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Clowe lifts Sharks over
Blackhawks
Niemi makes 28 saves in second win over
former team
The Sharks returned to the friendly confines of HP
Pavilion on Saturday night after wrapping up their recent 5-game east coast
swing. After enjoying a little home cooking, they were presented with the tall
task of squaring off against a red-hot Chicago Blackhawks team in their first
game on home ice since November 30th. Ryane Clowe would cool off the Blackhawks
and rookie goaltender Corey Crawford with a pair of goals in a 2-1 overtime
victory.
Crawford fell a game short of tying the Blackhawks franchise
record for consecutive wins by a rookie with the loss. He had won his previous
seven games to setup Saturday night’s shot at the Chicago record book.
That streak was snapped by Clowe and a little bad luck.
“It was one of those nights where I don’t think they were as
sharp as they wanted to be, I know our team wasn’t," said Sharks head
coach Todd McLellan. "The good sign is we found our legs a little bit later in
the game and found a way to win it.”
The Sharks drew first blood
midway through the 1st period, when Clowe redirected a Jason Demers pass from
the right corner past Crawford. Demers chased down a Marc-Edouard pass that
skipped along the right wing boards. Demers sent the pass right to the slot,
just as Clowe arrived for the redirect.
Chicago scored a goal late in
the period when forward Jordan Hendry jammed in a goal from the right post.
Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi had his skate pinned against the post, but Hendry
pushed it off Niemi's other skate for the deflection into the goal.
Hendry was making his first appearance in 14 games, after being a frequent
scratch for the Blackhawks. The defenseman was called into action as a forward
for Chicago because of a rash of injuries, including those to Patrick Kane and
Marian Hossa who are both on injured reserve.
Sharks forward Benn
Ferrier narrowly missed scoring as time expired in the period, but Crawford
made a spectacular pad save while laying on the ice. Ferriero fired a put-back
from 6-feet out that seemed destined for the back of the net, but Crawford made
the save and covered it with his leg as the horn sounded.
Replays
confirmed the no-goal call by referee Greg Kimmerley, but a video review was
conducted to confirm the call.
San Jose was the beneficiary of a quick
whistle in the 2nd period before Viktor Stalberg jammed a puck home from the
doorstep. Jack Skille fired a shot at Niemi from the right side that trickled
through the shark goaltender’s pads. Kimmerley lost sight of the puck,
even though it emerged from Niemi’s pads rolling toward the goal line.
Stalberg was there to jam the loose puck home, but it was all for not.
Logan Couture got a rise out of the home crowd a minute
into the 3rd period, when he slipped past Brian Campbell in the high slot and
put a shot on Crawford from in tight. Couture’s diving stab at the puck
would be stopped by Crawford and the Sharks forward would end up tangled in the
net after sliding into the goal. His skate actually cut the twine, which
required minor repairs to close the hole.
Heatley had Crawford dead to
rights 8 minutes into the period after making a nifty move to get past Brent
Seabrook, but once again Crawford gobbled up the 12 foot shot.
“I
thought he played great," Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said of his
netminder. "I think you could argue that that might have been his best game.
He’s the reason we got a point. He made two or three saves that looked
like they were empty netters. His anticipation was there. He was sharp and
quick and big.”
Niemi countered Crawford’s play with a series
of nice saves in the period. He would also stop both shots he saw in the extra
period. Crawford wasn’t so lucky.
Clowe would end things with 68
seconds remaining in the overtime with a quick one-timer from the right dot.
Vlasic setup the shot with a bullet pass from the left wing boards. The pass
split Skille’s skates, then Clowe’s shot narrowly got past Duncan
Keith’s attempt at blocking the shot. Crawford was late to cover the right
post as the puck hit the back of the net.
“They are a very good
matching team, our lines weren’t even the same at the end of the game as
they were in the begging on the night," added McLellan. "We made a change on a
whim, trying to find a combination of guys that were going”
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| CHI |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Clowe 7 (Demers, Vlasic), 9:16. 2, CHI, Hendry 1 (Dowell, Scott), 18:23. |
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| Overtime - 3, SJ, Clowe
8 (Vlasic, Braun), 3:52. |
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| 1st period - Skille, CHI
(high sticking), 9:57; Couture, SJ (tripping), 13:59; Cullimore, CHI (holding),
18:55. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CHI - Crawford |
30 |
28 |
| SJ - Niemi |
29 |
28 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| CHI |
11 |
8 |
8 |
2 |
29 |
| SJ |
11 |
9 |
8 |
2 |
30 |
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| Referees: Kimmerly,
Leggo. Linesmen: Shewchyk, Mach. |
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