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Back to back wins gets Sharks
back on track Niemi stops 37 shots in 4-2 win over
Bruins
Long road trips always seem to be the salve the Sharks
need when theyre playing poorly, but playing on back-to-back nights
against a red hot New Jersey Devils team and the defending Stanley Cup Champion
Boston Bruins isnt exactly a scheduling gimmee for San Jose. After coming
back against the Devils 24 hours earlier, the Sharks were forced to fend off
the Bruins in a wild night at the RD Center in Boston. Antti Niemi was up to
the challenge, stopping 37 shots to help San Jose knock off the host Bruins
4-2.
San Jose controlled the tempo most of the evening, and chipped
away at Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas. They had things in order until the 3rd
period, when some questionable defensive moves allowed Boston to tie the game
with 16:48 to play.
San Jose got off to a fast start, with Joe
Pavelski rifling a shot over Thomas left shoulder 1:12 into the contest.
Joe Thornton picked Andrew Ferences pocket along the left wing boards,
then slid a pass along the Boston blueline as Pavelski raced into the Bruins
zone. The hero from San Joses come-from-behind win in New Jersey a day
earlier, gathered Thorntons feed and snapped a shot from between the
circles.
Second year forward Tyler Seguin just missed tying the game
midway through the period when his point blank shot rang off the right post.
Zdeno Chara was sent off for interference at 11:12 of the period after
taking out Thornton in the Sharks zone. San Jose had a couple of good looks at
the net, but nothing got past Thomas to keep the Sharks lead limited to a
single goal.
Antti Niemi came up big with 6 minutes left in the
period, stopping a 2-on-1 break. Nathan Horton intercepted a pass in the
defensive zone before skating up ice with linemate Benoit Pouliot. Horton
elected to keep the puck and shoot, but Niemi denied him.
Logan
Couture finally recorded his 1st goal of the season, 8:54 into the 2nd period.
The second-year centerman roofed a wrist-shot from the slot after Martin Havlat
dug a puck off the end boards and sent a back-hand feed out to the front of the
Bruins net.
Jim Vandermeer and Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves 2
minutes later, but a loose sweater strap ended the affair early.
Boston missed on another 2-on-1 chance with less than 3 minutes remaining in
the period, when Daniel Paille put a shot wide left of the net after he and
Patrice Bergeron raced up ice.
Niemi gloved a Seguin snap shot from
the high slot a minute into the 3rd period, but it was beginning of a series of
pucks that would find their way to the sharks netminder.
Niemi cost
his team moments later after trying to play a puck behind his own net. A
pin-balling puck would skitter along the goal line, before Milan Lucic punched
it home.
The same line converted 29 seconds later after Dan Bole and
Douglas Murray crossed each other up, springing Lucic and Seguin. The mistake
resulted in a 2-on-1 break up the gut that allowed Lucic to setup Seguin with a
diagonal pass through the slot. Seguin slammed the pass past Niemi, who had no
chance on the play.
Benn Ferriero put the Sharks back on top at 8:48 of
the period, corralling a deflection off Thomas at the top of the crease then
sweeping it into a wide open net. Thomas floated outside of his crease to
cut-off a shot from the point. He failed to get a glove on the puck as Ferriero
tried to create some traffic in front of the Bruins netminder.
Niemi
made the save of the game a minute later after Justin Braun tripped at his own
blueline setting up another odd-man rush for Boston. The Bruins had two players
down low, and almost capitalized when Horton slid a pass to the slot. The puck
landed on Chris Kellys stick at the Sharks doorstep, but Niemi slid to
his left to shut the door and preserve the one-goal lead.
San Jose
went into prevent mode with 5 minutes to play, content with dumping the puck
out of their own end. Boston turned up the intensity in search of the tying
goal. They pulled Thomas with a minute to play, but couldnt get the puck
past Niemi.
Patrick Marleau scored his 1st goal of the season via an
empty-net tally to seal the deal with 5 seconds to play.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
BOS |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
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1st period - 1, SJ,
Pavelski 4 (Thornton), 1:12. |
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2nd period - 2, SJ,
Couture 1 (Havlat, Clowe), 8:54. |
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3rd period - 3, BOS,
Lucic 2 (Kelly, Bergeron), 2:43. 4, BOS, Seguin 3 (Lucic, Kelly), 3:12. 5, SJ,
Ferriero 1 (McGinn, Vandermeer), 8:48. 6, SJ, Marleau 1 (Pavelski), 19:55,
(en). |
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1st period - Desjardins,
SJ (boarding), 2:08; Chara, BOS, (interference), 11:12. |
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2nd period - Bench, SJ
(too many men), 2:48; Vandermeer, SJ (fighting major), 11:23; Thornton, BOS
(fighting major), 11:23. |
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Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Niemi |
39 |
37 |
BOS - Thomas |
29 |
26 |
BOS - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
10 |
11 |
9 |
30 |
BOS |
14 |
9 |
16 |
39 |
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Referees:
Sutherland, L'Ecuyer. Linesmen: Cormier, Nansen. |
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