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Nabokov's 5th shutout opens
trip
Scoring limited to Setoguchi's
goal
2/23/09 - By Mike Lee
The
backend of the Sharks 2nd February road trip kicked off on a high note Monday
night in Dallas even though San Jose didn’t exactly put on an offensive
clinic at the American Airlines Center . Evgeni Nabokov was forced to make 29
saves to earn his 45th career shutout in a 1-0 Sharks victory. The shutout was
Nabokov’s 5th of the season, but more importantly it led to his 32nd win
of the season.
Nabokov was forced to be perfect, because his teammates
weren’t providing much offensive support. The Sharks were lethargic
through the first two periods, and were outshot for the first time in 22 games.
San Jose put only 5 shots on goal in the opening period.
What few
shots the Sharks put on net, were equally dispatched by Stars netminder Marty
Turco, who made a career high 30th consecutive start. The goaltender helped the
Stars control the puck by taking away dump ins with his deft stick handling.
The only mistakes the two netminders made through the first 2 periods,
was an errant clearing attempt by Nabokov that resulted in a turnover and a
shot on net. Turco took a tripping penalty late in the opening period, to give
the Sharks one of three power play opportunities.
A Milan Michalek
high sticking penalty 40 seconds into the 2nd period setup a prime scoring
opportunity for the Stars, but a double stack pad save by Nabokov kept a Fabian
Brunnstrom shot from finding the back of the net.
Centerman Brian
Sutherby tried jamming a shot past Nabokov 5 minutes into the 3rd period, but
the Sharks netminder smothered the chance in tight.
San Jose countered
with a series of shots in tight 2 minutes later, but the Sharks couldn’t
sustain any pressure on Turco.
The stalemate would finally be broken 8
minutes into the period. Marc-Edouard Vlasic shuts down the 2-on-1 break by
smothering the Stars lead skater, then Ryane Clowe sent a feed to Devin
Setoguchi at center ice. Setoguchi weaved through traffic before uncorking a
shot from the right dot. Turco was sliding to his left to cover the right post,
exposing the left side of the net. Setoguchi’s shot tucked just inside the
left post for the only score of the game.
Brad Lukowich would take an
ill-timed interference penalty 21 seconds later, and the Stars came within an
inch from scoring when Stephane Robidas clanked a shot off the right post. San
Jose would kill off the penalty, but not without giving the Stars 3 shots that
could have been costly.
The penalty may have inspired the Sharks to
keep the puck out of their own end. San Jose started to press the play with 10
minutes remaining, killing precious time off the clock.
That pressure also turned into a quality scoring
chance. With all the attention focused on the puck in the left corner,
defenseman Dan Boyle pinched on the weak side before getting a feed from Clowe
through the slot for backdoor chance. Turco read the pass and gloved the shot
to keep the Sharks lead to a lone goal.
Stars head coach Dave Tippett
pulled Turco with 1:20 left in regulation for the extra attacker. That
advantage would go by the wayside as the Sharks were able to clear the puck
three times in the last minute.
Dallas had one last chance to tie
things up, but Sharks defenseman Rob Blake laid down to make a huge block in
front of the Sharks net right at the end of regulation to preserve the win.
Game Notes:
Defenseman Brad Lukowich returned to
action after missing 19 games with a sports hernia.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| DAL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 3rd period - 1, SJ,
Setoguchi 25 (Clowe, Ehrhoff), 7:55. |
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| 1st period - Lundqvist,
DAL (holding the stick), 6:25; Bench, SJ (too many men), 8:55; Turco, DAL
(tripping), 17:22. |
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| 2nd period - Michalek,
SJ (high sticking), 0:40; Fistric, DAL (high sticking), 5:36; Plihal, SJ
(goaltender interference), 8:00. |
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| 3rd period - Lukowich,
SJ (interference), 8:16. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
29 |
29 |
| DAL - Turco |
24 |
23 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
5 |
8 |
11 |
24 |
| DAL |
11 |
8 |
10 |
29 |
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| Referees: Kimmerly,
Meier. Linesmen: Henderson, Lazarowich. |
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