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No Reimer reason for penalty
kill woes
Canucks top Sharks 4-2 at SAP
Most NHL teams play to earn the home ice advantage
come playoff time. The Sharks may want to align themselves with the 8th seed
should they hold on and actually make the playoffs this season. SAP Center ice
has been anything but advantageous for the Sharks this season, and Saturday
night's loss to the Vancouver Canucks further drilled home the point that the
Sharks are a much better team on the road and that home ice has been less than
inviting. The Canucks took advantage of a Sharks parade to the penalty box en
route to a 4-2 win in San Jose.
The Sharks made the Canucks visit to
California as inviting as possible by handing them 7 power play chances. San
Jose allowed Vancouver to score on 3 of those chances, essentially shooting
themselves in the foot.
James Reimer made his debut for San Jose in
net, but wasn't the equipped to play shorthanded along side a team that seemed
incapable of stopping the Canucks special teams unit. Reimer only faced 25
shots, but the Canucks ability to cash in on the power play ruined a pretty
decent debut for the former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender.
Micheal
Haley actually staked the Sharks to a 1-0 lead midway through the opening
period. Haley intercepted a Ben Hutton pass off the end boards then veered
toward the net and push a pass on Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The
Canucks netminder stopped Haley's initial shot, but the Sharks centerman jammed
at the puck, pushing it past Markstrom for his 1st goal as a Shark, and his 1st
NHL goal in 5 years.
All of Haley's good fortune was wiped out later
in the period when he cut Sven Baertschi with a high stick, earning a double
minor. Linden Vey was the benefactor, sweeping home a backhand chance from the
left post after Baertschi bounced a shot off Reimer. The Sharks goaltender fell
to his chest after stopping Baertschi, but by leaving his feet, he opened up
the net for the easy deposit by Vey.
Joe Pavelski was sent off for
tripping a minute into the 2nd period, and the Canucks once again cashed in.
Daniel Sedin was credited with his 25th goal of the season after a shot from
Baertschi clipped him up high and slipped past Reimer.
San Jose looked
as if they would work more of their 3rd period magic early in the period when
Brent Burns converted for a career high 23rd goal of the season to tie the
game. Burns scooped up a deflected pass from Joe Thorrnton near the left dot
and whipped the puck past Markstrom to make it a 2-2 game.
Penalty woes did the Sharks in 8:44 into the period
when Joonas Donskoi was sent off for tripping. The Sharks were livid with the
call because Donskoi was blatantly tripped seconds earlier as he gained the
Canucks zone. The Sharks rookie lost his footing and allowed his stick to
impede Hutton.
Dan Hamhuis converted on the ensuing power play,
punching home a deflection from the left side similar to Vey's goal, allowing
Vancouver to regain the lead. Once again, Reimer gave up a big rebound and
couldn't stay upright to stop the follow up.
The Sharks pulled Reimer
with 3 minutes left in the contest, but Alex Burrows picked off a pass at
center ice and walked the puck into the net for the 2-goal advantage.
The Sharks kept Reimer out of the net but ran out of time. The final horn
sounded and San Jose slipped to a 12-14-3 record on home ice.
Game
Notes:
* Marc Edouard Vlasic earned a rare double 10-min
misconduct. The defenseman was sitting on the boards in front of the Shark
bench while the puck was in play, which is apparently a no-no.
* This
wasn't the first time the Sharks allowed 3 goals on the penalty kill this
season. They gave up 3 to Calgary on January 11th. By virtue of the
hemorrhaging penalty kill, the Sharks dropped to 23rd in the NHL.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| VAN |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Haley 1 (unassisted), 9:10. 2, VAN, Vey 4 (Baertschi, Hutton), 18:28, (pp).
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| 2nd period - 3, VAN, D.
Sedin 25 (Baertschi, Hutton), 2:12, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Burns 23 (Thornton, Vlasic), 4:53. 5, VAN, Hamhuis 1 (Horvat, McCann), 10:28,
(pp). 6, VAN, Burrows 8 (unassisted), 17:%4, (en). |
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| 1st period - Dillon, SJ
(boarding), 4:20; Haley, SJ (high sticking - double minor), 16:45. |
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| 2nd period - Pavelski,
SJ (tripping), 1:05; Bartkowski, VAN (hooking), 6:20; Markstrom, VAN
(interference), 14:57; Ward, SJ (delay of game - puck over glass), 17:54. |
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| 3rd period - Vey, VAN
(holding), 6:08; Donskoi, SJ (tripping), 8:44; Burrows, VAN (roughing), 14:19;
Burns, SJ (roughing), 14:19; Thornton, SJ (roughing), 14:19; Vlasic, SJ (10 min
misconduct), 19:08; Vlasic, SJ (10 min misconduct), 19:08. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| VAN - Markstrom |
34 |
32 |
| SJ - Reimer |
25 |
22 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| VAN |
12 |
7 |
7 |
26 |
| SJ |
9 |
9 |
16 |
34 |
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| Referees: Dwyer,
Rank. Linesmen: Rody, Heyer. |
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