|
|
Poor decisions burn
Sharks Focus & intensity
absent 2/1/07 - by Mike Lee
The
Dallas Stars may want to
plan five-day trips to the Bay Area more often. After soaking up great
weather,
world class dining and a little site-seeing this week, they wrapped up
their
trip with a 4-point deposit to their playoff standing s account after
taking a
second straight game from the Sharks on Thursday night.
In doing
so,
they creep to within three points of the Sharks in the Western Conference
Standings. More importantly, they figured out that if you shut down the
Sharks
power play, you shut down the Sharks chances of winning the game.
The Stars clamped down on the Sharks power play, refusing to let San
Jose generate any momentum. Things got so bad for the host Sharks, that
they
went over 20 minutes without registering a shot on goal.
The
game got
off to a precarious start for the Sharks when Joel Lundqvist pumped a
shot past
Evgeni Nabokov on the 1st shot of the game just 44 seconds into the
contest.
Nabokov had a clear look at the shot, but it still managed to squeeze
through
his pads for the 1-0 Stars lead.
San Jose would answer 33
seconds
later when Mark Bell slipped a Joe Thornton feed under Marty Turco's pad
after
the Stars goaltender fell trying to stop a Thornton shot.
Stu
Barnes
would give the Stars a 2-1 lead on a goal with under 5 minutes to play in
the
opening period.
Sharks head coach Ron Wilson didn't wait to see
if
Nabokov's erratic would shape up, so he pulled his goaltender in favor of
Vesa
Toskala to start the 2nd period. Toskala would surrender a pair of goals
as
well, but his defense can take credit for those later lapses.
Things
got chippy after Eric Lindros led with a knee as he checked Sharks
defenseman
Doug Murray. As Murray fell to the ice, his stick swung around, striking
Lindros in the side of the helmet. Lindors took exception and skated
across the
width of the rink to land a cross check to Murray during a stoppage.
Murray
immediately dropped the gloves an ripped off his own helmet in
preparation for
spat with the papier-mache big man. Krys Barch intervened by dropping the
gloves with Murray.
The Stars took advantage of two Sharks penalties
incurred 11 seconds apart seven minutes into the 2nd period. With almost
a full
two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play, Jere Lehtinen sent a pass through the
Sharks crease, but defenseman Scott Hannan redirected the puck through
Toskala's legs as he tried to intercept the pass.
The Sharks
would
enjoy a brief power play themselves after Jeff Halpern was sent off for
tripping Marc-Edouard Vlasic, but referee Bill McCreary followed up the
call
with an awful goaltender interference penalty on Ryane Clowe evened
things up
at 4-on-4. San Jose would use the extra space to convert on a Patrick
Marleau
goal at 13:18. Joe Thornton skated up the right wing boards, before
sending a
diagonal pass to Marleau in the slot. The Sharks captain redirected the
puck
from 20-feet out, slipping inside the left post to cut Dallas' lead to
3-2
All the momentum the Sharks had built on Marleau's goal was
erased
on a broken play two minutes into the final period. Murray tried to
reintroduce
himself to Lindros as the Stars tried to clear their own zone, but the
Sharks
dfenseman ended up taking Milan Michalek out of the play. That sprung
Mike
Ribeiro and Barch on a 2-on-0 play that ended with Barch scoring 1st NHL
goal.
Wilson's comments seemed pointed at Murray's decision to even
the
score with Lindros, but the Shraks head coach wasn't the only one with
comments
directed at the young defenseman.
|
What did you think of
this article? Post your comments on the
Feeder
Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
What did you
think of this game? Post your comments on the
Feeder
Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
DAL |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
SJ |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
1st period - 1, DAL,
Lundqvist 2 (Halpern), 0:44. 2, SJ, Bell 7 (Thornton, Clowe), 1:17.
3, DAL,
Barnes 8 (Halpern, Lundqvist), 15:16 |
|
|
2nd period - 4, DAL,
Lehtinan 16 (Zubov, Modano), 7:32, (pp). 5, SJ, Marleau 26
(Thornton, Ehrhoff),
13:18. |
|
|
3rd period - 5, DAL,
Barch 1 (Ribeiro, Lindros), 2:24. |
|
|
|
|
|
1st period - Modry, DAL
(holding), 2:10; Halern, DAL (interference), 17:16; Robidas, DAL
(holding the
stick), 19:31. |
|
|
2nd period - Lindros,
DAL (cross checking), 3:17; Barch, DAL (10 min misconduct), 3:17;
Barch, DAL
(fighting major), 3:17; Barch, DAL (instigator), 3:17; Murray, SJ
(ighting
major), 3:17; Murray, SJ (high sticking), 3:17; Bell, SJ
(roughing), 6:54;
Brown SJ (hooking), 7:05; Halpern, DAL (tripping), 12:00; Clowe, SJ
(goaltender
interference), 13:06; Grier, SJ (charging), 17:10. |
|
|
3rd period - Robidas,
DAL (hooking), 13:39; Klemm, DAL (roughing), 15:38; Michalek, SJ
(roughing),
15:38. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shots |
Saves |
DAL - Turco |
20 |
18 |
SJ - Nabokov |
8 |
6 |
SJ - Toskala |
8 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
DAL |
8 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
SJ |
7 |
4 |
9 |
20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Referees: Bill McCreary, Dan
O'Rourke. Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Vaughan Rody. |
|
|
|
|
|