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Couture bails out Sharks in
Minny
SJ sweeps season series with Wild
After taking all three games against the Minnesota
Wild, the Sharks were looking for the season sweep in St Paul on Friday night.
A late goal by Logan Couture helped the Sharks salvage a win after blowing a
2-0 lead. Couture was the beneficiary of an equipment failure by teammate Dan
Boyle just under 4 minutes to play.
Boyle tried pumping a shot on net
from the right wing boards, but his stick broke on the play, knuckling the
puck. The shot slid through the slot at quarter speed, snaking past a gaggle of
skaters in the front of the net. Couture was roaming on the left side and was
able to gather in the puck and deposited into a wide open net for the game
winner.
“You have to be lucky sometimes,” Boyle said after
the game. “That was lucky!”
Manny Malhotra gave the Sharks a
1-0 lead at 7:19 of the 1st period by deflecting a Rob Blake blast. Blake was
positioned at the right point, when he uncorked a shot that Malhotra tipped
past Niklas Backstrom for his 13th goal of the season.
Minnesota
almost answered 1 minute later when Cal Clutterbuck sent a one-timer on net
from the slot. Sharks netminder Evgeni Nabokov had to slide laterally from
right to left in order to deny the scoring chance.
The Sharks 3rd line
manufactured the next goal with some tenacious play in front of the Wild net at
12:22. Backstrom made a stop on another shot by Blake, but the puck stayed
within an arms reach of the crease. Torrey Mitchell and Scott Nichol stabbed at
the puck in an attempt to free it from Backstrom who was parked on his
backside. Nichol would pry it free before slipping it around the Wild netminder
for the 2-0 lead.
San Jose had to kill off three penalties in the
period, including a high sticking penalty that carried over into the middle
frame. Minnesota ’s 10th ranked power play failed to convert on any of the
three chances, which allowed San Jose to carry that two-goal lead into the
first intermission.
Devin Setoguchi just missed making it a three-goal
lead 4 minutes into the 2nd, when a shot deflected out to him in the slot, but
a Wild defenseman tied up his stick to deny the chance.
Clutterbuck
cut the Sharks lead in half at 5:10 on a deflection off Nabokov. Video replay
showed that the puck hit off the Wild forward’s glove, but it was ruled a
good goal.
Joe Pavelski bounced a backhand shot off the left post a
minute later, then the Sharks magnified the miss when Douglas Murray took a
holding penalty on the ensuing counter attack.
With Murray in the box,
the Wild appeared to tie the game with a power play chance, but referee Chris
Lee lost sight of the puck and blew the play dead. San Jose generated a
short-handed chance on the next faceoff, but missed on the opportunity.
Antti Miettinen made them pay with a goal before Murray ’s
penalty expired to knot the game at 2-2. The Wild winger roofed a shot from the
high slot that sailed over Nabokov’s right shoulder.
Mikko Koivu
was sent off for tripping at 9:30 of the period, giving the Sharks their first
power play of the game. They would promptly turn the puck over to James
Sheppard who raced up ice. Dan Boyle was forced to hook him in order to stop
the breakaway, but Sheppard was awarded a penalty shot.
Nabokov kept
the game tied by denying Sheppard on the ensuing freebie, but stuffing a
five-hole attempt.
A too many men call on the Sharks with 9:07 left in
regulation setup a prime chance for Minnesota to grab the lead. Nabokov made
the save of the game on the Wild power play, when he sealed off the left side
of the net with a sliding save.
Game Notes:
Boyle’s assist on the game winner, gave him 42 for the season. That breaks
the team record for assists by a defenseman that he set last season. Clowe was
back in the lineup after taking a puck to the throat on Wednesday night in
Dallas .
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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 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| MIN |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Malhotra 13 (Blake, McGinn), 7:19. 2, SJ, Nichol 4 (Mitchell, Blake),
12:22. |
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| 2nd period - 3, MIN,
Clutterbuck 13 (Latendresse, Zanon), 5:10. 4, MIN, Miettinen 19 (Brunette,
Zidlicky), 6:59, (pp). MIN, Sheppard (missed penalty shot), 10:53. |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Couture 4 (Boyle, Clowe), 16:09. |
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| 1st period - Blake, SJ
(hooking), 3:10; Clowe, SJ (goaltender interference), 16:11; Couture, SJ (high
sticking), 19:28. |
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| 2nd period -
Murray , SJ (holding), 5:45; Koivu, MIN (tripping), 9:30; Marleau, SJ
(roughing), 11:54; Zidlicky, MIN (interference), 12:12; Almond, MIN (hooking),
18:19. |
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| 3rd period -
Bench, SJ (too many men), 10:18. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
29 |
27 |
| MIN - Backstrom |
28 |
25 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
11 |
9 |
8 |
28 |
| MIN |
7 |
11 |
11 |
29 |
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| Referees:
Marouelli, Lee. Linesmen: Mach, Gibbs. |
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