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Sharks push Preds to the
brink
Another solid win for SJ
4/18/07 - by
Mike Lee
The Nashville Predators held the best record in the NHL
for much of the regular season, but a late season drop-off has them on the
verge of elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after the San Jose Sharks
took a 2nd straight victory at HP Pavilion. San Jose used its size again to
wear down the smaller Predator lineup, then outscored them 3-2 before 17,496
delirious Sharks fans.
Milan Michalek book ended a Joe Pavelski goal
to provide all the offense the Sharks would need, as the host Sharks move to
within one victory the conference semi-finals. Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov
stopped 23 shots to earn his 21st career playoff victory.
Nabokov came
up huge early, as the Predators turned up the heat from the opening faceoff in
order to draw even in the series. 14 of Nashville's 23 shots came in the 1st
period, but the Predators couldn't solve the Sharks netminder.
"They
wanted to turn it into a track meet, which would probably be to their
advantage, said Sharks head coach Ron Wilson, of Nashville's high energy start.
"If it's going back and forth, they don't have to pay a price down low in their
end."
J.P. Dumont had a chance to make a statement in the first 2
minutes of the game, when he found himself streaking up the right wing boards
with nothing but clear ice in front of him. Dumont tried pumping a shot past
Nabokov from 20 feet, but his shot sailed wide left.
"The first
period, they came out hard," said Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan. "They had a
lot of shots in the 1st, but let's face it, Nabby bailed us out."
Michalek would make that miss sting, by scoring his 3rd goal of the series at
the 3:29 mark. Michalek snapped a wrist shot from 8 feet out after Joe Thornton
backhanded a pass just outside the right post from behind the Predators net.
Michalek started a rush up ice that ended with the puck bouncing across the
crease to Jonathan Cheechoo who put a shot into Tomas Vokoun's pads. Alexander
Radulov tried defending on the play, but ended up in his own net, which tied up
Vokoun as the puck pin-balled to Thornton down low.
Joe Pavelski put
the Sharks up 2-0 just 1:09 into the 2nd on a 40-foot laser beam from the high
slot after taking a blueline to blueline pass fro Kyle McLaren. Pavelski
crossed into the Predators zone before uncorking a shot that was screened by
Predators defenseman Greg Zanon. Vokoun didn't pick up the shot until it was
too late, letting it sail over his blocker for Pavelski's 1st career playoff
goal.
"I just had to hold it just for a second," Pavelski
said of his goal. "I was able to catch an opening. It was pretty cool. The most
important part was that we got the win, but it was pretty cool (scoring).
Nashville immediately picked things up on the forecheck, preventing
the Sharks from getting the puck out of their own end. Jason Arnott would
capitalize on a one-timer from the same spot that Michalek scored his goal.
Dumont setup the play with a pass from behind the Sharks net for his 6th point
of the series.
San Jose would start to wear down the Predators. Their
physical strategy would pay dividends at 12:53, when Michalek scored his 2nd
goal of the game. After a Nashville turnover in their own zone, the speedy
Sharks forward looped around the back of the Predators net from right to left
before curling back with a backhand attempt that ricocheted off Kimo Timonen's
skate. The puck redirected past Vokoun for the 2-goal lead.
"We wanted
to play the same way…get the puck deep, and work their (defense). Just be
in their zone, so they couldn't score," Michalek said.
That lead would
prove invaluable for the Sharks who surrendered a power play goal to Scott
Hartnell with just under 3 minutes to play in regulation. With Ryane Clowe in
the penalty box for hooking, Predators head coach Barry Trotz pulled Vokoun for
the extra attacker.
The 6-on-4 advantage would pay off. With several
players collapsing on the Sharks net, David Legwand tried punching a shot past
Nabokov from outside the right post, but the puck bounced back to the Predators
forward, it appeared that Legwand kicked the puck through Nabokov's pads,
sliding it to the center of the crease, where Hartnell jammed it home.
"The 3rd period, I thought we were even better tonight, until we took the
penalty than we were the other night," Wilson said. "I don't think they had a
chance until they got that last power play."
Trotz tried pulling
Vokoun again as time ticked off the game clock, but the Sharks forechecker's
kept the puck in the Nashville zone. The Predators finally managed to get the
puck pas the Sharks blueline, but a final faceoff with 13.2 seconds left didn't
provide the time Nashville needed to knot the game up.
Now Nashville
finds itself deep in a 3-1 hole.
"I expect a desperate team," Hannan
said of the Predators. "They're going to be flying, they're going to have their
fans behind them. We just want to focus in on playing our game."
Notes:
Martin Erat was scratched from the game, with what is
likely a recurring injury to his knee. Erat was knocked out of Game 3 when Mike
Grier gave him a shot along the boards. The Predators forward skated the length
of the ice in the morning skate then headed to the dressing room.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| NSH |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| SJ |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Michalek 3 (Thonrton, Cheechoo), 3:29. |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Pavelski 1 (McLaren, Hannan), 1:06. 3, NSH, Arnott 1 (Dumont, Tootoo), 2:32. 4,
SJ, Michalek 4 (Thornton, Cheechoo), 12:53. |
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| 3rd period - 5, NSH,
Hartnell 1 (Legwand, Kariya), 17:08, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Clowe, SJ
(hooking), 3:57; Hartnell, NSH (goaltender interference), 11:59. |
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| 2nd period - Forsberg,
NSH (elbowing), 3:46; Legwand, NSH (hooking), 6:23; Tootoo, NSH (hooking),
10:33; Grier, SJ (elbowing), 14:13. |
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| 3rd period - Radulov,
NSH (hooking), 10:02; Clowe, SJ (hooking), 15:40. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| NSH - Vokoun |
23 |
20 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
25 |
23 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| NSH |
14 |
8 |
3 |
25 |
| SJ |
5 |
8 |
10 |
23 |
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| Referees: Marc Joannette, Don
Koharski. Linesmen: Jay Sharrers, Mark Wheler. |
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