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Slow start & finish cost
Sharks
Blues rally to win in
shootout
12/27/08 - By Mike Lee
Too
much holiday cheer caught up with the Sharks on Saturday night, as they kicked
off their three-game road trip through the Midwest with a 3-2 shootout loss to
the St Louis Blues. Brad Winchester helped the Blues battle back from a 2-1
deficit in the 3rd period, then sealed the victory in the third round of the
shootout with a shot that evaded Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. San Jose
lost for the third time in their last five games, and for the 4th time in the
month of December.
That total matched their loss count for October and
November combined, but it does give the Sharks at least one point in 18 of
their last 19 games. Head coach Todd McLellan can’t be pleased with the
performance his club turned in on Saturday.
BR> Squaring off against the
Western Conference cellar dwellers, San Jose should have been poised to easily
claim two points from the Blues. A 3rd period lapse cost them the outright win.
Sluggish play in the first 30 minutes of the game looked as if St Louis would
take the game outright early.
The Blues capitalized on a turnover in
their defensive zone, allowing 2nd year forward David Perron to race up the ice
and squeeze a shot between Nabokov’s pads just 26 seconds into the game.
Douglas Murray pinched to play a man along the left wing boards, but the puck
skipped past him, and Perron was off to the races. Christian Ehrhoff
couldn’t get back in time to stop Perron’s shot.
A Dan
Hinote tripping penalty at 6:15 gave the Sharks their first power play of the
game, but the man advantage provided no relief for a discombobulated offense.
San Jose only mustered 3 shots on goal in the opening period, the last
two coming in the last 2 minutes of the frame. The absence of rubber on net,
would match their season low for fewest shots on goal in a period.
The
Sharks 1st shot of the 2nd period wouldn’t find its way to Blues
goaltender Manny Legace until the 8 minute mark.
Jonathan Cheechoo
finally got the Sharks on the board at 12:23 with his first goal in over two
months. The Sharks winger hovered in the slot, before snapping a Joe Thornton
feed from behind the Blues net for his 5th goal of the season. Mike Grier setup
the scoring chance by controlling the forecheck along the end boards, then
cycled the puck over to Thornton .
Capitalizing on their
opportunities, the Sharks would grab the lead with just over 2 minutes to play
in the period on Mike Grier’s 5th goal of the season. Cheechoo earned the
primary assist by firing a shot at Legace that hit the Blues goaltender in the
chest, then dropped to the ice. Legace didn’t know where the puck was,
allowing Grier to sweep in and tap it home.
David Backes just missed on a wrap around attempt in
the first 2 minutes of the 3rd period, which was followed shortly by a Brad
Boyes scoring chance moments later.
St Louis tied things up on a
Winchester’s 5th goal of the season, a blast from the slot. Winchester
trailed Yan Stastny on a rush, then took a feed from the Blues center before
ripping a shot past Nabokov at the 6:00 mark.
An Alex Steen tripping
penalty midway through the period gave the Sharks a chance to make the Blues
pay, but the man-advantage failed to deliver.
Things got interesting
late. Nabokov made a game-saving stop on a Keith Takchuk scoring chance with 5
minutes to play. The Sharks goaltender dove to his left, stopping the shot
while sprawled across the goal mouth.
Boyle then threw a shot on goal
that hit the right post with under 4 minutes in regulation. Nabokov was forced
to make a save on a 2-on-1 Blues break in the final minute. Jay McClement tried
going 5-hole on Nabokov, but the Sharks netminder shut the door to preserve the
tie.
In the overtime, the Sharks did their best to hand the Blues the
win, turning the puck over 5 times in the first 2 minutes, but Nabokov saved
their bacon with several saves.
Marcel Goc had a chance to end it in
tight, but his point blank shot hit Legace in the chest. Tkachuk had a
breakaway with a minute to play, but Nabokov stoned him.
In the
shootout Perron put a backhand past Nabokov to lead things off. Boyle missed on
a weak forehand chance. Nabokov stopped Boyes on a backhand attempt. Ryane
Clowe put a backhand chance over Legace’s left shoulder. Winchester
snapped a shot past Nabokov to put the Blues up. Pavelski threw a weak shot
that LEgace gloved to end it.
Game Notes:
Milan Michalek
returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an upper body
injury. Jeremy Roenick is also traveling with the team, while recovering from
arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder.
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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 |
OT |
SO |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| STL |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, STL,
Perron 3 (Berglund), 0:26. |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Cheechoo 5 (Thornton, Grier), 12:21. 3, SJ, Grier 5 (Cheechoo, Thornton),
17:49. |
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| 3rd period - 4, STL,
Winchester 5 (Stastny, Weaver), 6:00. |
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| Shootout - STL: Perron
(goal), Boyes (miss), Winchester (goal). SJ: Boyle (miss), Clowe (goal),
Pavelski (miss). |
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| 1st period - Marleau, SJ
(interference), 3:49; Hinote, STL (tripping), 6:15. |
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| 2nd period - Lukowich,
SJ (roughing), 5:49; Backes, STL (hooking), 13:32. |
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| 3rd period - Steen, STL
(tripping), 10:46. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
28 |
26 |
| STL - Legace |
26 |
24 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
3 |
7 |
12 |
4 |
24 |
| STL |
6 |
10 |
9 |
3 |
26 |
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| Referees: Kowal,
Pochmara. Linesmen: Cvik, Miller. |
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