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Sharks clinch playoff birth
with win Nabokov shines in 3-0 shutout
Evgeni Nabokov turned in his best performance
since the Olympic break, shutting out the Dallas Stars 3-0 as the Sharks made
their return to HP Pavilion on Thursday night. The shutout was the 50th of
Nabokovs career, but more importantly, it clinched a playoff spot for San
Jose for the 5th consecutive season. The Sharks netminder turned aside all 27
shots that he faced and got a little help from the post in the 3rd period.
After an atrocious road trip, the Sharks were in need of a solid
performance by their netminder, who was solid on Tuesday in Minnesota . Nabokov
responded with solid positioning and key saves to stymie Dallas.
"It's a building process," Nabokov said of the Sharks
past two games. "It's also a process getting ready for the playoffs. I think
that's so important to get ready for the playoffs and play right before the
playoffs. I think that's what we wanted to do. These two games were a great
example that we can play this way, where we don't have turnovers, no odd-man
rushes."
Nabokovs adversary Marty Turco also turned in a solid
performance, but he received little offensive support.
Turco flashed
the leather with 5:17 to play in the opening period, keeping the game
scoreless. Ryane Clowe snapped a 17-foot shot from the inside of the right
circle, but the Stars netminder snared the shot from his knees.
Devin
Setoguchi and Dany Heatley exchanged chances in close right before the
intermission, but Turco stood tall, keep the game deadlocked at 0-0.
We thought we needed to change our game from Minnesota, and
obviously we learned something there," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan.
"We used that same recipe again tonight and now its how long can we hold on to
that recipe, and continue playing this way because it is the right way to
play.
A Mark Fistric holding penalty on Joe Thornton put the
sharks on the power play 3:20 of the 2nd period and the Sharks would
capitalize. Dan Boyle put a shot on goal from the top of the left circle, that
was deflected by a Stars defenseman. The shot changed directions on Turco and
found its way to the back of the net. It was Boyles 14th goal of the
season and the 400th career NHL point.
Nicklas Grossman put the Sharks right back on the
power play a minute later after he hauled down Torrey Mitchell behind the Stars
net. Turco would make a stellar save on Joe Pavelski on the power play,
stacking the pads to deny the Sharks forward. San Jose would convert on the
ensuing faceoff.
Rob Blake punched in a rebound with 24 seconds left
in the man-advantage. Patrick Marleau put a shot on net that deflected into the
slot where Blake had pinched. The defenseman gathered in the puck and lifted
the 8-foot shot past Turco for the 2-0 lead.
It was a pretty even
first period," siad Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "In the second period, the
three penalties in a row that we got were fairly significant. I think a lot of
times you need to have a little bit of feel for the game as a player.
Whats being allowed, and what isnt. And I thought that was very
difficult for us tonight.
San Jose dodged a bullet to start the
3rd period when Jere Lehtinen put a shot off the post after Dallas had stepped
up the pressure out of the gate. Nabokov would make a nice save five minutes
later when he pinned a Trevor Daly shot to he ice with his left leg pad.
The Stars seemed destined to crack the scoring column,
but Setoguchi and Logan Couture teamed up to score on the Sharks firs shot of
the period at 7:41. Setoguchi drove the net with the puck forcing Turco to make
a diving save. Couture followed up while Turco was on his back, punching at the
puck enough to push it across the Dallas goal line. Turco appeared to help the
puck with his backside as he lay flat out in the crease.
Dallas
instigator extraordinaire Steve Ott earned an early trip to the showers after
he elbowed Marleau, then tried to bait him into a fight. Marleau would earn a
deuce for roughing, but Ott was rewarded with a 10-minute misconduct, an
elowing minor and a pair of roughing minors.
Those infractions would
provide the Sharks with a 2-man advantage, but Joe Thornton was whistled for a
ticky-tack hooking penalty.
On the other side of it I thought the
Sharks played pretty good," added Crawford. "They were quick on the forecheck.
I just thought we took too many penalties.
Game
Notes:
Blake was injured midway through the 3rd period and did not
return to the game. Blakes power-play goal moves him into a tie in all
time power-play goals (134) by a defenseman. He is also now in sole possession
of 18th place in career points (239-533=772) by a defenseman.
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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 |
DAL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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2nd period - 1, SJ,
Boyle 14 (Malhotra, Clowe), 3:29, (pp). 2, SJ, Blake 6 (Marleau, Thornton),
6:13, (pp). |
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3rd period - 3, SJ,
Couture 2 (Setoguchi, Boyle), 7:41. |
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1st period - Barch, DAL
(fighting major), 12:50; Staubitz, SJ (fighting major), 12:50. |
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2nd period -
Fistric, DAL (holding), 3:20; Grossman, DAL (tripping), 4:49; Boyle, SJ
(interference), 10:15; Grossman, DAL (boarding), 13:35; Mitchell, SJ (holding
the stick), 16:24. |
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3rd period -
Robidas, DAL (boarding), 14:03; Ott, DAL (elbowing), 14:47; Ott, DAL
(roughing), 14:47; Ott, DAL (roughing), 14:47; Ott, DAL (10 min misconduct),
14:47; Marleau, SJ (roughing), 14:47; Thornton, SJ (hooking), 15:05; Ribeiro,
DAL (hooking), 17:32. |
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Shots |
Saves |
DAL - Turco |
16 |
13 |
SJ - Nabokov |
19 |
19 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
DAL |
13 |
7 |
7 |
27 |
SJ |
15 |
16 |
10 |
41 |
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Referees: Watson,
Martell. Linesmen: Wheler, Nowak. |
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