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Cheechoo's hot streak
continues Sharks win tight 5-3
battle 3/18/04 - by Mike Lee
Jonathan Cheechoo continued to wield a hot hand, scoring a pair of
goals for the second consecutive game during an entertaining 5-3 win over the
Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center in Southern California. Cheechoo has
six goal in his last four games and the hot streak couldn't have come at a
better time. With the Dallas Stars winning again on Thursday night, the Sharks
had to win in order to keep their Pacific Division lead at three points. San
Jose has nine games remaining on their regular season schedule, which includes
a game in hand on Dallas, who has eight to play.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
LA |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
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1st period - L.A,
PIRNES (2) , 01:30 S.J, KOROLYUK (14) (EKMAN, MCCAULEY), 03:04 S.J, BROWN (9)
(MCLAREN, STUART), 06:43 L.A, VISNOVSKY (7) (KLATT, STUMPEL), 17:20 |
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2nd period - S.J,
CHEECHOO (23) (MARLEAU), 01:05 S.J, CHEECHOO (23) (PREISSING), 15:39 L.A,
ARMSTRONG (13) (VISNOVSKY, MODRY), 16:17 |
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3rd period - S.J,
BROWN (9) (MCCAULEY), 18:54 |
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1st period - L.A,
KLATT, 01:10 - Interference - Obstruction S.J, THORNTON, 10:52 - Roughing L.A,
LAPERRIERE, 10:52 - Hi stick S.J, NABOKOV, 13:40 - Roughing S.J, MCLAREN, 16:39
- Hi stick L.A, AVERY, 18:57 - Roughing |
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2nd period - L.A,
STUMPEL, 00:06 - Hooking S.J, MARSHALL, 12:56 - Roughing L.A, LAPERRIERE, 15:09
- Hooking - Obstruction S.J, RATHJE, 15:54 - Hooking |
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3rd period - L.A,
ARMSTRONG, 01:08 - Hooking - Obstruction S.J, THORNTON, 03:34 - Holding -
Obstruction L.A, ROBITAILLE, 07:25 - Hi stick S.J, EKMAN, 11:26 - Hi stick S.J,
HANNAN, 14:40 - Holding |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Nabokov |
31 |
28 |
LA - Chechmanek |
15 |
11 |
LA - Huet |
7 |
7 |
empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
4 |
11 |
8 |
23 |
LA |
11 |
10 |
10 |
31 |
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Thursday night's date with the Kings turned into a
shoot out and penalty fest, but it was the power play that carried the Sharks.
The special team's unit went 3-for-6 on the power play, which included both of
Cheechoo's tallys.
It was also a Sharks power play that surrendered
the first goal to the Kings. Esa Pirnes opened the game with a shorthander
after intercepting a Niko Dimitrakos pass at the Sharks blueline, before
roofing a shot past Evgeni Nabokov. Dimitrakos tried starting the power play
rush by feathering a soft pass up the right wing boards, but Pirnes read the
play and made the Sharks pay. Dimitrakos landed in Ron Wilson's dog house the
remainder of the evening, logging less than ten minutes of ice time.
Alexander Korolyuk would tie the game less than two minutes later by snapping a
shot past Roman Chechmanek from the right dot after Nils Ekman kicked the puck
out from the left corner. It would be the start of a long evening for the Kings
goaltender who was activated from the disabled list earlier in the day.
San Jose would grab the lead at 6:43 of the period after stepping onto
the ice during a Sharks rush and taking a feed from Kyle McLaren just outside
the Kings zone. Brown faked a shot from the left circle, which fooled
Chechmanek into committing to his knees. Brown held onto to the puck, then slid
it into an open net from outside the left post.
The Kings knotted
things up at 2-2 with 2:40 to play in the period when Lubomir Visnovsky ripped
a shot from the point while Kyle McLaren was serving a high sticking penalty.
Cheechoo would go to work in the 2nd period, scoring both of his goal
on put backs after Chechmanek failed to control the puck in either instance.
Patrick Marleau bounced a shot off the Kings goaltender, and Cheechoo cut
across the top of the slot before slipping the puck into the Kings net for a
3-2 lead a minute into the period.
Chechmanek gave up a big rebound on
a Tom Preissing shot that bounced to Cheechoo on the left post. All the Sharks
young winger had to do was sweep the puck in a wide open net.
Kings
head coach Andy Murray kept up the pressure on the Sharks in the period and his
team responded by scoring a goal late in the period to pull the Kings back to
within a single goal. Visnovsky uncorked another shot from the point, but Derek
Armstrong redirected the puck past Nabokov.
Murray would make another
move to open the 3rd period in an attempt to jump start his team by inserting
Cristobal Huet in net.
Referees Rob Shick and Craig Spada called a
tight game in the final stanza, sending three Sharks to the box and
accommodating the Kings with a pair of penalties themselves.
With the
outcome still very much in doubt, Murray pulled Huet in exchange for an extra
attacker, but Brown prevented any Kings comeback by scoring an empty-net goal
with just over a minute to play.
Play of the
Game Brown's move on Chechmanek to setup the Sharks second goal
worked because of Brown's patience with the puck. Brown had a Kings defender in
tow, but he still managed to freeze Chechmanek with the fake shot, slip around
the goaltender and slip the puck from a tight angle into the Kings net.
Cheechoo would try to reward the Sharks traded deadline acquisition by passing
on a hat trick attempt in order to get Brown a third goal late in the
game.
The Turning Point Every power play was a turning point
in this contest. Aside from the Sharks converting on three of their man
advantage situations, but the Kings also scored a pair of power play goals
themselves. Given the freedom that both teams had on the power play, it was
surprising to see Schick and Spada call five 3rd period penalties.
Save of the Game Nabokov made a pair of
saves in the 3rd period that preserved the Sharks victory after Armstrong
ripped two shots in succession from about ten feet out. Huet countered with a
sequence that saw three or four Sharks shots get buried by the rookie
netminder.
Box Scores Do No Justice 70 games into the season,
division lead on the line and it's still incredible to see the Sharks fall
victim to retaliation penalties. Sean Avery goaded Sharks forward Scott
Thornton into a roughing penalty after Ian Laperriere was whistled for a high
sticking penalty. Avery gave Cheechoo a shot to the chops, so Thornton stepped
in a earned himself a two minute rest.
Honorable Mention Kings forward Luc Robaitaille
was a frustrated man on Thursday. After missing on a sure goal during one of
the Kings seven power plays he smashed his stick into the Kings bench,
shattering it. He spent the rest of the evening whining about everything
imaginable, until he earned a trip to the box for high sticking Nils Ekman in
the 3rd period.
Quotables "This is probably the best streak
I've been on ever since I've turned pro. Everything just seems to be going in."
- Jonathan Cheechoo
"We expected him, with increased ice time, to
score and maybe produce 15 or 20 goals. But I don't think anybody projected 25
or 30 goals from him. He's obviously hot, and that's what happens to some
players -- especially goal-scorers. So you have to keep riding them." - Sharks
head coach Ron Wilson on Cheechoo
"At this point of the season, it
doesn't matter what team you're playing or where you're at. It's playoff time.
So every time you go out and lace them up, it's a huge game. But you don't want
to get too far ahead of yourselves, and we're definitely not doing that." -
Curtis Brown
Milestones Brown's goal was his first as a Shark
Korolyuk's goal was his 15th of the season, a new career high.
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