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Home opener a speed
fest
Sharks finally unleash horses
10/12/05 - by
Mike Lee
The new look NHL made its debut in San Jose on
Wednesday night and the Sharks treated the sellout crowd of 17,496 at HP
Pavilion to an exhibition of speed, which resulted in a 4-1 win over the
visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. Wayne Primeau scored two goals and Evgeni
Nabokov held a shutout into the 3rd period to lead the Sharks to their second
win of the season. The wide open Sharks offense peppered Blue Jackets
goaltender Marc Denis with 22 shots in the 2nd period. Scott Thornton and
Marco Sturm also scored for the 2-2-0 Sharks.
Opening night energy fueled the Sharks to a 2-0 1st period lead on Sturm's
second goal of the season and Primeau's first, but a feeding frenzy in the
middle stanza had the crowd buzzing. Denis was hung out to dry by his defense
in a one minute span, which saw San Jose throw two duplicate series that both
ended in goals. Thornton converted at 11:09 after Scott Hannan, Nils Ekman and
Alyn McCauley put rapid fire shots on goal.
Denis managed to stop the first three shots, but Thornton proved to be the back
breaker. A minute later Primeau started another shooting gallery sequence that
involved Jonathan Cheechoo and Rob Davison, and ended with Primeau bouncing a
shot off the post and burying the final attempt with a backhand shot over a
fallen Denis.
"We had a lot of breakdowns and gave them a lot of scoring chances," Columbus
coach Gerard Gallant said. "They have great speed, but we're very capable. To
get outplayed like that in the second period was disappointing. They had nine
shots on the two goals, and you can't let that happen in the NHL."
Sturm opened the game's scoring early in the opening period with a blast that
Denis slowed down, but failed to control. The puck bounced over Denis and
trickled over the goal line after Sturm was setup on a partial breakaway
chance. Patrick Marleau setup the goal with a centering pass while the two
raced up the ice, with only a single defender to beat.
It's been 17 months since the Sharks defeat to the Calgary Flames in the
Western Conference Finals, so the pent up frustration in the fans was unleashed
in the form of an electric crowd. That vibe certainly helped the Sharks jump
all over the Blue Jackets.
"That's as loud an opening night as I've ever heard anywhere," Sharks head
coach Ron Wilson said. "They provided a lot of excitement, and I hope we
reciprocated with the same kind of energy on the ice. (The fans) are really
going to enjoy the new NHL with the speed and the emphasis on offense. It's a
fun game to coach with the weapons we have."
Primeau extended the Sharks lead to 2-0 by stuffing in a rebound after Denis
failed to control a Cheechoo shot.
"There were too many rebounds," Columbus defenseman Radoslav Suchy said. "We
had a couple of chances and didn't score, and then they jumped on us. They had
four guys getting to the puck on shots. They have a lot of speed, and it was
hard to hold them. We couldn't get back in time."
Nabokov would surrender his shutout with just over 8 minutes remaining in
regulation when Suchy fired a shot from the point through traffic.
Notes:
Forward Marcel Goc had to be helped off the ice after taking a shot off his
right knee late in the 3rd period.
San Jose failed to convert on a 90 second 5-on-3 in the 2nd period.
The Sharks power play failed to convert on eight chances.
Face off woes also continue for San Jose, which converted on only 40%.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CBJ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| SJ |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, San Jose, Sturm 2
(Marleau, Michalek), 6:14. 2, San Jose, Primeau 1 (Cheechoo, Smith), 7:24. |
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| 2nd period - 3, San Jose, Thornton 1
(Ekman, McCauley), 11:09. 4, San Jose, Primeau 2 (Cheechoo, Davison),
12:10. |
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| 3rd period - 5, Columbus, Suchy 1
(Malhotra, Foote), 11:41. |
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| 1st period - Richardson, CLB (delay of
game), 2:00; Hulse, CLB (holding), 3:59; Fahey, SJS (hooking), 3:59; Hrdina,
CLB (hooking), 8:21; McLaren, SJS (boarding), 10:50; Stuart, SJS (delay of
game), 15:51; Nabokov, SJS (, served by Michalek (interference)), 18:46 |
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| 2nd period - Richardson, CLB
(high-sticking), 2:07; Chimera, CLB (roughing), 4:21; Fahey, SJS (roughing),
4:21; Richardson, CLB (boarding), 7:49; Hulse, CLB (tripping), 8:17; Wright,
CLB (interference), 13:07; Smith, SJS (tripping), 14:09; Westcott, CLB (cross
checking), 14:50 |
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| 3rd period - Bench, CLB (, served by
Zherdev (too many men)), 2:39; Sturm, SJS (tripping), 4:50; McLaren, SJS double
minor (high-sticking), 12:40 |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CBJ - Denis |
36 |
32 |
| SJ - Nabokov | 27 | 26 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CBJ |
12 |
5 |
10 |
27 |
| SJ |
11 |
22 |
3 |
36 |
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| Referees: Mike Leggo, Kelly Sutherland.
Linesmen: Jonny Murray, Vaughan Rody.
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