GLENDALE, Ariz. _ Welcome to the NHL, kid. Grown up kid that is.
Lukas Radil, a 28-year-old rookie playing in his sixth NHL game, scored his first NHL goal at 14:13 of the third period to lift the Sharks to a 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes after his team coughed up a 3-0 lead earlier in the game.
Radil scored the game winner with help from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun, skating around the net and flipping in a backhanded shot. Tomas Hertl added an empty-net goal in the game's final minute.
The Sharks opened the scoring at 14:36 of the first after a pair of world-class players showed off their best skills. Erik Karlsson put his elite creativity on display, finding Brenden Dillon on the opposite point by banking a cross-ice feed off the sideboards after a Coyotes defender blocked the direct passing lane. Then, Dillon fired a snapshot toward the net and Joe Pavelski redirected it in the slot, scoring his team-leading 19th goal of the season.
Logan Couture added to the lead just 50 seconds later, beating red-hot goalie Adin Hill on a breakaway by freezing him and then slipping a backhander through his five hole. Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier picked up assists on the play.
Evander Kane made it 3-0 at 5:10, chipping the puck out of the defensive zone, recovering it and scoring his second in as many games on a breakaway.
After that, the Coyotes stormed back with three unanswered goals.
Nick Schmaltz scored on a power play at 6:55 of the second after Kevin Labanc took a senseless slashing penalty. Then, Brad Richardson deflected in a point shot from Jakob Chychrun at 10:43 of the second to make it a one-goal game. Richard Panik tied the game at 5:45 of the third, getting an open look off a break after Brent Burns abandoned the right point in the offensive zone. Panik's shot leaked through Aaron Dell's pads, making it 3-3.
Dell secured the win by making 17 saves on the night.
With the win, the Sharks finished the week with a 3-1 mark after starting last week's road trip with a 0-3-1 record, inspiring a closed-door meeting with general manager Doug Wilson and a coaching staff shuffle up by Pete DeBoer.
The Sharks will return to action Monday, kicking off a two-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils at SAP Center.
