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Simple approach pays dividends
in Vancouver
Sharks do the little things right in
4-2 win
Skating on the same sheet of ice that will host
the Olympic tournament in February, the Sharks got to showcase some potential
Olympians on Sunday night in a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. San Jose put
together a simple plan of attack and executed in well, and in the process
became the first team in the NHL to reach the 40-point mark this season. The
Sharks extended a 2-1 lead with a pair of late goals and knocking off a Canucks
team that had lost only 3 times in 13 games at GM Place this season.
The Sharks got off to another slow start, surrendering the game’s opening
goal just 1:59 into the contest. Kyle Wellwood skated up the right wing on a
2-on-1 break, before snapping a pass past Evgeni Nabokov. Defenseman Derek
Joslin was the lone man back, but he elected to take away the pass through the
slot, allowing Wellwood to pick a corner for his 2nd goal of the season.
Nabokov would take an uncharacteristic roughing penalty at 8:01,
leveling Henrik Sedin with a punch behind the Sharks net. The punch was more
reaction after the two became tangled along the end boards and fortunately for
San Jose , the Sharks penalty killing unit killed off the penalty.
Frazer McLaren would tie the game with his first NHL goal at 12:18 on a nice
piece of work from the Sharks 3rd line. After the Sharks hustled to work the
puck deep into the Vancouver zone, Joe Pavelski found himself with the puck in
the right corner. The Sharks centerman saw McLaren skating toward the net, so
he sent a bullet pass for the redirect past Roberto Luongo.
A wild
finish to the period ended with the Sharks intercepting a clearing pass by
Luongo behind the Canucks net, but Jed Ortmeyer was a step to late in getting
the empty net chance into the goal. The clock expired just at the Sharks
forward gathered the puck and made the move toward the empty crease.
An Alex Edler hooking penalty at 5:09 setup a Sharks power play goal a minute
later. Dan Boyle pumped home a meaty rebound after Joe Thornton put a shot on
net from the left wing boards. Boyle was skating toward the net, when the puck
bounced to him at the bottom of the right circle for the easy put back.
San Jose fell into a defensive shell in the 3rd period, suppressing
the Canucks who tried to bag the equalizer by forcing the forechecking. An
interference penalty to Ryane Clowe gave the Canucks a power play with 13
minutes to play, but the Sharks penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4 on the
night.
With Vancouver chipping away, looking for a crack in
the Sharks armor, the Sharks managed to turn the tables late. Manny Malhotra
gave the Sharks the breathing room they would need with 2:35 left in regulation
on a nice breakout by the Sharks. Douglas Murray moved the puck up the ice with
a long pass from the Sharks zone to Clowe, who feathered a pass to Malhotra
from the left point. Malhotra streaked up the ice, beating Edler to the net.
Jamie McGinn made it 4-1 just 13 seconds later. A dump in to the right
corner was pursued by Jed Ortmeyer, who chipped the puck out to the slot where
McGinn swatted at it. The shot would beat Luongo, and the Canucks night was
over.
Wellwood would setup a meaningless goal with 6.3 seconds left.
The centerman beat McGinn to the puck along the right wing boards, throwing it
toward the Sharks net, where Jannik Hansen tipped it past Nabokov for the final
goal of the game.
Game Notes:
McLaren became the fifth
Sharks to record their first NHL goal this season.
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What did you
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| VAN |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, VAN,
Wellwood 2 (Bernier, Edler), 1:59. 2, SJ, McLaren 1 (Pavelski), 12:18. |
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| 2nd period - 3, SJ,
Boyle 6 (Thornton, Huskins), 6:15, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Malhotra 5 (Clowe, Pavelski), 17:25. 5, SJ, McGinn 4 (Ortmeyer), 17:38. 6, VAN,
Hansen 2 (Wellwood), 19:53. |
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| 1st period - Nabokov, SJ
(roughing), 8:01; Blake, SJ (kneeing), 12:45; Hordichuk, VAN (interference),
16:39. |
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| 2nd period - Samuelsson,
VAN (hooking), 0:22; Edler, VAN (hooking), 5:09; D. Sedin, VAN (holding), 7:27;
McGinn, SJ (high sticking), 13:16. |
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| 3rd period -
Clowe, SJ (interference), 6:43; Burrows, VAN (hooking), 13:22. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
27 |
25 |
| VAN - Luongo |
30 |
26 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
7 |
15 |
8 |
30 |
| VAN |
10 |
4 |
13 |
27 |
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| Referees: Lee,
Furlatt. Linesmen: Rody, Galloway. |
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