As cheesy as it is to call the Sharks' victory Thursday night a "wild" win, that's an apt description.
San Jose jumped on the visiting Minnesota Wild early and held on to fend off the opposition's late-game push to tally their second victory in a row, this time by a score of 6-5. But boy, did that one get dicey.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday's game.
Best period of hockey this season
There's no doubt the first period of Thursday's game was the most dominant the Sharks have played so far through the 2019-20 campaign. Captain Logan Couture scored the first goal of the night just 52 seconds into the contest, which was only the beginning, as San Jose played a confident and physical game and took a 4-0 lead before the first frame expired.
The Sharks didn't pile it on in the second period, nor were they as defensively sound. Luckily for San Jose, its league-leading penalty-kill unit kept the Wild from mounting too much of a comeback.
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On that note ...
Still taking too many penalties
This isn't anything new. While the Sharks have the best penalty kill in the NHL, they are also one of the most penalized teams in the league -- and spending too much time on the kill not only ruins their flow at even strength, but also leads to too many mistakes.
Such was the case against Minnesota, as San Jose spent the vast majority of the second period with skaters in the sin bin. It clearly took the rhythm out of the Sharks' game and left room for the Wild to build momentum and score two goals.
If San Jose expects to carry steady momentum throughout a game, the number of penalties must be cut down.
[RELATED: Sharks' Kane returns to game after nasty slash by Wild]
Another crazy third period
After giving up two third-period goals in a span of 68 seconds in Tuesday's win over Blackhawks, the Sharks did the same thing against the Wild, only this time it was a 74-second span.
Part of the blame falls on goaltender Martin Jones. Part of it falls on the team in front of him for not staying tight in the defensive zone. However you cut it, the Sharks need to do a better job of staying disciplined and finishing games strong so they don't let should-be wins get away from them.
