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New month brings same
results
SJ wins shootout in Denver
11/2/08 - By Mike Lee
The Sharks spent most of the
month of October knocking off opponents. They opened November in a similar
fashion, by knocking off the Colorado Avalanche in a wild 5-3 shootout at the
Pepsi Center in Denver . Devin Setoguchi and Milan Michalek each scored two
goals to pace the Sharks, who won for the 10th time in 12 games this season.
With all that success, San Jose still only maintained a 5 point lead
in the Pacific Division standing entering Sunday night’s contest. With
Anaheim and Dallas picking up the pace in the division race, it was important
for the Sharks to keep their positive momentum going.
The 11th place
Colorado would have been easy to look past, but the speedy Avalanche match up
well against San Jose . That was evident in Colorado ’s persistence all
night long. The Avalanche battled back from 2-goal deficits three times during
the game, pestering the Sharks with a buzzing attack.
It was Michalek
and Setoguchi that sealed Colorado fate.
Michalek opened the
game’s scoring 7 minutes into the game with a blast from the left wing.
Joe Pavelski setup Michalek with a 60-foot pass from Joe Pavelski at the
Avalanche blueline. Michalek wound up and launched a long slapper that beat
Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj.
Setoguchi pushed the Sharks lead to
a pair of goals 2 minutes later on a put back in tight. Continuing with the
offensive-defense scheme, Christian Ehrhoff pinched in with the puck and tried
stuffing it past Budaj. The puck kicked out to Joe Thornton, who then threw it
on net, but Budaj got a piece of the puck. Setoguchi pounced on the rebound for
his 6th goal of the season.
Jordan Leopold cut the Sharks lead in half
with a blast from the right point that got past Evgeni Nabokov, after a gaggle
of Avalanche players screened the Sharks netminder.
Joe Thornton
helped San Jose reclaim the 2-goal advantage by assisting on Setoguchi’s
second goal. Skating through traffic, Thornton found himself in tight along the
left post with Budaj sliding over to cut off his angle to the net. The big
centerman reacted instantly, sliding the puck across his body to the left,
where Setoguchi simply tapped it home.
The Avalanche turned up the
heat to open the 3rd period, throwing 18 shots at Nabokov. Milan Hejduk lifted
a shot past Nabokov from the bottom of the left circle after Wojtek Wolski
bounced a shot off Nabokov from the high slot.
Michalek notched his second of the game four minutes
later after to put the Sharks back up by two. Michalek banged at a big rebound
in front of the slot after Jonathan Cheechoo fired a shot that Budaj failed to
control. With three defenders collapsing on the loose puck, Michalek got enough
of his stick on it to squeeze it between Budaj’s pads.
Nabokov
made a huge save with just under 8 minutes left in the game after Joe Sakic put
a backhand attempt on net from three feet out. Laying on his side, the Sharks
netminder got a piece of the shot with his glove, deflecting it wide of the
net.
John-Michael Liles made it 4-3 at 13:41 with a shot that squeezed
between Nabokov and the left post. San Jose fell victim to a little
indecisiveness as the Avalanche pressed to push the play into the Sharks zone.
Rather than fall back on their heels, the Sharks fired back with more
offensive pressure.
Ryane Clowe sealed the deal with a nifty put back
after Mike Grier put a shot on goal. Patrick Marleau put the Sharks in position
to score by out-skating the Colorado defense up ice, forcing the play into the
Avalanche zone.
A Rob Blake cross-checking penalty with a minute left
in regulation allowed Colorado head coach Tony Granato to pull Budaj for the
two-man advantage. The Sharks buckled down and kept the Avalanche off the board
to close out the contest.
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What did you
think of this game? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
| COL |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Michalek 2 (Pavelski, Lukowich), 7:02. 2, SJ, Setoguchi 6 (Thornton, Ehrhoff),
9:02. 3, COL, Leopold 3 (Stastny), 14:24. |
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| 2nd period - 4, SJ,
Setoguchi 7 (Thornton, Marleau), 12:43. |
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| 3rd period - 5, COL,
Hejduk 7 (Wolski, Salei), 1:30. 6, SJ, Michalek 3 (Cheechoo, Blake), 5:44. 7,
COL, Liles 2 (Hejduk, Sakic), 13:41. 8, SJ, Clowe 5 (Grier, Marleau),
18:16. |
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| 1st period - Roenick, SJ
(holding), 10:22; Stastny, COL (interference), 10:22; Salei, COL (holding),
18:56. |
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| 3rd period - Vlasic, SJ
(interference), 8:09; Blake, SJ (hooking), 19:00. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
36 |
33 |
| COL - Budaj |
29 |
24 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
12 |
7 |
29 |
| COL |
6 |
12 |
18 |
36 |
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| Referees: McCreary,
Sutherland. Linesmen: Lazarowich, Rody. |
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