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Sharks take 8th road win in
February
Clowe's big night helps Shark set
record
The Sharks set a franchise record for most road
wins in a month, by beating the Calgary Flames 4-3 in a shootout on Friday
night in Alberta. Ryane Clowe atoned for bad four minute penalty earlier in the
game by scoring the only goal in the shootout as San Jose won for the 8th time
away from HP Pavilion this month. On top of the shootout winner, Clowe scored
his 18th goal of the season late in regulation, as well as a two punch decision
over Tim Jackman.
Clowe’s heroics would help San Jose close out
the month with an 11-2-0 record, jettisoning them into the Pacific Division
lead. The Sharks also find themselves just 2 points behind the Detroit Red
Wings for the 2nd spot in the Western Conference.
The Flames were
17-5-5 in their last 27 games, but even with that red hot record Calgary sat in
the 10th spot in the Western Conference standings entering Friday night’s
game.
San Jose would draw first blood, when Devin Setoguchi punched
home his own rebound 3:34 into the game. Logan Couture fed the Sharks forward
in the slot, before Setoguchi put a shot on Miikka Kiprusoff from 8 feet out.
Kiprusoff made the initial save, but Setoguchi kept his nose down as he drove
to the net to get his stick on the puck for the follow-up shot.
The
goal was Setoguchi’s 11th in his last 14 games, and his 18th of the
season.
The Sharks were cruising along through the remainder of the
period, holding the Flames to a single shot on goal through the first 11
minutes of the game. The defense became a little complacent at the end of the
period and it would cost the Sharks.
Anton Babchuk would tie the game
late in the period, on a routine shot from the high slot that fooled Sharks
netminder Antti Niemi. Babchuk entered the Sharks zone surrounded by three
Shark defenders who failed to collapse on the Flame. He fired a long shot that
sailed over Niemi’s right shoulder for his 10th goal of the season.
The Sharks were jobbed with 3.3 seconds left in the period when a
would be goal by Niklas Wallin was waived off after referee Kyle Rehman lost
sight of the puck and whistled the play dead. Ben Eager pumped a shot on net
that Kiprusoff clearly dropped. As the puck sat clearly next to the Flames
netminder, Wallin crashed in on net and swept the puck home, but Rehman was
positioned on the opposite side of the netminder and couldn’t see the
puck.
San Jose would reclaim the lead at 9:37 of the 2nd period on a
feed from Jamal Mayers. Joe Pavelski fired a shot on goal from the right side
that Kiprusoff kicked back out to the top of the right circle. Mayers scooped
up the big rebound then centered the puck to the slot where Wellwood was parked
for the shot from the Flames doorstep. Kiprusoff made the initial save on
Wellwood, but couldn’t control the putback.
Rene Bourque just
missed re-tying the game after his one-time chance from the left side was
stopped by Niemi. The Flames forward cut through the slot as a pass hit him in
stride for a prime scoring chance.
Calgary would re-ty the game two
minutes later when David Moss cranked a shot from the top of the right circle.
The Flames carried the puck up ice on a breakout with speed. Olli Jokinen hit
Moss with a pass at the Sharks blueline, before the Flames forward uncorked his
14th goal of the season.
Niklas Hagman would give Calgary the lead
with 2:30 to play in the period, after he undressed Wallin with a move in the
slot. The Flames forward took a drop pass from Brendan Morrison then drew the
puck from his right to his left after faking out Wallin. Hagman would finish
off the play by lifting a shot over Niemi’s right shoulder for his 10th
goal of the season.
Clowe would make matters worse by taking a holding
penalty with 42.3 seconds before the 2nd intermission, then earned an extra two
minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct after barking at referee Kevin Pollack.
With Calgary’s potent power play armed with a 4
minute power play the Sharks had to pin their ears back and weather the storm.
They would kill off the lengthy power play by limiting the Flames to a single
shot on goal.
San Jose would fare no better on the power play after
Robyn Regher was sent off for high sticking Torrey Mitchell. The Sharks would
fail to generate a single shot on goal during the man-advantage. A Matt Stajan
slashing penalty would put the Sharks right back on the power play, but San
Jose would do little with the opportunity.
Dany Heatley would uncork a
20 foot shot from the slot with 6:24 remaining in regulation, but Kiprusoff
snuffed out the chance by swallowing up the shot. Kiprusoff would come up even
bigger on Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the backend of sequence that saw the Sharks
put 4 shots on net within a three second span. Kiprusoff was forced to dive
across the top of the crease to keep Vlasic’s 12 foot shot out of the
Calgary net.
Clowe would tie the game with 2:34 left in regulation
after a ferocious push by the Sharks late. Patrick Marleau sent a pass to the
slot from the right corner that Clowe one-timed past Kiprusoff for the dramatic
equalizer.
In the overtime period, San Jose was the aggressor.
Pavelski had a great chance to end things when his backhand chance was turned
aside b Kiprusoff. Setoguchi would follow that up with another backhand chance
that hit the side of the Flames net.
In the shootout, the sharks went
first and immediately flubbed when Wellwood lost the puck on his way to the net
and Kiprusoff poke checked it clear. Rene Bourque pump a shot that Niemi would
stop. Paelski would miss the net with a snap shot from 8 feet out. Alex Tanguay
also tried a snap shot that Niemi controlled.
Clowe fooled everyone
including Kiprusoff by abandoning his patented backhand moveand scoring with a
deek to the forehand. Jokinen would swing wide right then try lifting a shot
over Niemi’s right pad, but the sharks netminder would stone his
countryman to end it.
Game Notes:
Defenseman Dan Boyle
missed his first game of the year after he suffered an upper-body injury in
Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
SO |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| CGY |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1,
Setoguchi 18 (Couture), 3:34. 2, CGY, Babchuk 10 (Staios), 18:05. |
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| 2nd period - 3, SJ,
Wellwood 3 (Mayers, Pavelski), 9:37. 4, CGY, Moss 14 (Jokinen), 15:54. 5, CGY,
Hagman 10 (Morison, Tanguay), 17:30. |
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| 3rd period - 6, SJ,
Clowe 18 (Marleau, Heatley), 17:26. |
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| Shootout - SJ: Wellwood
(miss), Pavelski (miss), Clowe (goal). CGYJ: Bourque (miss), Tanguay (miss),
Jokinen (miss). |
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| 1st period - Eager, SJ
(fighting major), 2:07; Jackman, CGY (fighting major), 2:07; White, SJ
(hooking), 3:43. |
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| 2nd period - Clowe, SJ
(fighting major), 9:44; Jackman, CGY (fighting major), 9:44; Clowe, SJ
(holding), 19:17; Clowe, SJ (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:17. |
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| 3rd period - Regehr, CGY
(high sticking), 4:03; Stajan, CGY (slashing), 6:21. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
24 |
21 |
| CGY - Kiprusoff |
33 |
30 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
10 |
11 |
2 |
33 |
| CGY |
9 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
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| Referees: Pollock,
Rehman. Linesmen: Galloway, Schachte. |
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