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Oilers almost pull a fast one
on Sharks The joke's on SJ's special
teams
The Sharks looked downright foolish for long
stretches of their game with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. San Jose
overcame a horrific span that saw them surrender three straight goals to the
Oilers and comeback in the 3rd period to win 5-4. San Jose let a 2-goal lead
slip away, and had to battle back from their own deficit in the final 10
minutes of play to take a much needed 2 points in the standings. With 5 games
remaining in the regular season, the Sharks sit a point behind the Anaheim
Ducks, who have a pair of games in hand.
* With the playoffs looming,
San Jose has to overcome games like this one. The Oilers are second worst team
in the NHL, and should be ripe for the picking, but the Sharks found a way to
let the cellar dwellers hang around. The Oilers looked like world beaters for a
15 minute period, scoring at will.
* Andrew Desjardins opened the
game's scoring with his 3rd goal of the season 3:11 into the game. Desjardins
was the beneficiary of nice play by Tyler Kennedy who beat an Oilers defender
to a loose puck just inside the Edmonton blueline. Kennedy raced around the
right side and cut toward the net before sliding a pass to Desjardins in the
slot for the 15-foot deposit past Oilers goaltender Ben Scrivens.
*
The Oilers went on a shot binge, throwing 8 pucks on net before Tyler Hall beat
Antti Niemi with a long wrist shot from the topo of the left circle. The shot
was unscreened, but still eluded Niemi who had a good look at it. The goal was
Hall's 26th of the season, ringing off the left post.
* Dan Boyle put
the Sharks back on top with 4 minutes to play in the opening period. The
Defenseman took a blind backhand feed from Joe Thornton, then sent a 35-foot
shot from the high slot past Scrivens, beating the Oilers goaltender stick
side.
* Oilers defenseman Mark Fraser was sent off for hooking just 44
seconds into the 2nd period, setting up the Sharks 3rd goal. Tommy Wingels
pushed a loose puck across the goal line after a Brad Stuart shot hit the Oiler
goaltender.
* Brent Burns took exception to a hit by Fraser along the
Edmonton end boards on the next shift, inciting a heated discussion that
included some flailing hockey gloves. When the dust settled, the Oilers found
themselves on another power play after Fraser was issued 4 minutes for
roughing. Burns also received a deuce on the play to setup a 2-minute
man-advantage for San Jose.
*Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the first of
two goals on the night at 13:04 of the 2nd period. The young forward circled
around the right dot then snapped a shot that Niemi got a glove on, but
couldn't control. The Sharks still had a goal to play with, but that would be
short lived.
*Nugent-Hopkins appeared to scored his 2nd of the night
just 38 seconds later, when a Jordan Eberle pass from the right side found it's
way past Niemi. The puck actually hit Shark Justin Braun in the skate,
redirecting it into his own net for the 3-3 tie.
* There was no-doubt
that Nugent-Hopkins scored 6:16 into the 3rd period, sweeping a shot from the
right dot. Eberle tried stick-handling toward the bottom of the circle, but
lost the handle on the puck. Nugent-Hopkins was loitering in the area and was
first to reach it, sending his 18th goal of the season between Niemi's pads.
* Brent Burns tied the game midway through the 3rd
period by sending a Joe Thornton feed through Scrivens' 5-hole. Joe Pavelski
helped the Sharks retain possession in the right corner by kicking the puck to
Thornton who was skating toward the goal. The Sharks captain skated to the
outside of the right post, before sliding a pass to Burns on the far side for
the slam dunk.
* David Perron took a bad tripping penalty in the
offensive zone at 12:23 of the 3rd period, which gave the Sharks the
opportunity they needed to regain the lead. Joe Pavelski setup a scoring chance
by parking himself in front of Scrivens. Burns fired a shot that was screened
by Pavelski. The puck hit the netminder, then kicked out to the right side
where Patrick Marleau gobbled it up then sent a backhand chance into a wide
open net.
* The Sharks finished the evening 1-for-7 on the power
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 |
EDM |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
SJ |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
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1st period - 1, SJ,
Desjardins 3 (Kennedy, Demers), 3:11. 2, EDM, Hall 26 (Nugent-Hopkins, Eberle),
12:34, (pp). 3, SJ, Boyle 11 (Thornton), 15:54. |
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2nd period - 4, SJ,
Wingels 16 (Stuart, Braun), 2:45. 5, EDM, Nugent-Hopkins 17 (Belov, Hall),
13:05. 6, EDM, Eberle 25 (Klefbom, Nugent-Hopkins), 13:42. |
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3rd period - 7, EDM,
Nugent-Hopkins 18 (Eberle, Hall), 6:16. 8, SJ, Burns 22 (Thornton, Pavelski),
10:35. 9, SJ, Marleau 32 (Burns, Boyle), 12:31, (pp). |
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1st period - Demers, SJ
(tripping), 3:38; Perron, EDM (tripping), 7:59; Boyle, SJ (high sticking),
11:37; Nugent-Hopkins, EDM (slashing), 14:50; Burns, SJ (cross checking),
14:50; Lander, EDM (high sticking), 18:44. |
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2nd period - Fraser, EDM
(hooking), 0:44; Fraser, EDM (roughing), 3:42; Fraser, EDM (roughing), 3:42;
Burns, SJ (roughing), 3:42; Fraser, EDM (roughing), 14:49; Fraser, EDM
(fighting major), 14:49; Brown, SJ (fighting major), 14:49. |
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3rd period - Brown, SJ
(hooking), 3:16; Perron, EDM (tripping), 12:23; Perron, EDM (hooking),
16:06. |
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Shots |
Saves |
EDM - Scrivens |
33 |
28 |
SJ - Niemi |
29 |
25 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
EDM |
9 |
9 |
11 |
29 |
SJ |
6 |
17 |
10 |
33 |
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Referees:
Skilliter, Kowal. Linesmen: Gibbs, Grandt. |
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