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1st period dooms SJ in
Chi-town
Sharks dig their own grave early
Playing on a 7-game road can be taxing, but throw
in games on back-to-back nights and you have the recipe for some lackluster
hockey. Skating less than 24 hours after their energetic 3rd period comeback in
Dallas on Saturday night, the Sharks sputtered in Chicago, losing 5-2 to the
Blackhawks at the United Center. San Jose allowed Chicago to administer a
3-goal body blow in the opening period, which provide to be too much to
overcome.
One team was more focused than the other, and rest appeared
to play a big role in the outcome of the game. That focus, or lack of, across a
span of 3:32 essentially defined the game.
Continuing with their long
standing tradition of surrendering a player's 1st career NHL goal, San Jose
lost a draw to Jonathan Toews, who pulled the puck back to Trevor Van Riemsdyk
at the right point. Van Riemsdyk ripped a shot that used traffic in front of
the net to mask the drive. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi didn't see the blast
as it sailed past him for the 1-0 Blackhawks lead.
Brent Seabrook
converted 130 seconds later, pumping a shot from the blueline that deflected
off Andrew Desjardins skate. There wasn't much Niemi could do after the puck's
trajectory changed on him.
The wheels fell off when Chicago converted
a third blast from a defenseman just 24 seconds later. Niklas Hjalmarsson
pumped another shot from the right point that evaded Niemi, and Chicago had
built a 3-0 lead before the Sharks knew what hit them.
Joe Pavelski
helped cut into the Blackhawks lead with a goal at 15:32. Justin Braun fired a
shot from, you guessed it, the right point. Pavelski was lurking in front of
the Chicago net, and got a piece of Braun's shot with the shaft of his stick.
The puck then flipped end-over-end past Blackhawks goaltender Correy Crawford
for his 6th goal of the season.
The goal was created by traffic in
front of the net, which San Jose could use a little more of. The net presence
is typically an afterthought in the San Jose offense, which Chicago utilized
extremely well on this night.
San Jose won the middle period with
Pavelski's 2nd tally of the evening. Chicago presented the Sharks with a golden
opportunity to get back into the game when Andrew Shaw was sent off with a high
sticking double minor after he cut Joe Thornton across the bridge of the nose.
Pavelski cashed in within the first two minutes of the infraction by one-timing
a Thornton feed from the right side.
San Jose failed to score during
the second half of the Shaw penalty, but San Jose was at least positioned to
make a run in the 3rd period on Chicago's lead.
The 3rd period would not turn out to be the encore of
the previous evening's game in Dallas, as San Jose traded chances tit-for-tat.
Bryan Bickell put the game out of reach with 4:42 to play, taking
advantage of rookie defenseman Mirco Mueller on a live-and-learn play. Bickell
carried the puck around the back of the net, floating out from the left post.
Mueller was positioned between Bickell and the goal, but he allowed enough
space for Bickell to pivot and lift a shot over Niemi's right shoulder.
Now down by 2 goals, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan pulled Niemi,
which just allowed the Blackhawks to pad their stats. A half-hearted exit from
the defensive zone by San Jose landed on Duncan Keith's stick. Two passes
later, and Jonathan Toews was firing a shot from the lucrative right point that
easily found the undefended goal.
Kris Versteeg took the liberty of
slashing Marc-Edouard Vlasic as Toews was sending the puck to the net, which
Vlasic took exception to. The pair tangled at the blueline, earning fighting
majors for one of the more uneventful scraps of the season.
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| CHI |
3 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
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| 1st period - 1, CHI, Van
Riemsdyk 1 (Toews), 12:00. 2, CHI, Seabrook 3 (Richards, Regin), 14:10. 3, CHI,
Hjalmarsson 1 (Hossa, Krueger), 14:34. 4, SJ, Pavelski 6 (Braun, Thornton),
15:32. |
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| 2nd period - 5, SJ,
Pavelski 7 (Thornton, Marleau), 4:51, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 6, CHI,
Bickell 2 (Oduya, Saad), 15:18. 7, CHI, Toews 6 (Kane, Keith), 18:03,
(en). |
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| 2nd period - Shaw, CHI
(high sticking - double minor), 2:57. |
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| 3rd period - Demers, SJ
(high sticking), 4:57; RUndblad, CHI (holding), 9:06; Vlasic, SJ (roughing),
18:03; Vlasic, SJ (fighting major), 18:03; Versteeg, CHI (slashing), 18:03;
Versteeg, CHI (fighting major), 18:03; Burish, SJ (roughing), 18:26; Burish, SJ
(fighting major), 18:26; Morin, CHI (fighting major), 18:26; Burns, SJ
(tripping), 18:59; Hannan, SJ (boarding), 19:04. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
36 |
32 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| CHI - Crawford |
34 |
32 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
9 |
13 |
12 |
34 |
| CHI |
20 |
6 |
11 |
37 |
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| Referees: Pochmara,
Sutherland. Linesmen: Cherrey, Gibbs. |
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