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Sharks win back to back
games
SJ wins in Buffalo for the first time in a
decade
Celebrating their 25th season as a member of the
NHL, the Sharks held the distinction of winning only once in Buffalo over the
course of their history. That changed on Saturday night as they overcame a late
Ryan O'Reilly goal in the 3rd period to take a 2-1 win in overtime. Mired in
the distraction of the trade rumors that have been circulating all week,
Patrick Marleau scored the game winner, giving San Jose their first win under
the league's new 3-on-3 overtime format.
The win came on the heels of
their 3-2 victory in Detroit less than 24 hours earlier, and gives the team
their first back-to-back wins in almost a month. Their 2-1 shootout win in New
Jersey ended the 4-game winning streak that opened the season and marked the
end to any consistency in the win column.
Marleau has suffered through
many of the losses that San Jose has had to endure in Western New York at the
hands of the Sabres over his career. The last time the Sharks won in Buffalo
was 10 years ago, on the eve of Joe Thornton's acquisition from Boston. Sharks
head coach Peter DeBoer leaned on Marleau late in the game, double-shifting him
in the 3rd period, then throwing him out on the ice in the extra period with
Tomas Hertl and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
DeBoer's move in overtime paid
dividends when a Hertl shot bounced off Sabres goaltender Chad Johnson,
deflecting to Marleau on the left side. The Sharks winger scooped up the
rebound and whipped the puck into a wide open net to end the contest.
The goal was Marleau's 5th of the season, but more importantly it provides the
Sharks with some momentum at the start of a rough 6-game road trip. San Jose
gets a day off on Sunday before flying to Boston, where they will take on the
Bruins on Tuesday night.
San Jose had missed on a golden opportunity
earlier in the overtime when Tommy Wingels led a 3-on-1 break after two Sabres
players took each other out in the Sharks zone. Wingels carried the puck up the
right side, but his indecisiveness allowed defenseman Josh Gorges to snuff out
a pass by laying out on the ice.
The Sharks should be thanking Marleau
after they let the Sabres tie the game in the 3rd period after O'Reilly
stripped defenseman Paul Martin of the puck just inside the Sharks blueline and
ripped a shot over goaltender Martin Jones' right shoulder.
The goal
seemed inevitable given the Sharks lack of jump in the 3rd period. The Sabres
held a 10-3 advantage in shots in the period before a Carlo Colaiacovo roughing
penalty allowed San Jose to even things up on the power play.
Colaiacovo drew the penalty after he reacted to an open-ice hit on his linemate
Zemgus Girgensons. Tommy Wingels lowered the boom on Girgensons, who seemed to
slip before getting belted at the Sharks blueline. The Sabres centerman had to
be helped off the ice, but did return later in the game.
Buffalo also lost Cody Franson who slid awkwardly into
the end boards. Tyler Ennis also left after a check along the boards caught him
high.
The Sharks just missed on the Colaiacovo power play when a Brent
Burns shot squeezed through Johnson, but the puck hit the post. They missed on
that chance, but San Jose broke a couple of bad trends earlier in the game on
the mad advantage. Vlasic converted on the Sharks first man-advantage chance
1:48 into the game, after Jake McCabe was sent off for slashing Wingels. The
Sharks defenseman ripped a shot from the left point that beat Johnson for the
early 1-0 Sharks lead. Not only did it give the Sharks a power play goal, but
it staked them to an early lead.
Neither of those things has come easy
for San Jose lately. The Sharks rank last in the NHL on the power play with an
anemic 11% conversion rate.
Game Notes:
Rookie Nikolay
Goldobin was benched in the 3rd period after his lethargic play forced DeBoer's
hand. A turnover late in the 2nd period was the last straw as the young Russian
took notes for the remainder of the game once it resumed in the 3rd period.
Marleau assumed Goldobin's duties on the 4th line, in addition to holding down
center on the 2nd line.
Defenseman Mirco Mueller also sat the entire
3rd period. The Sharks have limited the youngster's play time as they try to
build his confidence on the ice, following a rough rookie season last year.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| BUF |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Vlasic 2 (Pavelski, Burns), 1:48, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 2, BUF,
O'Reilly 5 (unassisted), 6:27. |
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| Overtime - 3, SJ,
Marleau 5 (Vlasic, Hertl), 2:59. |
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| 1st period - McCabe, BUF
(slashing), 0:37; Bench, SJ (too many men), 8:26; Vlasic, SJ (tripping), 9:01;
Pavelski, SJ (tripping), 18:24. |
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| 2nd period - Colaiacovo,
BUF (hooking), 7:34. |
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| 3rd period - Colaiacovo,
BUF (roughing), 14:35. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
31 |
30 |
| BUF - Johnson |
32 |
30 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
9 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
32 |
| BUF |
8 |
9 |
13 |
1 |
31 |
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| Referees: Dwyer,
Skilliter. Linesmen: Driscoll, Nowak. |
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