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Sharks not so
fowl
San Jose breaks 4-game losing streak with wild
win over Ducks
From the "you have to walk before you run" approach
to hockey, the Sharks took a step in the right direction on Saturday night by
beating the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 at SAP Center. The Sharks stormed out to a 5-1
lead then had to hold as the Ducks fought back to within a goal of San Jose's
lead. The regulation win came against a division foe that also happens to be at
the top of the table in the Western Conference.
Based on the ways the
Sharks have played the last month, any win is a good win. The Sharks looked
like world beaters in the first 25 minutes of the game, then reverted back to
the apathy that has resulted in a pair of 4-game losing streaks this season.
It was like a light switch went off as soon as San Jose felt
comfortable with their big lead. Anaheim didn't curl up in to a corner, but
rather fought their way back as any top caliber team should be expected to do.
Logan Couture pounced on the Ducks after there were doubts that he'd
even play. Suffering from flu-like symptoms, Couture skipped the morning skate,
then skipped pucks past Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Couture
scored his 9th goal of the season 9:05 into the game, punching home a rebound
after he was leveled at the top of the crease. Tommy Wingels put a shot on net
that Andersen stopped but did not control. Couture popped to his feet after
Kyle Palmeri knocked him off his skates, located the rebound and quickly pushed
the puck into the wide open net.
The Ducks countered 2 minutes later,
when Mat Beleskey tipped a Hampus Lindholm shot past Antti Niemi.
Justin Braun put the Ducks on a power play after hastily lifting the puck over
the right wing glass. A Ryan Getzlaf pass back to Lindholm at the blueline
hopped over the Duck defenseman's stick, as Couture streaked past him. The
Sharks forward tipped the puck forward, evading a diving wave of Lindholm's
stick, before racing in on Andersen and slipping a shot past the netminder.
A high-sticking penalty to Jakob Silfverberg late in the period setup
a Joe Pavelski power play goal to push the Sharks lead to 3-1. Joe Thornton
gathered the puck in the right corner before pivoting back to the net and
sending a laser pass through the crease to Pavelski on the opposite post.
San Jose made it a 4-1 lead early in the 2nd period, when Wingels
tipped a Patrick Marleau shot from the point. Wingels sat parked in the slot,
forcing Marleau's shot to the right, crossing up Andersen.
A strong
forecheck by James Sheppard led to a Tomas Hertl goal at 6:09 of the period.
Pursuing the puck along the end boards, Sheppard forced Josh Manson to make a
weak pass from behind the Ducks net out to the left point. Hertl raced into the
zone, grabbing the loose puck before slicing through traffic in front of the
net and lifting a backhand shot over Andersen's glove hand.
The Sharks
held a 5-1 lead, but there still more than half a game to play. That was more
than enough time for Anaheim to start chipping away at San Jose's lead.
The Ducks started by pulling Andersen in favor of
Jason Laberbera who stopped all 15 shots he would face later in the contest.
Corey Perry made it a 5-2 game with 68 seconds left in the period, by
slipping past Sheppard on his way to the net and lifting a Getzlaf pass over
Niemi's left shoulder. Once Perry got past Sheppard, there was little the
sharks forward could do outside of sawing Perry in half with a slash.
The 2nd intermission should have been ample opportunity for the Sharks coaching
staff to remind the Sharks how precarious 3rd period leads have been for San
Jose. That message either wasn't given or it landed on deaf ears.
Perry took all of 29 seconds to score his 2nd goal of the game to open the 3rd
period, let a Getzlaf shot bounce off his pants and past Niemi.
Getzlaf got in to the scoring action himself 3 minutes later by lifting a shot
with the backhand past Niemi. The Sharks goaltender had made the save of the
game, moments earlier, but San Jose's defense seemed unmotivated to stop
Anaheim's offense. The Ducks circled around the Sharks net as San Jose's
defenders chased the puck.
Niemi made a series of circus saves later
in the period to preserve the Sharks lead. The netminder made a toe save on
Perry after the puck pin-balled out in front of the net.
Penalties
helped suppress the Ducks attack. Ryan Kesler's interference period at 12:02 of
the period killed a Ducks push. Manson's hooking penalty on Wingels with 2:24
left in the game sealed the outcome altogether.
Matt Nieto slipped a
puck into the empty net after the Ducks were forced to pull Labarbera.
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| ANA |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| SJ |
3 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Couture 9 (Wingels, Marleau), 9:05. 2, ANA, Belesky 11 (Lindholm, Smith-Pelly),
10:53. 3, SJ, Couture 10 (unassisted), 13:35, (sh). 4, SJ, Pavelski 10
(Thornton, Wingels), 19:46, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 5, SJ,
Wingels 7 (Marleau, Braun), 2:46. 6, SJ, Hertl 5 (Sheppard), 6:09. 7, ANA,
Perry 13 (Getzlaf, Vatanen), 18:52. |
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| 3rd period - 8, ANA,
Perry 14 (Getzlaf, Fowler), 0:29. 9, ANA, Getzlaf 7 (Perry), 4:20. 10, SJ,
Nieto 2 (Wingels), 19:10, (pp) (en). |
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| 1st period - Braun, SJ
(delay of game - puck over glass), 12:41; Silfverberg, ANA (high sticking),
18:51. |
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| 2nd period -
Smith-Pelly, ANA (roughing), 6:32; Belesky, ANA (roughing), 6:32; Sheppard, SJ
(boarding), 6:32; Sheppard, SJ (roughing), 6:32; Hertl, SJ (roughing), 6:32;
Brown, SJ (closing hand on puck), 9:37; Vatanen, ANA (interference), 14:04;
Scott, SJ (hooking), 16:27. |
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| 3rd period - Maroon, ANA
(roughing), 2:56; Brown, SJ (roughing), 2:56; Bourque, ANA (hooking), 6:30;
Brown, SJ (hooking), 10:13; Kesler, ANA (interference), 12:02; Manson, ANA
(hooking), 17:36. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| ANA - Andersen |
19 |
14 |
| ANA - Labarbera |
15 |
15 |
| ANA - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| SJ - Niemi |
34 |
30 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| ANA |
5 |
14 |
15 |
34 |
| SJ |
14 |
12 |
9 |
35 |
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| Referees: Morton,
LaRue. Linesmen: Sharrers, Cvik. |
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