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Wild opener ends in OT
1 down, 81 to go
10/5/06 - by Mike
Lee
If the other 81 regular season games are anything like
the
Sharks opener on Thursday night, be prepared to make several appointments
with
a hair restoration specialist. San Jose's first game of the season was
anything but typical, aside from the Sharks picking up where they left off
last
year in the win column. The visiting St. Louis Blues did everything in
their
power to spoil San Jose opening night, but the Sharks pulled out an
overtime
win.
Curtis Brown, making his return to the Sharks lineup after a stint in Chicago
last season, capped the game with a put-back shot after Matt Carle bounced
an
attempt off Blues goaltender Manny Legace 2:12 into the extra frame.
Brown's overtime ending came on the heels of a 20 minute delay to fix a hole in
the boards after Jonathan Cheechoo plowed into them skates first, another
delay
after referee Rob Martell was knocked out of the game with a puck to the
face,
and 8 other goals.
"That was one of the longer games I've ever been a part of," Brown said. "I
don't think there's anything else they can throw at us this season. That's
one
of the things, though. You're going to have all kinds of distractions, and
you've got to overcome them."
The Sharks looked poised to win in regulation after newcomer Mark Bell put San
Jose up 4-3 with just over five minutes remaining in the 3rd period, but
St.
Louis knotted the game on a Bill Guerin deflection with 5.6 seconds
remaining.
Keith Tkachuk threw the puck at the net after a wild scramble in San Jose's
zone, just catching the shaft of Guerin's stick. The redirected puck
fooled
Vesa Toskala and served as an immediate buzz-kill in the sold out HP
Pavilion.
The start of the 2006-07 season didn't quite start out as planned for San Jose
as well. St Louis took a 2-1 lead into the locker room at the 1st
intermission
after Dan Hinote and Jamal Mayers scored goals in the opening period.
Hinote's
goal came just 36 into the game.
Rookie defenseman Matt Carle scored his first goal of the season to match
Hinote's score 2:39 into the game, but Mayers would answer a minute later.
Mark Smith setup Carle with a nifty pass as the Sharks defenseman cut to
the
Blues net.
San Jose would capitalize on a constant stream of Blues penalties in the 2nd
period, grabbing the lead on a pair of goals by Mila Michalek. The Sharks
winger scored almost identical goals on consecutive 5-on-3 power plays.
Joe
Thornton setup both goals with shots from the right dot, which resulted in
fat
rebounds for Michalek in the slot.
With Hinote still in the box serving a hooking penalty, Dallas Drake mouthed
off to the officials, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which put
San
Jose right back on a two-man advantage. Michalek converted again from
almost
the same spot less than a minute after his first tally.
Thornton would finish with three assists on the night.
"They have a great power play, and Joe is the best player on the planet right
now," Guerin said. "He can put on a clinic out there, if you give him a
chance."
Lee Stempniak tied the game at 3-3 with his first of the year at 13:48 of the
period, and both teams would head into the 2nd intermission tied.
Both teams had their chances to take the lead in the 3rd period, but a timely
turnover allowed the Sharks top line to demonstrate just how deadly they
can be
with open ice. After Blues left wing Martin Ruckinsky turned over the puck
at
the St Louis Blueline, Thornton moved into the zone with a single defender
to
beat. The newly ordained assistant captain slid the puck over to Cheechoo
on
the right wing, drawing Legace over to cover the right side of the net.
Cheechoo sent a bullet pass to Bell on the off wing, for an easy conversion
into a wide open net.
"That's the wrong line to give it up to," Legace said.
In addition to Bell, San Jose welcomed several new faces to the lineup,
including veteran right wing Mike Grier and rookie defenseman Marc-Edouard
Vlassic. Vlassic saw time on a 5-on-3 penalty kill, which drew hearty
applause
after the Sharks snuffed out the threat.
"I'm happy for the newer guys who contributed a lot," San Jose coach Ron Wilson
said. "That kind of welcomes them into the Shark family."
Notes:
Steve Bernier had a strong game, forcing the issue on two occasions with strong
moves to the goal from behind the net. Bernier is patenting one-handed
stick-handling move with a defender draped all over him. He would finish
with
two assists.
Jonathan Cheechoo also had two assists, but his biggest contribution came in
the form of a hole in the boards, caused a twenty-minute delay. Fans
started
to do the wave while they waited for building maintenance to fix the hole.
The Sharks were only called for three penalties, which is a welcome sign this
early in the season.
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1 |
2 |
3 | OT |
T |
| STL |
2 |
1 |
1 | 0 |
4 |
| SJ |
1 |
2 |
1 | 1 |
5 |
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| 1st period - 1, St. Louis, Hinote 1 (Mayers,
Drake), 0:36.
2, San Jose, Carle 1 (Smith, Goc), 2:39.
3, St. Louis, Mayers 1 (Hinote), 3:42. |
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| 2nd period -
4, San Jose, Michalek 1 (Thornton, Cheechoo), 6:11, (pp).
5, San Jose, Michalek 2 (Thornton, Bernier), 6:57, (pp).
6, St. Louis, Stempniak 1 (Guerin, Brewer), 13:48. |
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| 3rd period - 7, San Jose, Bell 1 (Cheechoo,
Thornton), 14:18.
8, St. Louis, Guerin 1 (Tkachuk, Rucinsky), 19:54.
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| Overtime - 9, San Jose, Brown 1 (Carle,
Bernier), 2:12.
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| 1st period - Jackman, STL (hooking), 8:37;
Cajanek, STL (cross-checking), 16:25. |
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| 2nd period - Bench, STL (served by Stempniak
(too many men)), 4:31; Hinote, STL (hooking), 5:10; Drake, STL
(unsportsmanlike
conduct), 6:11; Hannan, SJS (holding), 10:57; McClement, STL
(interference),
15:23; Smith, SJS (hooking), 17:33; McLaren, SJS (cross-checking),
17:47. |
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| 3rd period - Salvador, STL (holding), 4:00;
Wideman, STL (hooking), 6:14. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| STL - Legace |
35 |
30 |
| SJ - Toskala |
35 |
31 |
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1 |
2 |
3 | OT |
T |
| STL |
10 |
14 |
11 | 0 |
35 |
| SJ |
15 |
9 |
8 | 3 |
35 |
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| Referees: Mike Leggo, Rob Martell. Linesmen: Mike
Cvik, Don Henderson. |
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