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SJ opens round 2 with a
bang
Sharks win 5-2 on Marleau's hat
trick
4/22/04 - by Mike Lee
You
couldn't have scripted a better start for the Sharks and their 2nd round match
up with the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. San Jose struck early and
often and when Colorado tried to answer, the Sharks scored some more. The
result was a 5-2 white washing at HP Pavilion before a wildly enthusiastic
sellout crowd. Sharks captain Patrick Marleau chipped in with his second hat
trick of the playoffs to lead the Sharks to an early 1-0 lead in the Western
Conference semi-final series with the Avalanche.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| COL |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| SJ |
3 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
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| 1st period - S.J,
P. MARLEAU (4) (J. CHEECHOO, M. RATHJE), 10:52 S.J, V. DAMPHOUSSE (1) (N.
DIMITRAKOS, B. STUART), 12:42 S.J, S. HANNAN (1) (N. EKMAN, A. KOROLYUK), 19:07
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| 2nd period - COL,
S. KONOWALCHUK (4) (A. NIKOLISHIN, J. SAKIC), 09:07 S.J, P. MARLEAU (5) (N.
DIMITRAKOS), 11:39 S.J, P. MARLEAU (6) (V. DAMPHOUSSE, N. DIMITRAKOS), 13:13
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| 3rd period - COL,
P. FORSBERG (4) (J. SAKIC, A. FOOTE), 00:52 |
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| 1st period - S.J,
C. BROWN, 02:49 - Interference - Goaltender S.J, S. HANNAN, 06:52 - Cross check
COL, D. HENDRICKSON, 17:16 - Holding stick |
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| 2nd period - COL,
A. FOOTE, 00:23 - Interference S.J, P. MARLEAU, 07:42 - Interference COL, P.
FORSBERG, 12:32 - Tripping COL, C. GRATTON, 16:39 - Roughing S.J, J. CHEECHOO,
19:02 - Tripping |
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| 3rd period - COL,
C. GRATTON, 03:42 - Hi stick S.J, M. RATHJE, 08:38 - Holding COL, S.
KONOWALCHUK, 09:40 - Boarding S.J, M. SMITH, 18:25 - Fighting (maj) S.J, C.
BROWN, 18:25 - Misconduct (10 min) COL, M. BARNABY, 18:25 - Instigator COL, M.
BARNABY, 18:25 - Fighting (maj) COL, M. BARNABY, 18:25 - Misconduct (10 min)
COL, C. GRATTON, 18:25 - Cross check COL, C. GRATTON, 18:25 - Misconduct (10
min) COL, O. VAANANEN, 18:25 - Misconduct (10 min) COL, C. GRATTON, 18:25 -
Fighting (maj) S.J, B. STUART, 18:25 - Fighting (maj) COL, T. SALO, 19:32 -
Slashing COL, R. BOUGHNER, 19:59 - Roughing COL, R. BOUGHNER, 19:59 - Roughing
COL, R. BOUGHNER, 19:59 - Roughing |
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Shots |
Saves |
| COL - Aebischer |
17 |
12 |
| COL - Salo |
7 |
7 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
28 |
26 |
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2 |
3 |
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| COL |
10 |
10 |
8 |
28 |
| SJ |
9 |
10 |
5 |
24 |
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The Sharks were firing on all cylinders, but the
Avalanche looked ill prepared for a three goal outburst by the Sharks in the
1st period. Colorado actually had the early momentum after the Sharks were
whistled by two borderline penalties early in the first six minutes of play.
After weathering a Curtis Brown goaltender interference penalty and a Scott
Hannan cross checking infraction, the Sharks went on the offensive.
Marleau would kick things off with his 4th goal of the playoffs midway through
the period. Four Avalanche defenders allowed Marleau to slip into the slot
uncontested while they all concentrated on Jonathan Cheechoo, who was
stick-handling the puck behind the Colorado net. Cheechoo setup a Marleau
one-timer with a pass from the end-boards that the Sharks captain ripped home
from 15 feet out.
Vincent Damphousse would push the Sharks lead to 2-0
less than two minutes later, when he skated around Adam Foote on the left ring
and snapped a wrist shot past David Aebischer.
The Sharks took
advantage of a Darby Hendrickson penalty late in the period, scoring what would
amount to the game-winner. Scott Hannan scored his first career playoff goal
after the Sharks threw a flurry of shots on Aebischer from in tight. Nils Ekman
and Alexander Korolyuk both had golden scoring chances, but they couldn't get
the puck past the pile of bodies building in the crease. Hannan gathered a
deflection in the slot and lifted a shot over a three players who were laid out
in the crease.
Colorado would come after San Jose in the 2nd period,
but Evgeni Nabokov thwarted several scorning chances. Nabokov would finally
succumb to the Colorado pressure while the Sharks were down a man midway
through the period.
Steve Konowalchuk cut into the Sharks lead with
his 4th of the playoffs after Marleau was sent off for interference. Marleau
would respond with the two quickest goals by a single Sharks player in playoff
history minutes later.
Niko Dimitrakos got the ball rolling by
blocking a shot at the Sharks blueline, then racing up the right wing after
grabbing the rebound. Dimitrakos drew Karlis Skrastins over to the right post,
before lifting a pass over Skrastins stick to Marleau who was trailing on the
off post. Aebischer made the transition to the left post as the pass was being
delivered from Dimitrakos, but Marleau compensated by slipping the puck back
across the front of Aebischer. The puck caught the inside of the right post for
the 4-1 Sharks lead.
Marleau would complete the hat-trick 1:34 later
with a shot from the right dot that sailed over Aebisher's left shoulder, while
Forsberg stewed in the penalty box for tripping Nils Ekman. Vincent Damphousse
had fished a loose puck out of a scrum in the right corner before turning back
up ice and hitting Marleau with a pass.
Forsberg would add a meaning
less goal less than a minute into the 3rd period on the power play. Forsberg
fought off two Shark defenders down low before slipping the puck through
Nabokov's skates. The Sharks netminder was off balance as Forsberg skated in on
net, and could only watch the puck trickle into the Sharks goal.
With
the game clearly out of hand late in the period, things turned ugly. Things
started when Todd Harvey hit Ossi Vaananen with a hard check deep in the
Colorado zone. Several Avalanche players converged on Harvey as he tried
skating back to his own bench. Three simultaneous fights broke out, including a
tussle between Mark Smith and Matthew Barnaby that turned into the main event.
When the smoke cleared Chris Gratton, Curtis Brown, Brad Stuart,
Smith, Vaananen and Barnaby would all get tossed.
After order was
restored and play resumed, Bob Boughner sucker punch Cheechoo in the back of
the head as the Sharks forward tried grabbing control of the puck behind the
Colorado goal. Boughner would earn three minors for roughing and potentially a
review by the league for the cheap shot.
Play
of the Game
Marleau's second goal was a culmination of smart play
and hustle by not only Marleau, but also by Dimitrakos who would finish with
three assists in the evening. Dimitrakos created the opportunity by blocking
the shot in the Sharks zone, then whipping up ice with the puck. Marleau capped
a pretty sequence by adjusting his shot to accommodate Aebischer's move across
the crease.
The Turning Point
The Sharks ability to kill off
the first two penalties in the game then charge right back and score was a
powerful message to the Avalanche. Not only could they not convert on the power
play, but they couldn't contain the Sharks who owned Colorado if the puck got
deep into the Avalanche zone.
Save of the
Game
Nabokov owes his defense a for keeping the Avalanche out of
his face for most of the evening. During one of the few times they did
penetrate, the defense turned away what appeared to be a sure goal in the
crease after Nabokov lost his skates from under him and allowing the puck to
sit unattended in the crease for a good three to five seconds.
Box
Scores Do No Justice
Shut down the Colorado power play and you may shut
them out all together. The Avalanche only solved Nabokov with a man advantage.
The Sharks goaltender didn't give up any big rebounds the entire night, and was
able to make several glove saves from shots in tight.
Honorable Mention
Korolyuk only saw 14 minutes of
ice-time on Thursday but he made the most of those minutes, especially on the
defensive side of the puck. The Russian winger was also laying the body on
several Avalanche players, including defenseman Rob Blake who had to take
several shots from Korolyuk throughout the evening.
Quotables
"You want to work hard, and if the points come, great. But
the most important thing is the team's winning. We try to come out of the gate
pretty hard and get our game going. We used our speed to our advantage, get
that extra step out there." - Patrick Marleau
"We need him to do that.
He's our leader, and he's stepping up in the playoffs. ... We showed tonight
that we can play our team game against anybody. I think they'll come back with
a much better game. I don't know if they were surprised by us or not." -
Vincent Damphousse
"The good thing about the playoffs, it's just one
game. You lose 1-0 or 5-2, it doesn't matter. You start 0-0 next game. ... They
played better than us everywhere." - David Aebischer
"We weren't ready
to match their intensity. They outplayed us. They won every matchup. They
deserve everything they got. That wasn't our best effort." - Joe Sakic
Milestones
Marleau's two 2nd period
goals set a franchise record for fastest two goal by a single Sharks player in
payoff history.
Alyn McCauley returned to the ice after missing the
last four games with a shoulder injury.
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