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Sharks win ugly in
Anaheim
Thornton bags winner in 3rd
period
Skating 24-hours after an exciting goal-fest
against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Sharks hit the road for a Pacific Division
match-up with the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center, skating to a hard fought
3-2 win. Joe Thornton scored early in the 3rd period to snap a 2-2 tie,
propelling the Sharks to their 16th win of the season. Thornton, Dany Heatley
and Patrick Marleau all recorded points on the night, putting all three in the
top-five in league scoring.
The cellar-dwelling Ducks were a hungry
team, entering play with conference low 17 points in the standings. Anaheim
seemed intent on pushing the Sharks around and capitalizing on their chances,
but a lack of offensive horsepower kept things tight in the opening period.
A less than spectacular opening 20-minues by the Sharks was capped by
a tripping penalty to Dany Heatley right at the buzzer. That period would carry
over to the 2nd period and Anaheim would cash in.
Steve Wisniewksi
sent a seemingly routine shot on goal from the blueline, but Evgeni Nabokov
just flat out missed the save with his right pad. It appeared that Nabokov had
a bead on the shot, but he simply kicked his skate out to far, allowing the
puck to slide through the 5-hole for the 1-0 Ducks lead.
Ryane Clowe
would knot the game at 1-1 at the 8:08 mark on a shot from the left wing boards
that beat Jonas Hiller just inside the right post. Clowe took a feed from Kent
Huskins, before holding the puck, waiting for Frazer McLaren to position
himself in front of Hiller.
A Ryan Whitney cross check on Scott Nichol
put the Sharks on the power play at 10:12 of the period, and the Sharks power
play made quick work of the Ducks penalty killing unit.
Dany Heatley
scored his NHL leading 18th goal on a rebound from the top of the crease after
Joe Thornton threw a shot at Hiller from the slot. Heatley showed just how
quick his hands are, by snaring the rebound within a foot of Hiller and
slipping it around the Ducks netminder.
The Sharks didn’t make
things easy for themselves late in the period when Huskins was called for
holding at 18:55. Douglas Murray was them whistled for interference 42 seconds
later, to give the Ducks a 5-on-3.
Anaheim would score 9 seconds into
the 2-man advantage to tie the game at 2-2. With a scrum in front of the Sharks
net, a Corry Perry rebound kicked out to Whitney, who buried a 30-foot blast
from the top of the left circle.
The Sharks would kill off the
remainder of Murray ’s penalty to start the 3rd period, so it came down to
who would score next.
A hooking penalty to Teemu Selanne put the Sharks on
the power play at 6:43 of the 3rd period, but the chance almost turned
disastrous after Huskins fell at the Ducks blueline, allowing Todd Marchant to
race up ice uncontested. Nabokov stepped up and forced Marchant to change his
angle of attack. That was a big enough distraction to force a shot that bounced
off the right post, preserving the tie.
That would chance moments
later then Thornton snapped a shot from the left dot that found the back of the
net with 11:11 remaining in regulation.
Clowe almost made it a 2-goal
lead on the ensuing shift when Joe Pavelski carried the puck toward the net and
slid a pass to the right post for a scoring chance.
Nabokov cam up big
after Ryan Getzlaf almost put a deflection past the Sharks netminder. Nabokov
waved his glove at a floating shot that was headed fro the back of the net
midway through the period.
With the one-goal lead late, the Sharks did
a nice job of pressing on offense, keeping the puck out of their own end. Manny
Malhotra picked Marchant’s pocket as the Ducks were trying to get Hiller
off the ice for the extra attacker.
Game Notes:
Art
Savage, the Sharks first team president, died on Saturday at age 58. Rookie
left winger Frazer McLaren squared off with Ducks tough guy George Parros in a
spirited fight in the opening period.
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What did you
think of this game? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| ANA |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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| 2nd period - 1, ANA,
Wisniewski 1 (Ryan, Koivu), 1:20, (pp). 2, SJ, Clowe 4 (Huskins), 8:08. 3, SJ,
Heatley 18 (Thornton, Marleau), 10:54, (pp). 4, ANA, Whitney 2 (Perry,
Neidermayer), 19:46, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Thornton 7 (Heatley), 8:49. |
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| 1st period - McLaren, SJ
(fighting major), 3:31; Parros, ANA (fighting major), 3:31; Wisniewski, ANA
(hooking), 17:41; Heatley, SJ (tripping), 20:00. |
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| 2nd period - Ferriero,
SJ (tripping), 3:51; Whitney, ANA (cross checking), 10:12; Huskins, SJ
(holding), 18:55; Murray, SJ (interference), 19:37. |
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| 3rd period -
Nichol, SJ (roughing), 4:43; Koivu, ANA (roughing), 4:43; Selanne, ANA
(hooking) 6:43. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
30 |
28 |
| ANA - Hiller |
36 |
33 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
12 |
14 |
36 |
| ANA |
7 |
12 |
11 |
30 |
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| Referees: McCauley,
O'Rourke. Linesmen: Sharrers, Mach. |
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