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Outlasting an
Avalanche
Clowe scores first of the season to pace
SJ
Having Ryane Clowe take a turn in Wednesday's
shootout against the Los Angeles Kings last Wednesday may have paid additional
dividends on Friday night as the Sharks knocked off the Colorado Avalanche 3-1
at HP Pavilion. Clowe's shootout winner may have been just the ticket to
jumpstart Clowe's scoring. Mired in a 21-game goalless slump, Clowe scored the
first goal for San Jose, which in turn snow-balled into more offense for the
Sharks.
Clowe would snap a 0-0 deadlock with 5.9 seconds remaining in
the 2nd period, and in the process, record his 100th NHL point. Clowe was in
the right place at the right time, but this time there would be no misfires.
Clowe gathered in a deflection off Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson and
deposit his 1st goal in an eternity.
Patrick Marleau, who had two
assists on the night, started things off by taking a chip pass from Rob Blake
and firing the shot that deflected off Anderson. Clowe was hovering around the
left post and had nothing but empty net to shoot at.
The Sharks
chipped away at Anderson the prior 39 minutes with plenty of rubber thrown in
the Avalanche netminder's direction. Anderson faced 32 shots through the first
periods, and made more than his share of spectacular saves to keep the
Avalanche in the game.
Dany Heatley got things rolling early by
placing a backhand pass in front of the net from the right corner with 5:15 to
play in the 1st period, but Anderson denied Jed Ortmeyer who was crashing in on
net and tried redirecting the one-time chance from the top of the crease.
A delay of game penalty to John-Michael Liles late in the period would
put the Sharks on the power play, but Anderson made a crazy glove save to deny
Joe Thornton.
San Jose would go back on the power play early in the
2nd period, and another wild sequence almost netted the Sharks a goal, but once
again Anderson denied San Jose, withstanding a frantic scrum in front of his
net. A series of scoring chances on the power play would end with a Benn
Ferriero shot just missing wide left while Anderson was flat on his back trying
to cover the puck.
The Sharks almost got caught late in the period
when a Marc-Edouard Vlasic tripping penalty gave the Avalanche the
man-advantage. San Jose's penalty-killing unit failed on numerous attempts to
clear the puck and by virtue of defending the goal opposite their bench, their
defenders were stuck in their own zone for the full 2 minutes.
Luckily
the Avalanche were showing the effects of having played 24 hours earlier in Los
Angeles and couldn't generate any chances themselves. San Jose would counter
with Clowe's goal, which deflated the Western Conference's hottest team.
Marleau and Manny Malhotra teamed up for a 2-on-1 break early in the
3rd period, but Anderson made a save with his right skate, pinning Malhotra's
one-time chance against the left post.
A Thornton turnover almost
turned costly for the Sharks when Wojtek Wolski raced up the center of the ice
and ripped a shot that Evgeni Nabokov just deflected wide.
Heatley would make it a 2-goal lead moments later,
when he redirected a Jason Demers feed right in front of Anderson at 3:59 of
the 3rd. Demers was up against the right wing boards and whipped a 40-foot pass
to Heatley, who swatted the puck out of the air for his 9th goal of the season.
San Jose would fall asleep on a power play with 10:26 to play. Matt
Duchene grabbed an Adam Foote deflection in the neutral zone, then beat two San
Jose defenders before putting a shot on Nabokov. The Sharks netminder made the
first save, but Duchene sent the deflection into the back of San Jose's net.
Jamie McGinn would convert on the same power play by taking a lead
pass from Marleau at the Colorado blueline and racing in on Anderson
uncontested. The Sharks forward ripped a shot from the left dot that caught the
left post and crossbar, before hitting the back of the net. The puck kicked out
back into the field of play so quickly that the play was reviewed to ensure the
puck had in fact crossed the goal line. It did, and McGinn had his first goal
of the season.
The Avalanche would pull Anderson late, and a delay of
game penalty to Dan Boyle gave Colorado a 6-on-4 advantage, but Nabokov denied
any further scoring.
Game Notes:
Thorton took an
errant puck off the chops in the 2nd period, but he would return. The loss was
only the second in regulation for Colorado this season. With two assists,
Patrick Marleau extended his point streak to seven games. During that span, he
has five goals and eight assists for a total of 13 points. The Sharks set a
season-high mark with 46 shots on goal.
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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 |
| COL |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
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| 2nd period - 1, SJ,
Clowe 1 (Marleau, Blake), 19:54. |
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| 3rd period - 2, SJ,
Heatley 9 (Demers, Clowe), 3:59. 3, COL, Duchene 2 (Foote), 9:34, (sh). 4, SJ,
McGinn 1 (Marleau), 10:04. |
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| 1st period - Duchene,
COL (tripping), 1:13; Staubitz, SJ (cross checking), 7:44; Demers, SJ
(holding), 12:25; Lilies, COL (delay of game - puck over glass), 17:23. |
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| 2nd period - Koci, COL
(slashing), 3:01; HAnnan, COL (interference), 14:03; Thorntonm SJ
(interference), 14:58; Vlasic, SJ (tripping), 16:56. |
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| 3rd period -
Cumisky, COL (hooking), 8:03; Boyle, SJ (delay of game - puck over glass),
19:32. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| COL - Anderson |
46 |
43 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
25 |
24 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| COL |
5 |
8 |
12 |
25 |
| SJ |
12 |
20 |
14 |
46 |
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| Referees: Fraser,
Walkom. Linesmen: Rody, Wheler. |
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