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Red Wings force a Game
7 Sharks blow another 3rd period lead, allow 3
unanswered goals
San Jose was hoping for the improbable this spring,
and they partially fulfilled that wish on Tuesday night by handing Detroit a
third straight game, blowing their three games to none advantage in the series
to force a Game 7 on Thursday night. San Jose blew a 3rd period lead for the
second consecutive game, as Detroit scored three unanswered goals in the final
frame to take a 3-1 win at Joe Louis Arena.
San Jose tried to hold off
the Red Wings through two periods, and steal a win with a goal in the 3rd
period, but they couldn't defend against a rabid Red Wings attack that was
playing for their season. Now the Sharks find themselves in the same boat, as
the series finale will decide who moves on to the Conference Finals and the
Vancouver Canucks.
The game plan was the same as Game 5, and as a
result the outcome mirrored that loss. The Sharks had no jump through 40
minutes, passing on a chance to end the series. San Jose was out-shot in all
three periods.
Dan Boyle was called for a questionable holding penalty
at 3:59 of the opening period. San Jose killed the infraction, but not before
Dan Cleary sent a puck on net from the left corner that missed by inches.
Niklas Kronwall obliged the Sharks with a holding penalty at 14:19,
but Devin Setoguchi hooked Brad Stuart to even things out less than a minute
later.
Detroit out shot San Jose 18-6 in the period, largely fueled by
the imbalance in penalty calls against the Sharks.
Pavel Datysuk was
sent off for holding 4:35 into the 2nd period, then tried to bait Torrey
Mitchell by throwing a couple of punches. The two would earn roughing minors,
but the Sharks had the man-advantage.
San Jose failed to convert and
things got worse when Dan Cleary found himself with the puck and nobody between
him and Antti Niemi after serving one of Datyuk's minors. Cleary raced up ice
and deeked left on Niemi, but put the puck off the left post, keeping the game
scoreless.
Patrick Marleau finally got his name on the score sheet,
after he hit Mike Modano from behind, earning a boarding call at 10:39 of the
period. Tomas Holmstrom evened things up with a goaltender interference penalty
a minute later.
Logan Couture was shaken up midway through the period,
and headed for the locker room, where he stayed for the remainder of the
period. His return would prove important later in the 3rd.
Douglas
Murray got his stick under Todd Bertuzzi's skate with 50 seconds left in the
period, earning a 2 minute trip to the box for tripping. The Red Wings missed
on a pair of golden chances, but Niemi came up huge with highlight reel saves.
San Jose killed off the remainder of penalty to start the 3rd period,
then got the first break of the game. Logan Couture punched a puck that
squeeked through Jimmy Howard and trickled across the goal line. Jiri Hudler
tried to reach for the puck to clear it out of the net, but Mitchell tied him
up long enough to prevent any defensive heroics.
Jason Demers saved
the Sharks bacon with 11:15 to play after Henrik Zetterberg sent in a shot from
the left dot. The defenseman deflected the shot with the shaft of his stick, as
Niemi went with the double pad wave to try and deny the scoring chance.
Zetterberg answered at 10:38 by deflecting a shot by Kronwall. Valteri
Filppula fed the puck to Kronwall from the right corner as the Red Wings
defenseman skated in from the point. Kronwall uncorked a shot that Zetterberg
clipped, redirecting it past Niemi to tie the game at 1-1.
Fippula made it 2-1 Detroit 2 minutes later, tapping
home a perfect pass from Datsyuk as he drove to the net on the left side.
Devin Setoguchi had a great chance to pump a shot past Howard from the
left circle moments after Filppula's goal, but Howard made a big stop to keep
the Red Wings on top.
Justin Abdelkader put San Jose back on the power
play at 13:14 after holding Dan Boyle. San Jose's anemic power play failed on
their 4th and final chance, which eliminated their best chance at tying.
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan pulled Niemi with 1:30 left in
regulation, but Detroit was credited with an empty net goal even though he was
the sixth man on the ice. Helm intercepted a long pass in the neutral zone and
sent a long shot into the net.
McLellan protested the goal, but they
weren't going to take it back.
The game would end with tempers flaring
as the Red Wings took exception to the Sharks crashing the net around Howard.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
DET |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
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3rd period - 1, SJ,
Couture 3 (Heatley), 3:54. 2, DET, Zetterberg 2 (Kronwall, Filppula), 10:38. 3,
DET, Filppula 2 (Datsyuk), 12:32. 3, DET, Helm 3 (unassisted), 18:55,
(en). |
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1st period - Boyle, SJ
(holding), 13:59; Demers, SJ (elbowing), 11:13; Hudler, DET (holding), 11:13;
Kronwall, DET (holding), 14:19; Setoguchi, SJ (hooking), 14:51. |
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2nd period - Mitchell,
SJ (roughing), 4:35; Datsyuk, DET (holding), 4:35; Datsyuk, DET (roughing),
5:35; Marleau, SJ (boarding), 10:39; Holmstrom, DET (goaltender interference),
11:32; Murray, SJ (tripping), 19:10. |
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3rd period - Abdelkader,
DET (holding), 13:14. |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Niemi |
44 |
42 |
SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
DET - Howard |
25 |
24 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
6 |
7 |
12 |
45 |
DET |
18 |
14 |
13 |
25 |
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Referees: Devorski,
O'Rourke. Linesmen: Driscoll, Kovachik. |
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