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Absence of offense costs
Sharks
Minnesota Wild handcuffs Sharks for 4-1
win
Devin Dubnyk and Ryan Donato made their first
appearances in the place they called home the last couple of years as the
Sharks rolled into Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Wild in a two game
series. Both players were looking to make a difference against their former
team, but the Sharks lack of inspired play resulted in a 4-1 loss at Xcel
Energy Center.
Dubnyk played better than the score indicates. The
Sharks netminder surrendered a pair of goals on 27 shots, but his teammates
failure to generate any offense could not overcome that slim deficit. Hard to
blame Dubnyk for either goal. The first was a seeing eye shot and the second
came off a defensive lapse.
Donato tied Brent Burns with a team high 5
shots on goal, but he couldn't muster any quality scoring chances to make a
difference.
Minnesota cracked the score sheet first when Joel
Ericksson Ek got a stick blade on a Jordan Greenway shot. Greenway uncorked his
shot form the left wing boards with Ericksson Ek parked just off the left post.
The Wild forward redirected the shot, splitting goaltender Devyn Dubnyk's pads
for his 3rd goal of the season.
The Sharks responded 71 seconds later
when Matt Nieto converted a shot from the slot for his 1st goal of the season.
The Sharks forward took a pass from Erik Karlsson as he circled between the
circles from the right side then used a screen to beat Cam Talbot with a shot
that hit the left post and banking into the Minnesota goal. Patrick Marleau
earned the secondary assist for his 1st point of the season.
A Mario
Ferraro shot late in the period appeared to catch Talbot behind his leg pad,
possibly injuring his knee. The Wild goaltender did not return after the 1st
intermission, making way for Kaapo Kahkonen to replace him in net.
Zach Parise put the Wild back on top 13:17 into the 2nd period after Dubnyk
stoned the Wild assistant captain with a spectacular kick save moments earlier.
The Sharks couldn't clear the zone, then defenseman Radim Simek lost track of
Parise who slid to the doorstep. Nick Bjugstad threw the puck to the front of
the net where Parise cleaned up on a rebound off Dubnyk's right leg pad.
That would be all the Wild needed to take the contest. San Jose could
do nothing to generate any offensive chances. The score sheet would indicate a
19 shot performance for San Jose, but they really generated no pressure on
Khakonen.
That was a tough pill to swallow. Kahkonen is an
inexperienced netminder that entered the game cold, but the Wild built a wall
around him defensively. What the statistics don't show is the absence of any
quality scoring chances for San Jose. A power play late in the middle frame
should have been an opportunity to generate some offensive leverage, but San
Jose squandered the opportunity.
Minnesota put the clamps on the
Sharks, forcing head coach Bob Boughner to pull Dubnyk late. That move
accomplished the opposite of its intent, as San Jose allowed Kevin Fiala and
Jordan Greenway to score empty net goals.
Game Notes:
*
The Sharks continue to lose the 2nd period. They have been outscored in bushels
in the middle frame this season. They would lose Friday night's 2nd period 1-0,
but it was a loss nonetheless. That goal turned out to be the game winner.
* Erik Karlsson was plowed into the end boards by Joel Ericksson Ek in
the opening period, resulting in a bloodied Sharks defenseman. No penalty was
called even though the hit was clearly between the numbers.
* Brent
Burns struggled on the power play, which resulted in three squandered chances.
The defenseman battled the puck all night and seemed to try too hard to make
the tough play when the easy option was called for.
* San Jose
dominated the faceoff circle, winning 58% of their draws, but they couldn't do
anything with the puck once they took possession. The Wild clogged up the
neutral zone and steered the Sharks to the edges once San Jose gained the zone.
The Sharks had fewer than three opportunities in front of the Wild net in that
crucial 3rd period. Tomas Hertl won 19 of 25 draws (76%).
* Sharks
head coach Bob Boughner split every line up in the 3rd period in an attempt to
generate some offense The tactic was often employed by his predecessor Peter De
Boer, but the change resulted in similar unfilled results.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| MIN |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, MIN,
Ericksson Ek 3 (Greenway, Hartman), 5:01. 2, SJ, Nieto 1 (Karlsson, Marleau),
6:12. |
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| 2nd period - 3. MIN,
Parise 1 (Bjugstad), 13:17. |
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| 3rd period - 4, MIN,
Fiala 1 (), 18:44, (en). 5, MIN, Greenway 1 (Ericksson Ek, Foligno), 19:34,
(en). |
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| 1st period - Bonino, MIN
(holding), 0:12; Couture, SJ (slashing), 6:27; Vlasic, SJ (tripping), 12:10;
Dumba, MIN (holding), 15:34. |
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| 2nd period - Ferraro, SJ
(roughing), 17:39; Greenway, MIN (roughing - double minor), 17:39. |
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| 3rd period - Gambrell,
SJ (holding), 2:39. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Dubnyk |
27 |
25 |
| SJ - empty net |
2 |
0 |
| MIN - Talbot |
12 |
11 |
| MIN - Kahkonen |
17 |
17 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
12 |
8 |
9 |
29 |
| MIN |
7 |
13 |
9 |
29 |
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| Xcel Energy Center -
attendance not available |
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| Referees: Lee,
Pochmara. Linesmen: Flemington, Suchanek. |
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