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Sharks keep rolling with
comeback over Ducks
SJ hit 100 point mark with 4-2
win
The Pacific Division parade continued on Saturday
night for the Sharks as they close out the regular season. San Jose slept
through the opening 20 minutes against the visiting Anaheim Ducks, then stormed
back from a 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals en route to a 4-2 win. Devin
Setoguchi pumped home a power play goal with just over 5 minutes remaining in
regulation to give the Sharks their 7th win in the last 8 games.
With
the Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes within 3 points of the Sharks
division lead and Anaheim another 3 points behind them, coasting to the end of
the regular season could land San Jose anywhere from a 2nd seed to the 8th spot
in the playoffs. Anaheim entered the game with an 8-2-0 record in their last 10
games and eager to move up from their 7th spot in the standings.
Not
only did they win the game in regulation, denying Anaheim from gaining any
ground on any of the six teams ahead of them, but the Sharks also hopped back
over the Detroit Red Wings into the 2nd seed. San Jose also eclipsed the
100-point mark with the win.
What made the win most impressive was the
methodical comeback the Sharks engineered after falling behind in the opening
period.
The Ducks got the start they wanted, scoring early in the game
on Bobby Ryan's 34th goal of the season. Anaheim took advantage of a defensive
miscue after Devin Setoguchi and Jason Demers failed to keep the front of their
own net covered. Corey Perry saw the opening and snapped a pass fro the left
corner to Ryan on the doorstep for an easy tap in.
San Jose would only
muster two shots on goal through the first 11 minutes of the contest, partly
due to a pair of Sharks penalties.
The latter would cost the Sharks,
when Lubomir Visnovsky pumped a shot past Antti Niemi from the left point at
11:15 of the period. San Jose was down a man because Dan Boyle allowed a Ducks
forward Teemu Selanne to slip past him, forcing the Sharks defenseman to take a
hooking penalty.
The goal would also snap the Sharks modest streak of
six straight penalties killed. That streak was something the Sharks have been
trying to build after their penalty kill ranking slipped to 24th in the league.
Dany Heatley cut the Ducks lead in half 2:01 into the 2nd period,
sliding a shot from the slot past Ray Emery. The Sharks sniper carried a puck
in on net from the left corner, and tried to slip a pass to Joe Pavelski on the
doorstep. The puck never got there, but it was deflected back to Heatley for
the scoring chance. He would convert his 25th goal of the season.
The
Sharks took advantage of some misfortune to the Ducks, after Ryan was hit in
the face by a deflected puck in front of the Anaheim net. With Ryan laid out
behind the net, Setoguchi gathered in the puck and fed Patrick Marleau at the
top of the crease. Marleau drew the puck to his right and slipped it past Emery
for his 36th goal of the season.
Setoguchi missed on a golden chance 9
minutes into the 3rd period, pushing a one time blast wide left after Joe
Thornton stripped Sheldon Brookbank of the puck in the Ducks zone. There was
nothing between Setoguchi and Emery, but the puck rode up on him just as he was
uncorking the shot.
Logan Couture followed that chance with a nice
backhand shot two minutes later that bounced off Emery's chest before being
swept safely out of the zone.
The Ducks lost Visnovsky with 8 minutes
to play when Douglas Murray finished a check on the defenseman then forced him
awkwardly into the side boards. The hit was on of nine that Murray would dole
out during the evening, tying a club record.
Anaheim put a shot off
the left post that would then deflect into Niemi.
Jason Blake took
exception to a check behind the Sharks net and made it a point to hunt down a
Shark. He would earn a trip to the box for his efforts after he hooked Heatley
as the Sharks were pressing on the Anaheim net.
The Sharks 3rd ranked
power play took advantage of Blake's infraction, scoring a minute into the
man-advantage. Setoguchi sent a one-timer past Emery from the left dot, after
exchanging passes with Boyle. Joe Thornton parked himself in front of the Ducks
net, blinding Emery from the big blast.
Anaheim pulled Emery with 1:10
left in regulation, but the Sharks finished things off with an empty-netter by
Marleau.
Things got testy with 4 ticks left on the clock when George
Parros tried to take a couple of whacks at Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks on
the ice responded by swarming the Ducks enforcer. Jarkko Ruutu made the mistake
of trying to tie up Ben Eager, who responded with a fist that snapped the
winger's head back.
Carlyle stormed off the ice in disgust shouting
profanities at Murray. The Ducks head coach appeared to be miffed at the Sharks
defenseman for his hit on Visnovsky.
The victory gave McLellan his
150th win in his first three seasons as an NHL bench boss. Mike Keenan holds
the record for wins in that span with 152.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| ANA |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, ANA,
Ryan 34 (Perry, Getzlaf), 3:21. 2, ANA, Visnovsky (Fowler, Perry), 11:15,
(pp). |
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| 2nd period - 3, SJ,
Heatley 25 (Clowe, Murray), 2:01. 4, SJ, Marleau 36 (Setoguchi, Boyle),
12:45. |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Setoguchi 21 (Boyle, Marleau), 14:39, (pp). 6, SJ, Marleau 37 (Pavelski,
Setoguchi), 19:19, (en). |
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| 1st period - Desjardins,
SJ (high sticking), 5:12; Boyle, SJ (hooking), 10:49. |
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| 2nd period - Setoguchi,
SJ (tripping), 3:21. |
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| 3rd period - Blake, ANA
(hooking), 13:38; Parros, ANA (10 min misconduct), 19:55; Ruutu, ANA (10 min
misconduct), 19:55; Mayers, SJ (roughing), 19:55; Eager, SJ (10 min
misconduct), 19:55. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| ANA - Emery |
32 |
30 |
| ANA - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| SJ - Niemi |
22 |
20 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| ANA |
7 |
10 |
5 |
22 |
| SJ |
6 |
13 |
14 |
33 |
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| Referees: Lee,
Walkom. Linesmen: Heyer, Pancich. |
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