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Sharks clinch 2nd seed with 3-1
win
Playoff opponent still unknown
If you wanted a little clarity concerning the
playoff picture, you're out of luck. Yes, the Sharks wrapped up the 2nd seed in
the Western Conference on Saturday night by knocking off the Phoenix Coyotes
3-1 in their regular season finale, but their opponent is still unclear. San
Jose did everything they needed to solidify their placement in the Stanley Cup
playoff race, but must wait until the outcome of Sunday's schedule to find out
who they will play.
The scenarios are a plenty, but all of that is out
of the Sharks control now. They must wait and see. Saturday night's affair was
in their control and they took more initiative in setting their place in the
final regular season standings.
The Sharks received scoring from an
unlikely source and pair of reliable forwards to the delight of a sellout crowd
at HP Pavilion. The power play was the top of its game and San Jose's power
play even got in on the act.
Who the Sharks play all comes down to
what the Chicago Blackhawks do on Sunday. If the Blackhawks win in regulation
or overtime, the Sharks will square off against the Coyotes. If Chicago wins in
a shootout, they will play the Nashville Predators.
If Chicago loses
in overtime or in a shootout, San Jose will face those same Blackhawks. If the
Blackhawks lose in regulation, the Sharks will play the Los Angeles Kings. All
of this has to have the video coordinator pulling his hair out, as the Sharks
attempt to prepare for their first round opponent.
"Going into the
playoffs were all excited about it," said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. "I
think there is less talk, less hype about our team, which will help us. We like
where we're at. It's up to us now to get ready and be prepared."
Should that opponent turn out to be Phoenix, San Jose can lean on many of the
same habits that led to a 5-1-0 record against the Coyotes this season. One
thing they'll be able to take to the bank is that coasting against the Coyotes
isn't going to get the job done. After losing to Phoenix on Friday night, the
Sharks returned to the bread and butter style of play that made them so
dominant over the Coyotes this season.
San Jose turned in a much
better opening 20 minutes than the period that opened their loss on Friday
night. They took the initiative with the puck in order to set the tone, and
only a pair of penalties would stall things on the offensive side of the puck.
The good news is that the penalty killing was perfect. It helped that
they were matched up against the league's 23rd ranked power play, but San Jose
will take any positive they can when it comes to killing penalties.
The Sharks took control of the game in the 2nd period, scoring a pair of goals,
which took much of the pressure off the need to win.
Ian White scored
his 4th goal of the season and second in as many nights at 7:11 of the period.
The Sharks controlled the puck in the Phoenix zone for an eternity, courtesy of
a strong forecheck. You could feel the pressure mounting on the Coyotes
defense, and things would come to a head when White sent a shot from the
blueline past Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
"We had the puck on
the wall two or three times and we couldn't get it out," said Coyotes head
coach Dave Tippett. "Then the shot just gets thrown to the net. It has eyes and
finds a way in through a maze of players. Those are wall battles that we have
to win."
Martin Hanzal's roughing penalty at 17:59, put the Sharks in
position to extend their lead late in the period. Joe Pavelski took a short
feed from Joe Thornton just outside the right post and lifted a shot past
Bryzgalov from 8 feet out. Thornton made the goal happen with some nifty puck
handling behind the Coyotes net as defenseman Ed Jovanovski go turned around
after losing his stick.
The goal would give Pavelski his 20th goal of
the season, the third consecutive time he's hit the 20-goal plateau.
Lauri Korpikoski made things interesting 8:36 into the
3rd period when he blocked a Jason Demers shot in the Phoenix zone, then raced
past the Sharks defenseman to score a breakaway goal. Korpikoski was home free
after deflecting the puck past his own blueline. The Coyotes winger raced up
the left side and roofed a shot over Antii Niemi's left shoulder to cut the
Sharks lead to 2-1.
Jovanovski sealed the Coyotes fate when he took at
tripping penalty with 3 minutes left in regulation. Logan Couture bagged his
32nd goal of the season on the ensuing power play. Dany Heatley sent a feed to
the slot from behind the net, that Couture one timed on net. Bryzgalov made the
initial save, but the rebound landed right between Keith Yandle's skates at the
top of the crease. Yandle was too slow to get his stick on the puck, as Couture
reached around the defenseman and wristed home the insurance the Sharks needed.
Bryzgalov threw his stick over his right shoulder at the end board
glass in disgust.
"We felt like we were getting some chances and not
getting anything off of it," added Tippett. "Then when you give up a couple
like that you feel like you are treading uphill or treading upstream. We
battled hard, we just couldn't find the puck around the net when we needed it."
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| PHO |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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| 2nd period - 1, SJ,
White 4 (Mitchell, Wellwood), 7:11. 2, SJ, Pavelski 20 (Thornton, Marleau),
18:37, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 3, PHO,
Korpikoski 19 (unassisted), 8:36. 4, SJ, Couture 32 (Heatley, Wellwood), 18:29,
(pp). |
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| 1st period - Mayers, SJ
(high sticking), 2:31; Rozsival, PHO (boarding), 12:46; Thornton, SJ (cross
checking), 14:12; Hanzal, PHO (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00; Thornton, SJ
(unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00. |
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| 2nd period - White, SJ
(delay of game - puck over glass), 11:32; Hanzal, PHO (roughing), 17:59;
Wallin, SJ (cross checking), 19:44. |
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| 3rd period - Turris, PHO
(roughing), 15:56; Marleau, SJ (cross checking), 15:56; Jovanovski, PHO
(tripping), 17:00. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| PHO - Bryzgalov |
37 |
34 |
| SJ - Niemi |
36 |
35 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| PHO |
9 |
14 |
13 |
36 |
| SJ |
12 |
13 |
12 |
37 |
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| Referees:
O'Halloran, Peel. Linesmen: Lazarowich, Schachte. |
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