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Sharks lose Couture then roll
over to Leafs
Yet another 3rd period
implosion
As if things couldn't get any worse in San Jose.
Not only are the Sharks continuing to blow 3rd period leads, but now they may
be without leading goal scorer Logan Couture. The Sharks rookie forward was
taken out by a knee-on-knee cheap shot by Toronto Maple Leafs thug Colton Orr.
With the one consistent part of their offense on the shelf, the Sharks buckled
in the 3rd period and allowed the Maple Leafs to score 4 goals in the 3rd
period to take a 4-2 decision at HP Pavilion on Tuesday night.
It's
hard to describe what's worse. The fact that the Sharks allowed Toronto to
score at will in the final period, or that they did nothing in terms of a
response to the hit on Couture. Orr received a paltry two minute kneeing minor
for the blatant hit.
Sharks forward Ryane Clowe didn't mince words
after the game.
"I don't what's the rule or how you get kicked out of
the game," said Clowe. "You got a guy that doesn't play take out one of our
best players and it's obvious. It's two minutes. What's a kneeing, five
minutes? What do you have to do, take a guy's knee completely off his leg?"
Given that the referees did nothing to deal with Orr, it was up to the
Sharks to take action, but nobody seemed willing to step up. Unless Orr gets
traded to a Western Conference team, it's unlikely they'll get another chance
soon, as the Sharks won't see Toronto again this season and it was the first
time the Maple Leafs made an appearance in San Jose since December of 2008.
As for the rest of the game, it can be summarized in two words. Poor
defense.
As has become an improbable habit of the Sharks this season,
they simply can't hold leads. Tuesday night's debacle came in the form of
defensive gaffs that resulted in three goals for the Maple Leafs in the span of
seven minute span.
"We have been whining about our offense lately, but
tonight it was our defense commitment that let us down," said Sharks head coach
Todd McLellan.
Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 10:12 of
the opening period, depositing a Joe Thornton drop pass past AHL call-up
goaltender James Reimer from the left circle. Marleau made a bee-line for the
Toronto net as Thornton skated the puck behind Reimer, then snapped home his
16th goal of the season.
The Sharks would continue their quest to lead
the league in shots on goal, by pumping up the statistic with meaningless shots
from long range. Reimer was credited with 40 saves on the evening, including 21
in the 2nd period that never posed a threat.
Clarke MacArthur would
whiff on a backhand chance into a wide open net 4 minutes into the 2nd period.
He would miss on another golden opportunity 6 minutes later after Dan Boyle
fell down in front of the Sharks net.
The rest of the period was a
penalty parade, starting with Orr's slap on the wrist.
Right on queue,
the Sharks let the Maple Leafs back into the game early in the 3rd period. The
implosion started with Phil Kessel converting at 3:27 of the period after
getting Boyle to over commit as he moved across the slot from left to right.
Kessel then waited out Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi before depositing his 18th
goal of the season into the Sharks net.
MacArthur would finally zero
in on the Sharks goal, by sending a backhand shot past Niemi, after defenseman
Niklas Wallin was sent off for interference.
Marleau would tie the
game 65 seconds later by chipping his own rebound past Reimer with 11:25 left
in regulation. The Sharks forward raced up the slot and fired a shot on Reimer
that kicked back out to the top of the crease. Marleau would get his stick on
the puck for the put back, to give him a multi-goal game.
Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson would tip home the game
winner, after Dion Phaneuf sent in a shot from the right point. The Sharks had
three defenders in front of Niemi, but neither could disrupt Gunnarsson from
converting only his 2nd goal of the season.
Niemi stopped Kessel on a
breakaway chance with 3:47 to play to keep the Sharks within a single goal, but
his teammates had no answer for Reimer.
San Jose was forced to pull
Niemi in exchange for the extra attacker, but that just opened up the net for
MacArthur to bag his 2nd of the evening. A long rebound in the Toronto zone
kicked out to the blueline where Boyle tried handling, but he mishandled the
puck while trying to stop it with his glove. The puck ended up on MacArthur's
stick and eventually in the Sharks goal.
"You seem to drop a notch
every time you lose a game," added McLellan. "There are not many teams in the
NHL that are going to feel sorry for us. The last group to feel sorry for
themselves is us. They way to get out of it is to continue working, to improve
our defensive play, to remain disciplined, and to stick together."
To
add insult to injury the victory turned out to be Toronto head coach Ron
Wilson's 600th career win. The former Sharks bench boss celebrated with his
players as MacArthur's goal iced things.
"It's pretty special," said
Wilson. "Obviously because only six other guys have done it. You don't see it
very often. And one of the best things is that we managed to find a way to do
it here."
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| TOR |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Marleau 16 (Thornton, Demers), 10:12. |
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| 3rd period - 2, TOR,
Kessel 19 (Bozak, Crabb), 3:27. 3, TOR, MacArthur 13 (Kaberle, Kulemin), 7:30,
(pp). 4, SJ, Marleau 17 (Thornton), 8:35. 5, TOR, Gunnarsson 2 (Phaneuf,
Armstrong), 10:10. 6, TOR, MacArthur 14 (Grabovsky, Kulemin), 19:21, (en).
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| 2nd period - Nichol, SJ
(holding), 1:54; Orr, TOR (kneeing), 9:25; Phaneuf, TOR. (holding), 11:15;
Boyle, SJ (slashing), 11:48; Kessel, TOR (hooking), 12:28; Beauchemin, TOR
(cross checking), 15:46; Heatley, SJ (hooking), 17:15. |
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| 3rd period - Wallin, SJ
(interference), 7:12. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| TOR - Reimer |
42 |
40 |
| SJ - Niemi |
25 |
22 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| TOR |
8 |
12 |
6 |
26 |
| SJ |
13 |
21 |
8 |
42 |
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| Referees: Devorski,
Rehman. Linesmen: Cameron, Sharrers. |
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