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Sharks advance on 3rd period
comeback Avalanche succumbs to San Jose in 6
games
When compared to their first round series a year
ago, the Sharks took a huge step forward with a 5-2 win in Denver on Saturday
night, dispatching the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games in a tightly contested
matchup. Where they buckled last season, the Sharks overcame a 3rd period
deficit in Game 6, scoring 4 goals in the last 20 minutes to end the series.
Joe Pavelski scored a pair of goals to lead San Jose , including the game
winner.
Pavelski had a monster series, leading San Jose with 5 goals
and 3 assists. He would score the Sharks first and third goals on a night when
San Jose needed to battle back against an Avalanche team that was fighting for
its season. San Jose wasted little time picking up where they left off in Game
5, when Pavelski converted for his 4th goal of the series just 47 seconds into
the game.
San Jose took the opening faceoff and steamed into the
Colorado zone. They would cycle the puck around the right corner before Ryane
Clowe pushed it to the end boards. Pavelski scooped it up and wrapped a shot
from his knees that beat Craig Anderson on the left post for the 1-0 lead.
Clowe earned the primary assist on the play, his 6th of the playoffs.
He would tack another later in the game to tie Pavelski with 8 points in the
series (1 goal, 7 assists).
A Kent Huskins hooking penalty at 4:36 of
the period, put the Avalanche on the power play, but the Sharks denied Colorado
from getting any shots on goal.
The Devin Setoguchi-Pavelski-Clowe
line just missed on another golden opportunity 9 minutes remaining in the
period. Clowe threw the puck on net, creating another wrap-around chance off a
deflection for Setoguchi.
Marek Svatos was sent off for high-sticking
Logan Couture at 12:05, but the Sharks power play turned in a lethargic two
minutes and came away with nothing on the chance.
Setoguchi would just
miss again, 5 minutes into the 2nd period. Pavelski put a shot on goal from the
left side. Anderson gave up a meaty rebound that landed right on
Setoguchis stick for a back-hand chance from the slot. The forward
redirected a shot sailed over the crossbar.
Svatos would tie the game
at 6:14 after driving around the left side, leaving Joe Thornton in his wake
before cutting across the slot from left to right and sliding a shot past
Evgeni Nabokov for his 1st goal of the series.
The Sharks didnt exactly play stellar defense on
the plat, failing to collapse on the Avalanche forward, who carried the puck
into the zone with speed.
Neither team would take the initiative over
the remainder of the period. John-Michael Liles would take a holding penalty
with 3:28 left in the period, but Patrick Marleau would follow that up with an
interference penalty 70 seconds later.
Marleau and Thornton teamed up
for a nice chance in front of the Colorado net 4:30 into the 3rd period, but
Anderson denied the Sharks from taking the lead. Where the Sharks top line
failed, Colorado s would prevail. Brandon Yip and Paul Stastny teamed up
to give Colorado the 2-1 lead at 4:51, after some defensive miscommunication
created the crack needed to slip one past Nabokov. Thornton was covering Yip
through the slot, but he assumed he was getting help from Huskins on the weak
side. Stastny stick-handled along the right-wing boards, before sending a pass
past Thornton to Yip on the left post. Yip swatted the puck past Nabokov to
give Colorado their first lead of the game.
Dan Boyle would tie the
game right back up less than three minutes later on a blast from the blueline
that caught the upper-right corner. Anderson failed to pick up the puck,
because Ryane Clowe was parked at the top of the crease, screening the
Avalanche netminder.
San Jose would regain the lead 89 seconds later on
Pavelskis 2nd goal of the game. After taking a lead pass up the left wing
boards, Pavelski skated in on Anderson on a 2-on-1 with Setoguchi on his right.
The centerman wound up for the shot, but mishandled it for a split-second
before whipping a shot top-shelf.
The Sharks found themselves on
another 2-on-1 chance with 3:51 left in regulation, but Manny Malhotras
scoring chance was denied by Anderson to keep the game within a single goal.
Marleau would follow that up with a partial breakaway a minute later
after Torrey Mitchell hit him with a laser, but the former captain sent a
chance wide of the net from point-blank range.
Avalanche head coach
Joe Sacco pulled Anderson with 1:40 to play for the extra attacker, but that
would fail to provide the push required to get the tying goal.
After
failing one empty-net chance, Devin Setoguchi would convert at 19:08 to ice the
game. Douglas Murray would tack on another empty-netter, albeit meaningless 21
seconds later from center ice.
Game Notes:
The Sharks
were a career 1-5 in Game 6 when leading a series 3-2. The Avalanche were once
again without forward Milan Hejduk, who suffered an apparent concussion in Game
3 after running into teamm Paul Stastny. Avalanche Peter Mueller never saw the
ice in the series. Murray finished the evening with a goal and 2
assists.
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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 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
COL |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
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1st period - 1, SJ,
Pavelski 4 (Clowe, Blake), 0:47. |
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2nd period - 2, COL ,
Svatos 1 (Cumisky, Foote), 6:14. |
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3rd period - 3, COL ,
Yip 2 (Stastny, Galiardi), 4:51. 4, SJ, Boyle 2 (Heatley, Pavelski), 7:33. 5,
SJ, Pavelski 5 (Clowe, Murray), 9:02. 6, SJ, Setoguchi 3 (Murray, Boyle),
19:08, (en). 7, SJ, Murray 1 (Thornton, Mitchell), 19:29, (en). |
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1st period - Huskins, SJ
(hooking), 4:36; Svatos , COL (high sticking), 12:05. |
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2nd period - Nichol, SJ
(roughing), 14:27; Stewart , COL (roughing), 14:27; Liles , COL (holding),
16:32; Marleau, SJ (interference), 17:42. |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Nabokov |
18 |
16 |
COL - Anderson |
32 |
30 |
COL - empty net |
2 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
COL |
7 |
8 |
3 |
18 |
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Referees:
Joannette, Lee. Linesmen: Devorski, Sharrers. |
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