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Season opens with a bang
Sharks score 6 goas in rout of Coyotes
10/8/11 - By Mike Lee -

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan spent all of training camp preaching about the importance of a fast start this season. If one game is any indication, his team took the advice to heart. San Jose treated its fans to an opening night scoring bonanza, pounding the visiting Phoenix Coyotes 6-3 at HP Pavilion on Saturday night. Joe Pavelski and Andrew Desjardins each scored a pair of goals to led the Sharks.

The Sharks rolled four offensive lines and were rewarded with scoring from each. Twelve different Sharks recorded points on a 52-shot night, one that Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith would just as soon forget. Smith surrendered all 6 goals, but was allowed to finish the game.

Feeding off the energy of an opening night home crowd, the Sharks jumped out to a 4-goal lead before the Coyotes knew what hit them.

Pavelski scored the first of his two goals 4:01 into the game on the power play after Taylor Pyatt was sent off for high sticking Michal Handzus. Pavleski tapped home a pretty feed from Patrick Marleau as he cut through the slot. Marleau floated a pass from the left corner as a Coyotes defender bore down on him.

Handzus added his first goal as a Shark four minutes later after tucking the puck inside the right post from behind the Coyotes net. Torrey Mitchell wound the puck around the end boards from the left side, before Handzus collected it and made it a 2-0 game.

With the puck spending most of the opening 20 minutes in the Coyotes end, Sharks goaltender Thomas Greiss saw little action. He would only face 4 shots in that opening period. The Sharks matched their shot output in the 2nd period, but were rewarded with twice as much scoring.

Derrick Morris put the Sharks on the power play 6:25 into the 2nd period, by boarding Pavelski. Ryane Clowe converted on the man-advantage with a pretty backhand shot from the high slot after collecting the puck on the left side, skating from left to right. The shot floated over Smith's right shoulder catching the top shelf.

Desjardins made the most of his limited time on the 4th line by stepping in front of a Laurie Korpikoski pass at center ice, then dancing in uncontested on Smith.

Shane Doan sent a one-time past Greiss at 12:16 of the period after Douglas Murray was whistled for holding the stick. Patrick Marleau had just stepped back onto the ice after taking a roughing infraction, so Doan's goal essentially came against three defenders.

Pavelski bagged his second goal of the game, and second on the power play, with 3:06 remaining in the period. With Rotislav Klesla in the box for holding, Dan Boyle sent a blast in on net from the point that Pavelski redirected from his perch in the slot.

Desjardins made it a 6-1 game with 1:18 left in the period by bouncing a shot off Smith's skate and into the goal. What made the goal so impressive , was that the second year player was knocked to the ice with what should have been called a boarding penalty. Desjardins regained his feet and control of the puck before snapping his shot on goal from a sever angle along the left goal line.

With the game on cruise control, penalty issues started to bite the Sharks. First Joe Thornton was sent off for holding the stick and Oliver Ekman-Larsson converted with a blast from the right dot.

Then Doan bagged his second of the night on another 5-on-3 chance. The Coyotes captain cranked a shot from the left side, hitting Greiss in the chest pad, deflecting the puck into the net.

Frustration with the evening's events began to mount late in the game for Phoenix. The Coyotes took exception with a hit by Clowe on Doan along the left wing boards with 4 minutes left in regulation. Several players tried to go after Clowe, but defenseman Colin White diffused the situation.

Game Notes:

Dan Rusanowsky called his 1,500th regular season game for the Sharks. Tommy Wingels recorded his first NHL point, when he earned the secondary assist on Clowe's goal.



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Scoring
1 2 3 T
PHO 0 1 2 3
SJ 2 4 0 6
1st period - 1, SJ, Pavelski 1 (Marleau, Burns), 4:01, (pp). 2, SJ, Handzus 1 (Mitchell, Demers), 8:23.
2nd period - 3, SJ, Clowe 1 (Couture, Wingels), 7:33. 4, SJ, Desjardins 1 (unassisted), 8:33. 5, PHO, Doan 1 (Vrbata, Yandle), 12:16, (pp). 6, SJ, Pavelski 2 (Boyle, Marleau), 16:54, (pp). 7, SJ, Desjardins 2 (Winchester), 18:42.
3rd period - 8, PHO, Ekman-Larsson 1 (Boedker, Langkow), 4:56, (pp). 9, PHO, Doan 2 (Yandle, Whitney), 10:25, (pp).
Penalties
1st period - Pyatt, PHO (high sticking), 3:47; Morris, PHO (holding), 6:10.
2nd period - Couture, SJ (hooking), 2:39; Morris, PHO (boarding), 6:25; Marleau, SJ (roughing), 10:04; Murray, SJ (holding the stick), 11:39; Klasla, PHO (holding), 15:34.
3rd period - Thornton, SJ (holding the stick), 3:09; Wingels, SJ (interference), 9:00; Desjardins, SJ (hooking), 9:41; Aucoin, PHO (holding), 12:22; Doan, PHO (roughing), 17:17; Clowe, SJ (boarding), 17:17; Clowe, SJ (roughing), 17:17; Yandle, PHO (tripping), 19:25.
Goaltending
Shots Saves
PHO - Smith 52 46
SJ - Greiss 29 26
Shots On Goal
1 2 3 T
PHO 4 14 11 29
SJ 19 19 14 52
Power Play Conversion
PHO 3 of 7
SJ 3 of 6
3 Stars of the Game
Andrew Desjardins
Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau
Attendence
17,562
Officials
Referees: StLaurent, Watson. Linesmen: Heyer, Lazarowich.
Holiday Gifts at BustedTees

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