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Too many lows offset highs in
loss
Sharks drop 5-4 decision to Edmonton in
shootout
All the glow of beating LA, Anaheim and Chicago in
consecutive games is gone. The Sharks gagged up all those accomplishments by
losing to the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in a shootout that can only be described as
bewildering. 12 of 13 Shark shooters failed to get the puck past Oilers
goaltender Viktor Fasth in an embarrassing display of puck control and
shooting.
We'll hear that the Oilers are an NHL team and have a
skilled lineup, but the fact is, the Oilers don't win on the road. They had
been victorious in 4 of 26 attempts away from Edmonton this season. Make that 5
victories now, after San Jose allowed the Oilers to put 4 pucks past Antti
Niemi on 40 shots through 65 minutes.
How a team as poor as Edmonton
is putting 40 shots on net, begs the question of what the defensive game plan
was? Edmonton opened the game with 16 shots alone in the opening 20 minutes.
They parlayed 12 shots in the 2nd period into a pair of goals that staked them
to a 3-1 lead. If not for a wild flurry by San Jose in the 3rd period, the
Sharks would have lost in regulation.
Just another head scratching
performance by a Jekyll and Hyde team that can't seem to figure out how to beat
cellar dwellers.
San Jose opened the game with a power play goal 11:50
into the game, fueled by Joe Pavelski's 26th tally of the season. Pavelski
tapped home a Patrick Marleau feed from the doorstep after his linemate sent a
pass from the left wing boards. Pavelski slipped past the Oilers defense for
the easy deposit.
Jordan Eberle undressed Niemi after taking advantage
of a weak attempt by Marleau to use a stick check to impede the Oilers forward.
Eberle whipped around Marleau, then deeked Niemi as he crashed the net. lifting
a puck after slicing to his left.
The Sharks appeared to score a
go-ahead goal, when Tomas Hertl put a puck past Fasth, but James Sheppard was
called for interfering with the OIlers goaltender. Sheppard was clearly outside
the painted crease area, but referee Frederick L'Eculyer immediately waved it
off.
Edmonton scored a pair of 2nd period goals to stretch their lead
to 3-1. Eberle added his 15th of the season and Derek Roy added his 5th to put
the Sharks in a hole.
San Jose stormed back in the 3rd period. Scott Hannan
crashed the net as Fasth lost the puck 2:19 into the 3rd frame. Hannan jammed
at the loose puck, pushing it past Fasth for his 1st tally of the season.
Edmonton was at a disadvantage after losing Taylor Hall and Benoit
Pouliot missed the entire 3rd period with injuries.
The defense kept
things going when Matt Tennyson scored his 2nd goal of the season. Tennyson
blasted a shot from the high slot that beat Fasth, who immediately protested
that he was interfered with by Couture, but L'Ecuyer and Wes McCauley ruled
that Andrew Ference pushed Couture into Fasth.
Pavelski sent the crowd
into a frenzy at 9:28 of the period when he sent a long pass from Burns across
the goal line. Burns was parked at the right point, and fired the puck to the
area outside the left post where Pavelski was there to snap it home.
All that momentum went down the tubes, when Justin Schultz ended a long span in
the Sharks zone by firing a puck on net, that Couture deflected past his own
netminder. Defenseman Matt Tennyson broke his stick which contributed to the
prolonged stay in the San Jose zone.
Pavelski missed a shot at the
buzzer when Fasth made a toe save with his left pad to get the game to
overtime.
Neither team could generate much in the extra period, which
led to the endless shootout. Couture, Pavelski, Thornton, Marleau, Melker
Karlsson, Hertl, Barclay Goodrow, Tennyson, Tyler Kennedy, Sheppard, Matt
Nieto, and Matt Irwin all missed in the skills competition. Only Brent Burns
put a puck past Fasth, coming in the 5th round. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins matched
Burns, then Rob Klinkhammer ended things with a goal in the 13th round.
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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 |
OT |
SO |
T |
| EDM |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Pavelski 26 (Marleau, Thornton), 11:50, (pp). 2, EDM, Eberle 14 (Hall,
Klefbom), 18:03. |
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| 2nd period - 3, EDM,
Eberle 15 (Schultz, Nugent-Hopkins), 0:22. 4, EDM, Roy 5 (Yakupov), 9:39. |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Hannan 1 (Thornton, Pavelski), 2:19. 6, SJ, Tennyson 2 (Kennedy, Nieto), 3:49.
7, SJ, Pavelski 27 (Burns, Thornton), 9:28. 8, EDM, Schultz 4 (Purcell,
Lander), 17:23. |
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| Shootout - SJ: Couture
(miss), Pavelski (miss), Thornton (miss), Marleau (miss), Burns (goal),
Karlsson (miss), Hertl (miss), Goodrow (miss), Tennyson (miss), Kennedy (miss),
Sheppard (miss), Nieto (miss), Irwin (miss). EDM: Roy (miss), Eberle (miss),
Purcell (miss), Yakupov (miss), Nugent-Hopkins (goal), Fraser (miss), Hendricks
(miss), Schultz (miss), Lander (miss), Klefbom (miss), Gordon (miss), Petry
(miss), Klinkhammer (goal). |
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| 1st period - Burns, SJ
(hooking), 5:59; Ference, EDM (hooking), 11:43. |
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| 2nd period - Petry, EDM
(rouging), 18:51. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| EDM - Fasth |
37 |
33 |
| SJ - Niemi |
40 |
36 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| EDM |
16 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
40 |
| SJ |
12 |
12 |
11 |
2 |
37 |
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| Referees: L'Ecuyer,
McCauley. Linesmen: Racicot, Shewchyk. |
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