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Niemi turns in another shaky
showing
Flames chase netminder in 4-0
outburst
After turning in their best performance of the
season, the Sharks let their guard down less than 24 hours later and laid an
egg with arguably their worst performance of the year. The Calgary Flames would
deny the Sharks from taking all three games on their abridged three-game road
trip, by scoring four 1st period goals in a 4-0 blowout at the Saddledome.
The one constant for San Jose this season in their loses has been
shaky goaltending when Antti Niemi gets the start in net. With the exception of
San Jose’s season opener in Stockholm, Niemi has failed to record a win.
Niemi would last 8 minutes and change in Sunday night’s game after
surrendering three goals in that span.
The Finnish netminder had issues
covering the glove side of the net, allowing all three goals on shots to the
right side of the net.
Rene Bourque would open the scoring with a power
play tall at 4:12 after Joe Pavelski was sent off for tripping. Niklas Hagman
connected the dots with a cross ice pass from the left side to Bourque for the
one-time chance that beat Niemi up high.
Niemi didn’t help
himself on the next goal, giving up a long range shot off the stick of Jerome
Iginla less than two minutes later after Alex Tanguay skated up the left wing
and dropped a pass back to the trailing Flames captain. Iginla uncorked a shot
from the top of the left circle for the 3-0 lead. Defensemen Dan Boyle and
Douglas Murray skated back to cover Tanguay, with Boyle clearly in the best
position to stop the Flames winger. Murray should have covered the trailer, but
he was caught in no-man’s land after figuring out that Boyle had Tanguay
covered.
Murray missed another assignment at 8:36, when Stefan Meyer
carried the puck toward the left post before hitting Craig Conroy on the right
side for a tap-in goal. The Sharks defenseman allowed Conroy to slip past him
on the weak side. Niemi was caught between the two Flames forwards and failed
to get over to his left to stop Conroy’s one-timer into the net.
Ryane Clowe and Tim Jackman dropped the gloves as Meyer and Conroy were doing
their thing, which was the one highlight of the night for the Sharks. Clowe
out-muscled Jackman, landing a couple of lefts after getting the inside hand on
the Flames winger’s jersey.
The scrap also extended Niemi’s
evening on the ice for a couple of minutes. Once both players were sent to the
box, Antero Niittymaki would replace his teammate in net.
That change
would last three minutes before Calgary capitalized for the final time. San
Jose didn’t help matters by reacting slowly to the Flames while making a
change. Patrick Marleau failed to stop Tanguay from dishing the puck off in
front of the Sharks bench, which allowed Bourque to take the feed and race into
the Sharks zone. Bourque would launch a 35-foot shot that Niittymaki tried to
squeeze, but it slipped through his pads and trickled over the goal
line.
Niittymaki would settle down the remainder of the evening,
stopping 24 shots, but the damage was done.
Lazy penalties would prevent the Sharks from
generating any momentum, and would allow the Flames to kick into cruise
control. Torrey Mitchell would earn a trip to the box for tripping as San Jose
tried breaking into the Calgary zone with 7 minutes left in the nightmare
opening period.
Niittymaky would also draw a peculiar delay of game
penalty early in the 2nd period, but his teammates would bail him out on the
penalty kill. The Sharks goaltender came out of his crease to dive on a loose
puck, but appeared to lose the handle on this stick. The stick floated out into
the slot. Referee Justin St. Pierre ruled that Niittmaky intentionally threw
his stick, to earn the two minute infraction.
San Jose would kill off 5
Flames man-advantage situations.
Unfortunately, they would only the
man advantage twice in the game, and would not capitalize on their limited
chances.
San Jose would put 27 shots on goal, but nothing got past
former Shark Miikka Kiprusoff, who turned his 2nd shutout of the
season.
Niittymaki would end things on a positive note by denying
Iginla on a breakaway chance with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game.
Game Notes:
Scott Nichol took a shot off the inside of
his left foot in the 2nd period and had to leave the game. He would return to
the bench, but did not play.
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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 |
| CGY |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, CGY,
Bourque 5 (Hagman, Morrison), 4:12, (pp). 2, CGY, Iginla 2 (Tanguay, White),
6:01. 3, CGY, Conroy 2 (Meyer, Jackman), 8:36. 4, CGY, Bourque 6 (Tanguay,
Stajan), 11:47. |
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| 1st period - Pavelski,
SJ (tripping), 3:31; Clowe, SJ (fighting major), 8:36; Jackman, CGY (fighting
major), 8:36; Mitchell, SJ (hooking), 13:00. |
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| 2nd period - Niittymaki,
SJ (delay of game), 2:36; Heatley, SJ (slashing), 8:53; Jokinen, CGY
(interference), 13:50; Wallin, SJ (delay of game – puck over glass),
17:09; Glencross, CGY (hooking), 19:43. |
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| 3rd period -
Heatley, SJ (tripping), 4:50. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
5 |
2 |
| SJ - Niittymaki |
25 |
24 |
| CGY - Kiprusoff |
27 |
27 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
6 |
12 |
9 |
27 |
| CGY |
14 |
10 |
6 |
30 |
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| Referees: Jackson,
St Pierre. Linesmen: Devorski, Rody. |
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