scored twice in a span of 2 minutes, 34 seconds to turn a one-goal deficit into a 3-2 lead.
"It’s definitely thrilling," Setoguchi said. "I never would have dreamed for it to happen this way."
Setoguchi, the eighth overall pick in the 2005 draft, tied the game at 2 when he beat Turco at 11:53 of the third. He then took a pass in front of the net from Joe Thornton, who had two assists, and put the Sharks ahead 3-2 at 14:27.
San Jose added an insurance goal 17 seconds later from Steve Bernier.
Setoguchi could have easily had three goals, but he missed an open net in the first.
"I was definitely nervous in the first period," Setoguchi said. "I was just kind of scrambling out there. But I settled down and Coach gave me a chance in the third."
Setoguchi was recalled by San Jose on Sunday from the AHL’s Worcester Sharks, where he had been scoreless in three games this season.
