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Sharks starting to play like
Sharks Win streak extended to 3 with 3-1 win in
Nashville
The Sharks continue to string together strong
performances on the road, winning their third straight away from HP Pavilion on
Tuesday night. San Jose turned in a workmanlike performance in Nashville to
collect another two points in the standings. The win helped the Sharks keep
pace with the Dallas Stars, who also won. Not typically an offensive
powerhouse, Nashville tried lulling the Sharks into a mistake with a steady,
almost methodical and grinding style.
Antti Niemi only faced 20 shots,
which was almost half the rubber he saw in Boston on Saturday night.
San Jose grabbed the 1-0 lead 14:22 into the contest via a shorthanded tally by
Logan Couture. With Justin Braun in the penalty box for holding, the Sharks
penalty killers made the most of their opportunity. Couture and Martin Havlat
tried working the puck deep into the Predators zone with a series of short
passes to each other down the ice. With the puck on his stick, Havlat put on
the breaks after crossing the Nashville blueline, then ripped a shot that
bounced off the end boards. Lurking in the vicinity of the net, Couture swiped
at Havlat's rebound, chipping the puck past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne.
Havlat's assist, was his 3rd in as many games, extending his perfect
scoring streak since making his Sharks debut last Friday night in New Jersey.
San Jose played the perfect period on the road, smothering the
Predators offensive chances. The Predators were limited to a paltry 5 shots in
the period.
Rinne was stingy as well, limiting the Sharks to the lone
goal through the first two periods. The Predators netminder faced 27 shots in
those first two periods, but kept is team close with solid goaltending.
Niemi's only blemish on the evening, came 13 minutes into the final
period. Craig Smith deposited his 3rd goal of the season on a Nashville power
play after Ryane Clowe was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct. San Jose had
been flirting with danger on the penalty kill, surrendering 4 power play
chances throughout the evening.
Perpetual pest Jordin Tootoo laid out
Couture with a hit in front of the penalty box, and Clowe took exception with
the hit and tried to engage the Predators forward. The penalty proved costly
for the Sharks, when Craig Smith sent a backhand shot off a deflection in tight
past Niemi to tie the game at 1-1.
Joe Pavelski answered less than a minute later with
his 5th goal of the season. The Sharks forward jammed a backhanded chance of
his own past Rinne from past the right post with 5:51 to play. Joe Thornton and
Patrick Marleau helped work the puck behind the Predators net, where Pavelski
gained control of it and put the puck on net with his feet well behind the goal
line.
The defense puts the clamps on the Nashville the rest of the
way, holding the Predators to only 8 shots in the final period.
Nashville head coach Barry Trotz didn't waste any time pulling Rinner with 75
seconds to play, but Pavelski added an empty-net 3 seconds later to put the
kibosh on any Predators comeback.
Game Notes:
Thornton earned
his 700th career assist on Paelski's second goal, making him the 50th player in
NHL history to reach that mark.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
NSH |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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1st period - 1, SJ,
Couture 2 (Havlat), 14:22, (sh). |
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3rd period - 2, NSH,
Smith 3 (Weber, Fisher), 13:12, (pp). 3, SJ, Pavelski 5 (Marleau, Thornton),
14:09. 4, SJ, Pavelski 6 (Marleau, Thornton), 18:48, (en). |
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1st period - Braun, SJ
(holding), 12:28; Spaling, NSH (holding the stick), 15:35. |
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2nd period - Kostitsyn,
NSH (tripping), 4:42; Winchester, SJ (illegal check to head), 9:58. |
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3rd period - Braun, SJ
(holding), 2:37; Clowe, SJ (unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:50. |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Niemi |
20 |
19 |
NSH - Rinne |
35 |
33 |
NSH - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
17 |
10 |
9 |
36 |
NSH |
7 |
5 |
8 |
20 |
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Referees: O'Rourke,
StLaurent. Linesmen: Galloway, Gibbs. |
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