Brent Burns' 2017 OT winner vs. Rangers could've meant more to Sharks

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Programming note: Relive Brent Burns' overtime winner against the New York Rangers from 2017 when NBC Sports California re-airs the classic game on Saturday, March 28 at 3 p.m.

It could have been a turning-point moment in the 2016-17 Sharks' season.

Sharks coach Peter DeBoer's club entered the March 28, 2017 game against the New York Rangers at SAP Center having lost six consecutive games. With the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the horizon, DeBoer knew the Sharks needed to get back to playing their brand of hockey if they were going to make any noise in the postseason.

The Sharks raced out to a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Jannik Hansen, Melker Karlsson and Chris Tierney. With Martin Jones recording several quality saves through the first period-and-a-half, the Sharks looked to be well on their way to an easy win.

But the Rangers came storming back, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead and quiet what had been a raucous SAP Center. With a seventh straight loss barrelling toward them, the Sharks dug deep to snap their losing streak. Tierney scored his second goal of the game at 17:45 in the third period, tying the game and sending the contest to OT.

That's when Brent Burns, amid a 16-game goal-scoring drought, one-timed a pass from Joe Pavelski past Henrik Lundqvist to put the Sharks back in the win column.

“We needed a win. That’s the bottom line. We needed a win, whatever it looked like,” DeBoer said after the win. “I’m glad it looked the way it did because I thought we strung some really good stretches where I thought we looked like we should look.

“The fact we won and got that monkey off our back and how we won and how we looked for long periods makes me feel good about it.”

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Burns lighting the lamp in OT to snap a dreaded six-game losing streak should have been the catalyst for something bigger. The Sharks' forward depth was on full display that night and they were expecting to get Logan Couture back in the coming days. Unfortunately for the 2017 Sharks, the feeling was short-lived. Their inconsistent play continued to hamper them down the stretch. The Sharks finished the season 3-3 and then lost to the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nevertheless, it's certainly a game that's worth re-living during these unprecedented times.

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