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Nabokov helps Sharks exact some
revenge Netminder shines with 45 saves in
win
The battle of Western Conference heavy weights San
Jose and Chicago came down to each teams goaltending on Tuesday night.
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 45 shots for San Jose on tilted ice, and Chicago
Blackhawks netminder Cristobal Huet allowed three goals on 14 shots in a 3-2
Sharks win at the United Center. Chicago dominated puck possession, but the
Sharks picked their spots to avenge their worst loss of the season.
It
was the Blackhawks that put a 7-spot on the Sharks back on November 25th at HP
Pavilion in an embarrassing 7-2 rout. Chicago looked poised to repeat that by
controlling the ice for most of the game. San Jose would only muster 3 shots on
goal in the 2nd period and would be out-shot 21-7 in the final period, but they
put the puck past huet when they needed to.
San Jose also had issues
saying out of the box, less than 24 hours after giving the Dallas Stars five
power plays, but just like Monday night, the penalty killing was superb. San
Jose denied seven Chicago power play opportunities, including a Jed Ortmeyer
holding infraction that came just 75 seconds into the contest.
The
Sharks would kill the Ortmeyer penalty and Dany Healtey gave the Sharks a 1-0
lead 3:18 into the game after Dan Boyle found the Sharks forward cutting past
the Blackhawls blueline. Heatley gathered in the pass and snapped a shot over
Cristobal Huets right shoulder.
The goal snapped Huets
shutout streak at 144 minutes.
A hooking penalty to Ryane Clowe put
the Blackhawks back on the power play at 12:08, and Chicago used it as an
opportunity to put their puck control game on display. They held the puck in
the Sharks zone for the first half of the penalty until a stoppage finally
allowed a change.
Rookie defenseman Jason Demers would follow Clowe to
the bow less than three minutes later with a ticky-tack tripping penalty in
front of the San Jose net. It was the eighth consecutive penalty called on San
Jose , dating back to Saturday nights game against Anaheim .
That string would be broken with a hooking penalty to Troy Brouwer a minute
later, nullifying Chicago s third power play of the game. San Jose would
finally get their own chance with the man-advantage with 40 seconds left in the
period, but Joe Thornton squandered that opportunity by taking a pointless
interference penalty well away from the play 31 seconds later.
The
Sharks were out-shot 14-5 in the period.
San Jose went right back on
the penalty kill to start the 2nd period after Jamie McGinn tripped Huet as he
skated past the Blackhawks crease. The Sharks dished out a little payback for
the trifecta of short handed goals Chicago scored against the Sharks back on
November 25th in San Jose .
Joe Pavelski stepped in front of a Kris Versteeg
clearing pass at center ice, then raced into the Chicago zone before sliding a
pass over to Thornton . The big centerman waited for Huet to make a move before
lifting his 10th goal of the season over the Blackhawk goaltenders left
shoulder.
Patrick Marleau almost made it 3-0 five minutes later when
he rifled a shot that clanked off the right post.
Marleau had a golden
chance to convert again 2:30 into the 3rd period when he slipped pas the
Blackhawks defense and stick-handled in tight. Unfortunately he was too tight,
allowing Huet to poke check his scoring chance aside.
The Blackhawks
would finally solve Evgeni Nabokov 4:10 into the period, when Dan Boyle turned
the puck over deep in his own zone. Marion Hossa gathered it up and skated
along the end boards from the left corner, before sliding a pass to Patrick
Kane. Kane cut across the crease from left to right, putting a shot on net that
Nabokov stopped, but the deflection bounced right back to the Blackhawks
forward for the put back.
San Jose would answer immediately. Thornton
won the faceoff at center ice and traded passes with Marleau, before sliding a
pass to Demers who was cutting to the net down the slot. Demers snapped a
35-foot shot that beat Huet stick side, pushing the Sharks lead back to two
goals.
Chicago would get a seventh power play chance when Thornton was
whistled for cross checking with just under 7 minutes to play, but the penalty
kill was Johnny on the spot once again. Offsetting roughing penalties at 17:06
made it 4-on-4, but Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville decided to pull Huet
for the extra skater. That would pay dividends when Hossa converted with 1:51
remaining in regulation.
Huet would be pulled again after the ensuing
faceoff, and would make things interesting by getting a pair of shots to the
net late, but Nabokov withstood the barrage to seal the win.
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What did you
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
CHI |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
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1st period - 1, SJ,
Heatley 22 (Boyle), 3:18. |
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2nd period - 2, SJ,
Thornton 10 (Pavelski), 5:09, (sh). |
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3rd period - 3, CHI,
Kane 11 (Hossa), 4:10. 4, SJ, Demers 2 (Thornton, Marleau), 4:30. 5, CHI, Hossa
6 (Kane, Sharp), 18:09. |
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1st period - Ortmeyer,
SJ (holding), 1:16; Clowe, SJ (hooking), 12:08; Demers, SJ (tripping), 14:57;
Brouwer, CHI (hooking), 16:00; Bench, CHI (too many men), 19:20; Thornton, SJ
(interference), 19:51. |
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2nd period - McGinn, SJ
(tripping), 3:43; McLaren, SJ (fighting major), 3:43; Bickell, CHI (fighting
major), 3:43; Sharp, CHI (roughing), 8:07; Huskins, SJ (hooking), 10:31;
Byfuglien, CHI (goaltender interference), 17:00. |
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3rd period -
Brouwer, CHI (high sticking), 5:38; Thornton , SJ (cross checking), 13:09;
Blake, SJ (roughing), 17:06; Toews, CHI (roughing), 17:06. |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Nabokov |
47 |
45 |
CHI - Huet |
14 |
11 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
4 |
3 |
7 |
14 |
CHI |
15 |
11 |
21 |
47 |
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Referees: Kozari,
Furlatt. Linesmen: McElman, Schachte. |
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