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Marleau's OT goal bails out
Sharks
Pens tie the game late, but Sharks extend
winning streak
The schedule makers were poking the voodoo doll
when they scheduled the Sharks to play in Detroit and Pittsburgh on back to
back nights. Winning one of those two games would have been successful, but
after San Jose dispatched Detroit a day earlier, the Sharks got an overtime
goal from Patrick Marleau with 4 seconds left to help San Jose take both
contests. San Jose had to work an extra 4:56 after the Penguins scored a
dramatic goal with 50 seconds left in regulation. The win, combined with a loss
by the Phoenix Coyotes, puts the Sharks atop of the Pacific Division standings
and in control of the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.
For Marleau,
it was his second overtime winner in the past two weeks. The game winner on
Wednesday night was the second of the game for the Sharks veteran. He would be
forced to bail out his team after Penguins forward Tyler Kennedy would score a
pair of goals himself, including the stunner to send the game to overtime.
Kennedy would give the Penguins the early 1-0 lead after the Sharks
turned the puck over in their own zone on a blind clearing attempt by
defenseman Ian White. White tried to send the puck around the end boards, but
it never made it out of the zone, after Deryk Engelland intercepted it along
the right wing boards. Engelland floated a shot into the slot that Sharks
goaltender Antti Niemi stopped, but gave up a big rebound to Matt Cooke for
another shot from 18-feet out. Niemi made the save Cooke, but the rebound
deflected to Kennedy on the left side for the easy deposit.
Brooks
Orpik would take a hooking penalty at 9:16 of the period, but the league's best
penalty killing unit snuffed out the Sharks man-advantage.
Derrick
Engelland would give it to Torrey Mitchell with a series of cross checks that
would land the Penguin in the penalty box with 2:39 remaining in the period.
Once again, the Pittsburgh penalty killers would keep the puck out of their own
net, but the Sharks did show a little more signs of life, with several shots on
Marc-Andre Fleury.
San Jose would outshoot Pittsburgh 11-6 in the
period, but it wasn't the performance San Jose wanted to open the game with
after their emotional win in Detroit 24 hours earlier.
Greg Adams
would open the 2nd period with another penalty for Pittsburgh, but this time
the Sharks would cash in. Logan Couture would tie Pat Falloon's 20-year old
rookie record by scoring his 25th goal of the season at 3:01 on a one-timer
from the left dot. Devin Setoguchi set up the goal with a pass from behind the
Pittsburgh net after Jason Demers pinched along the right wing boards to keep
the puck in the Penguins zone.
The goal was Couture's first in six
games.
The Penguins dodged a bullet 7 minutes into the period when San
Jose pushed the puck into the Pittsburgh crease, but Couture couldn't get his
stick on the puck as it sat at his feet. The cross-check he took to the back of
his neck also made it difficult to get a stick blade on the puck.
Joe
Thornton was sent off for hooking at 10:23 of the period, but San Jose's
penalty kill handled the Penguins to keep the game tied.
Penguins
forward Matt Niskanen was forced to hook Ben Eager on a play in front of the
net, putting San Jose back on the power play with under three minutes to play
in the period. Dany Heatley misfired on a point blank shot from the slot,
denying the Sharks on their best scoring chance of the power play.
Known more for his quick feet, Patrick Marleau would
use quick hands to put the Sharks ahead 5:28 into the 3rd period. Marleau took
a feed from Heatley behind the Penguins net and jammed a shot inside the left
post for his 23rd goal of the season.
Pittsburgh would get another
chance on the power play with 8:34 left in regulation. San Jose would almost
turn the tables on the Penguins when Jamal Mayers and Joe Pavelski missed on
separate short-handed chances.
Niemi would rob Chris Letang on the
Penguins man-advantage, after the Penguins defenseman found himself coasting in
on net with no defenders between him and the Sharks netminder. Letang's 15-foot
shot was gloved by Niemi, who floated out toward the right circle to cutoff the
angle.
Fleury came up big against Kyle Wellwood with 4 minutes to
play, denying the Sharks forward from in tight.
The Penguins would
pull Fleury with a 70 seconds remaining, and San Jose looked like they would
ice he game when Letang broke his stick and Setoguchi had the puck at center
ice, but his shot sail wide of the Penguins net.
Pittsburgh capitalize
by jamming the net inot the Sharks zone, then on net. Niemi would stop a shot
from the right side, but the puck floated behind him for Kennedy to jam home
his 2nd goal of the game.
The Sharks looked fatigued in the overtime,
allowing Pittsburgh to dictate most of the period. Marleau would give the
Sharks their best chance to win with a breakaway chance, but his backhand
chance would be gloved by Fleury.
Marleau wouldn't miss when he lifted
a rebound over Fleury with 4 seconds left in the extra session. San Jose pushed
the puck up ice, then Marc-Edouard Vlasic pumped a shot on goal from the left
wing boards. Marleau and Couture were sitting on top of the crease to pounce on
the rebound. With Fleury on his stomach after making the save on Vlasic's shot,
he could only wave at Marleau's shot .
Game Notes:
The
Consol Energy Center lighting had issues to start the 2nd period, delaying the
game 20 minutes. Orpik would leave the game after injuring his hand trying to
block a shot.
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| PIT |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, PIT,
Kennedy 13 (Cooke, Engelland), 5:48. |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Couture 25 (Setoguchi, Demers), 3:01, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 3, SJ,
Marleau 23 (Heatley), 5:28. 4, PIT, Kennedy 14 (Staal, Cooke), 19:10. |
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| Overtime - 5, SJ,
Marleau 24 (Couture, Vlasic), 4:56. |
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| 1st period - Orpik, PIT
(hooking), 9:16; Engelland, PIT (cross checking), 17:21. |
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| 2nd period - Adams, PIT
(hooking), 1:31; Thornton, SJ (hooking), 10:23; Niskanen, PIT (tripping),
17:24. |
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| 3rd period - Setoguchi,
SJ (holding), 11:26. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
26 |
24 |
| PIT - Fleury |
38 |
35 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
11 |
9 |
14 |
4 |
38 |
| PIT |
6 |
9 |
8 |
3 |
26 |
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| Referees: McCreary,
Auger. Linesmen: Champoux, Devorski. |
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