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Ducks push Sharks to the
brink Rookie Ryan man handles San Jose
A lack of urgency and numerous defensive
breakdowns have the Sharks teetering on the brink of elimination from their
quarter finals playoff series with the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim s top line
of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan continue to lead the way, while the
Sharks top players have gone AWOL. Patrick Marleau failed to generate a single
shot on goal and Joe Thornton played one of his worst defensive games in teal
as the Sharks were shutout 4-0.
The shutout was the second in the
series for Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, but the Ducks goaltender faced little
pressure all night. San Jose out-shot the Ducks 31-26, but again San Jose
insisted on sending the puck on net from long range. Hiller has proven to be
more than capable of stopping long, unscreened shots, but the Sharks have yet
to figure that out.
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan didnt mince
words after the third disappointing performance by his club in four games.
The only word I can use is disappointed, said
McLellan. I think our character was questioned tonight.
McLellan also put focus on Thornton after praising the Ducks top line.
The Getzlaf-Perry line was better than him (Thornton) tonight. It was
reflected on the score sheet.
Any momentum the Sharks carried
into the game was squelched by a pair of 1st period penalties that kept them on
the defensive. Joe Pavelski took a tripping penalty 7 minutes into the game and
Devin Setoguchi followed that up with a holding infraction less than 6 minutes
later.
Setoguchi would draw a Ducks penalty right after exiting the
box, when Andrew Ebbett was sent off for holding after the two tangled in the
corner of the Anaheim zone. San Jose had one scoring chance on the ensuing
power play, but failed to crack Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller.
The
Sharks looked flat to start the 2nd period and the Ducks would capitalize.
Rookie forward Bobby Ryan would score his 3rd goal of the series at 6:33 ,
after the Sharks failed to cover the right winger. Ryan Getzlaf carried the
puck up the left wing, before putting on the breaks and sliding a pass to Ryan
who trailed on the play. Ryan slipped a Jonathan Cheechoo check then whipped a
shot past Evgeni Nabokov for the 1-0 Ducks lead.
The game was
interrupted midway through the 2nd period when Milan Michalek checked Ryan into
the glass that separates the two benches, shattering the pane. It took the
Anaheim arena facility team 18 minutes to repair the glass and get the broken
glass cleaned up on the benches.
The delay did little to energize the
Sharks. Once play resumed Ryan would do his thing again, putting the Ducks up
2-0. Chasing the puck, San Jose would get caught out of position as a Corey
Perry shot pin-balled off Nabokov, kicking out to the slot. Ryan swooped in and
pumped a shot past Nabokov.
James Wisniewski would head to the box 30 seconds
after Ryans goal, but the Sharks couldnt put anything together on
the power play. As has been the case for the majority of the series, the Sharks
passive approach to the man-advantage resulted in little pressure on Hiller.
The 3rd period proved no better for San Jose , who failed to generate
any energy. It didnt require much effort by Anaheim to suppress the
Sharks, who played with little urgency or intensity.
Perry would ice
the game with 6 minutes to play, when he deflected a Getzlaf shot past Nabokov.
As was the case on all three Ducks goals, the Sharks were more spectator than
participant, except for the fact that Thornton s blind pass from the end
boards ended up on Getzlafs stick. Anaheim s top line simply
outplayed the Sharks all night, and the Perry goal was the result of one team
fighting and the other losing focus.
We allowed them a lot of
time in our zone and they capitalized on it, added Rob Blake, who had a
team high 5 shots on goal for San Jose .
In a true act of optimism,
McLellan pulled Nabokov with a minute remaining in the contest with his team
trailing by 3 goals. The move simply setup the inevitable, allowing Drew Miller
to score an empty-net goal with 41 ticks left on the clock.
We
need to show up with a desperate attitude, defenseman Dan Boyle said.
We didnt have that tonight.
Game
Notes:
The Ducks made their first lineup change of the series,
benching Petteri Nokelainen. Ryan Carter made his first appearance of the
playoffs for Anaheim .
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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 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
ANA |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
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2nd period - 1, Ryan 3
(Getzlaf, Whitney), 6:33 . 2, Ryan 4 (Perry), 10:13. |
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3rd period - 3, ANA,
Perry 1 (Getzlaf), 14:09 . 4, ANA, Miller 2 (R. Neidermayer, Marchant), 19:19 ,
(en). |
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1st period - Pavelski,
SJ (tripping), 6:56 ; Setoguchi, SJ (holding), 12:48 ; Ebbett, ANA (tripping),
15:06 ; Clowe, SJ (roughing), 20:00 ; Brown, ANA (roughing), 20:00. |
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2nd period - Wisniewski,
ANA (holding), 10:54 ; Marleau, SJ (high sticking), 18:18. |
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3rd period -
Murray , SJ (cross checking), 19:48 ; Roenick, SJ (roughing), 19:48 ; Roenick,
SJ (10 min misconduct), 19:48 ; Brookbank, ANA (10 min misconduct), 19:48. |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Nabokov |
25 |
22 |
SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
ANA - Hiller |
31 |
31 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
10 |
9 |
12 |
31 |
ANA |
8 |
12 |
6 |
26 |
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Referees: Rooney,
Watson. Linesmen: Arnell, Cvik. |
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