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Niemi celebrates new contract
with win Clowe bags shootout winner again
The dreaded first game home after a road trip
almost reached out and bit the Sharks, who were forced to score a goal late
just to get the game to overtime. Ryane Clowe and Antti Niemi would bail San
Jose once again in the shootout, giving the Sharks their seventh win in a row.
Clowe scored his second consecutive game winner in the shootout to salvage two
points on a night where it looked like the Sharks may not score at all.
Niemi celebrated his new four-year contract that was inked earlier in
the day by stopping 18 of 19 shots in regulation and overtime, then all three
shots in the shootout to win his 24th game of the season. The Sharks
netminders deal is worth $15.2 million over those four seasons, which
instantly brings some stability between the pipes for a Sharks team that was
without a starting goaltender eight months ago.
The one blemish on
Niemis night was a power play score by the visiting Colorado Avalanche
early in the 3rd period. Colorado entered Tuesday nights game having won
just one game in their last 14 contests. Most expected a fire sale in Denver
before yesterdays NHL trade deadline, but the Avalanche brass were
relatively lenient with their players. < BR> Getting past the
deadline wearing the same sweater allowed most players to relax and play their
game, knowing they were staying put. There was more pressure on the Avalanche
players heading into Mondays deadline, so they seemed to let their hair
down early in the contest.
San Jose looked like the discombobulated
team early, especially on the power play. The Sharks would misfire on four
chances on the night. Part of the issue was San Joses failure to get
pucks past Colorados skaters, who blocked 28 shots.
Devin
Setoguchi missed on a golden opportunity in the opening period after taking a
give-and-go pass from Logan Couture at the Avalanche blueline then racing in on
net. Colorado netminder Brian Elliott would turn Setoguchis point blank
shot aside with a blocker save to give the game scoreless.
A Niklas
Wallin holding the stick penalty 41 seconds into the 3rd period would provide
the crack that the Avalanche would need to snap the scoreless tie. Erik Johnson
would grab a Jason Demers turnover in the Sharks zone and whip a 40-foot shot
that sailed past Antti Niemis glove. Demers tried to make an extra move
with the puck before trying to clear it on the penalty kill, but he lost the
handle and cough it up to Johnson. The mistake would end up in the Sharks net.
Jay McClement would put the Sharks on their fourth power play of the
evening, but like the three chances before it, San Jose would generate little
in the form of a serious scoring chance. The Sharks just didnt have any
jump in their step, which translated into problems getting the puck in front of
the net.
Joe Pavelski would just miss on a shot from between
the circled that clanked off the crossbar midway through the period.
With the clock winding down, San Jose would finally get on the board. Demers
would help atone for his costly turnover earlier in the period by sending a
shot in on net that Joe Thornton deflected out of the air with the shaft of his
stick past Elliott. With Thornton parked outside the right post, the puck made
an abrupt left turn off his stick to slip behind Elliott. Devin Setoguchi would
earn the secondary assist on the goal to extend his point streak to five games.
Couture turned a shot on net into a heart stopper early in the
overtime period, when his backhand swat at the deflection missed just wide of
the right post. Justin Braun would follow that up with a shot from the slot
with 1:38 left in the extra session.
With a career 8-4 record in the
shootout, Niemi showed why he has the upper hand in the post-overtime event,
stopping all three shooters for the second consecutive game.
In the
shootout Ryane Clowe went back to the forehand, snapping a goal pas Elliott.
Milan Hejduk sent a meek shot that Niemi gloved. Coutures backhand chance
was stopped by Elliot. Matt Duchene went to his backhand and clanked a shot off
the right post.
Pavelskis forehand shot was deflected by
Elliott, who got a glove on the puck. Avalanche David Jones would put his
chance wide right to seal the Sharks victory.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
SO |
T |
COL |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
SJ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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3rd period - 1, COL,
Johnson 7 (unassisted), 1:18, (pp). 2, SJ, Thornton 16 (Demers, Setoguchi),
17:02. |
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Shootout - SJ: Clowe
(goal), Couture (miss), Pavelski (miss). COL: Hejduk (miss), Duchene (miss),
Jones (miss). |
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1st period - Couture, SJ
(holding the stick), 9:23; Liles, COL (hooking), 16:24. |
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2nd period - Stoa, COL
(holding), 2:10; Stastny, COL (roughing), 14:55. |
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3rd period - Wallin, SJ
(holding the stick), 0:41; McClement, COL (boarding), 4:37. |
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Shots |
Saves |
COL - Elliott |
35 |
34 |
SJ - Niemi |
19 |
18 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
COL |
5 |
5 |
7 |
2 |
19 |
SJ |
9 |
10 |
11 |
5 |
35 |
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Referees: Lee,
Rooney. Linesmen: Mach, Rody. |
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