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Sharks hang on in
Jersey
San Jose allows late surge by Devils but wins
4-2
The Sharks were not very accommodating guests on
Saturday night. With the New Jersey Devils hosting their home opener at the
Prudential Center in Newark, the Sharks were supposed to all the home crowd to
celebrate the start of the 2014-15 NHL season with a Devils victory. San Jose
apparently didn't get the script. At least not until the 3rd period, when
another defensive lapse almost allowed the Devils to claw their way back from a
3-0 deficit.
The Devils drew within 3-2 late before an empty net goal
by Joe Thornton settled things. San Jose escaped with a 4-2 win, having
recorded points in all 5 games they've played in this season. The win also got
the Sharks back in the win column after dropping their first game on Long
Island on Thursday night in a shootout.
San Jose continued their
dominance in the opening period, outscoring their opponent, but that 3rd period
continues to be a sore subject for the Sharks. The Devils scored a pair of
goals in the final 20 minutes after San Jose had built what seemed like a
comfortable lead, turning what appeared to be a blow out into a one-goal game
with enough time for New Jersey to challenge the Sharks..
The Sharks
showed a little feistiness early in the game when league irritant Jordan Tootoo
took out Adam Burish with an open ice hit as the Sharks forward tried skating
down a loose puck. Andrew Desjardins didn't waste any time going after Tootoo
and locking up in a spirited scrap.
If the Sharks are going to prove
to themselves that this is a team, actions like Desjardins need to be the rule
rather than the exception.
San Jose scored the game's first goal late
in the opening period on a power play tally by Joe Pavelski. The Sharks strung
together a series of passes that sent the puck on a tour of the right corner of
the rink before Logan Couture put a shot on Devils goaltender Cory Schenider.
The shot bounced off Schneider's left pad, but it kicked out to Pavelski in the
slot for the quick put back. San Jose was on the power play after Jon Merrill
cross checked Couture into the corner boards.
Travis Zajac just missed
on a turnover in front of the Sharks net, but Niemi stepped in front of a shot
that lifted over Niemi's right shoulder.
A Scott Hannan hooking
penalty midway through the 2nd period setup a dicey situation for San Jose, but
once again, Niemi diffused the situation. Adam Burish almost turned the tables
on New Jersey when a puck deflected out of the Sharks zone, setting up a
breakaway for the Sharks forward. Schneider denied Burish to keep the game
within a goal.
Schneider couldn't stop Logan Couture however, who
bagged his 1st goal of the season, netting a shot off the power play. Mike
Cammalleri put the Sharks on the man advantage after slashing Patrick Marleau's
stick to the ice. Couture slipped into the slot and snapped a shot from 15 feet
ot between three Devils defenders after taking a pass from Marleau who was
floating near the right corner. The goal came at almost the identical time of
the period as Pavelski's goal 20 minutes earlier.
Marleau made it a
3-0 game 1:36 into the 3rd period by firing a shot on net from the high slot.
The puck slipped through Schneider's 5-hole and seemed to evade everyone in the
rink. The goal was Marleau's 4th of the season.
Mike Cammalleri finally got to Niemi with a shot from
the right dot at the 8:00 mark. San Jose let down their guard as the Devils
crossed the blueline and allowed New Jersey to move the puck laterally on the
rush.
Adam Henrique made it a 3-2 game with just under 8 minutes left
in regulation, and the doubts began to mount. San Jose blew 3rd period leads in
D.C. and Long Island earlier this week. Another goal and San Jose would have
squandered leads late in their third consecutive game.
Niemi had to
make a dangerous save on Henrique moments later after the Devils forward
chipped a Jaromir Jagr pass on net after slipping past the Sharks defense with
6:30 to play.
Tommy Wingels picked off a puck at center ice then raced
up ice on a breakaway before being tripped up from behind. San Jose missed out
on the chance to re-establish some buffer when Wingels put this ensuing penalty
shot into Schneider's mid-section to keep the game at 3-2.
Thornton
tied Dino Ciccarelli for 49th on the all-time scoring list, with an empty
netter late to seal the victory for San Jose.
Game
Notes:
* Brent Burns became the first Sharks defenseman to start a
season with a 5 game point streak.
* The Sharks have outscored their
opponents 7-0 in the 1st period through 5 games this season. They've been
outscored 6-4 in the 3rd period over that same span.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| NJD |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Pavelski 2 (Couture, Burns), 17:53, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Couture 1 (Marleau, Pavelski), 17:52, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 3, SJ,
Marleau 4 (Couture, Braun), 1:36. 4, NJ, Cammalleri 5 (Jagr, Greene), 8:00. 5,
NJ, Henrique 2 (Ryder, Merrill), 12:10. Wingels, SJ (unsuccessful penalty
shot), 16:16. 6, SJ, Thornton 1 (Pavelski), 18:46, (en). |
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| 1st period - SJ,
Desjardins (fighting major), 5:07; Tootoo, NJ (interference), 5:07; Tootoo, NJ
(fighting major), 5:07; Braun, SJ (hooking), 10:57; Merrill. NJ (interference),
16:54. |
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| 2nd period - Thornton,
SJ (hooking), 0:33; Jagr, NJ (interference), 3:29; Hannan, SJ (hooking),
9:49. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
37 |
35 |
| NJ - Schnieder |
32 |
28 |
| NJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
9 |
14 |
9 |
32 |
| NJD |
8 |
15 |
14 |
37 |
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| Referees: St
Pierre, Sutherland. Linesmen: Morin, Murchison. |
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