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Sharks keep rolling in
BC
San Jose unloads on Canucks with 6-2
win
The Sharks goal scoring machine that annihilated
the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night kept the momentum rolling in Vancouver
24 hours later with a 6-2 on Tuesday night. San Jose pounced on Vancouver
early, scoring 3 goals in the first 7 minutes of the contest, then fought off a
Canucks comeback in the 2nd period to even the season series at 2 games apiece.
Five different Sharks scored, including Matt Nieto, whose 2nd period
helped repel the Canucks who had cut the Sharks lead to a single goal. If
anything, some of the pressure of their underachieving season was lifted for a
few hours. San Jose played with more flow and freedom, which has resulted in a
bushel of goals since the NHL trade deadline expired at Noon on Monday.
A goal injection by younger players also gave the Sharks a boost.
Logan Couture was the only time line player to score in the game.
Chris Tierney scored his first NHL goal a month ago in Vancouver, and doubled
up on that total 3:03 into the contest by ripping a shot from the left circle.
Barclay Goodrow setup the goal with a pass from the neutral zone before
Tierney's shot cleared Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom's right shoulder.
Melker Karlsson made it 2-0 Sharks at 7:18 on a crazy goal that was
destined to get past Markstrom. Joe Pavelski fied a shot that bounced off the
end boards, floating over teh crossbar to the front of the goal mouth. Karlsson
was checked to the ice and was laying face down on the ice with his skates
pointing toward Markstrom and the goal. The Sharks rookie somehow managed to
strike the puck with his stick, slipping it home for his 10th goal of the
season.
Couture tacked on a third goal just 27 seconds later, roofing
a shot that caught the crossbar and back of the net. The Sharks forward was
slicing through the left circle before snapping a shot that would eventually
chase Markstrom. Matt Nieto put a shot on net that kicked back out to Couture
for the put back.
Vancouver inserted Eddie Lack in net after Markstrom
surrendered the 3 goals on only 4 shots.
In one of the more amusing
moments of the game, Canucks forward Derek Dorsett took exception to John
Scott's tap on the head along the Sharks bench, so he decided to drop the
gloves with the 6'8" 260 pound enforcer. The 6'0" 190 pound Dorsett looked like
a Terrier nipping at the heels of a Rottweiler. That Rottweiler was actually
chuckling as Dorsett tried grappling before throwing punches. Scott's knuckles
took the brunt of the bout, getting cut on the top of Dorsett's helmet as he
punched down on the impish opponent.
Matt Irwin took a late delay of
game penalty after he flipped the puck over the glass with 29 seconds left in
the period. That penalty carried over to the start of the 2nd period where
Vancouver capitalized. Henrik Sedin scored his 14th goal of the season, firing
a shot from the right dot past Antti Niemi who was flailing in the crease from
his belly.
Sedin made things interesting by cutting the Sharks
lead to a lone goal when he converted on a defensive miscue at 9:12 of the
period. Brent Burns chased Daniel Sedin around the back of the net, opening up
the goal mouth for a pass to Henrik for the easy deposit.
Patrick
Marleau just missed on a chance two minutes later when he forced the issue in
tight on the Canucks goal, but Lack snuffed out the chance. Marleau picked
Daniel Sedin's pocket to the right of the Canucks net, then kicked the puck out
to Nieto in the slot for a follow up that Lack wouldn't stop. Nieto received
the pass, then picked his target, snapping a shot just under the crossbar for
his 5th of the season.
The Sharks complicated things for themselves
after Barclay Goodrow was called for a suspect cross checking infraction at
12:20 of the period. Marleau got a little too aggressive on the penalty kill
when he tried to lift Linden Vey's stick. Instead, he caught Vey in the helmet
with his stick for a high sticking infraction. The Canucks had 1:26 of 5-on-3
power play time, but the Sharks denied their hosts with a strong kill.
Another high sticking penalty to Thornton in the 3rd period gave the Canucks
another glimmer of hope, but those hopes were dashed when Vey missed on a wide
open net, lifting a backhand shot over the goal.
With clock running
out on them, the Canucks pulled Lack for an extra attacker with 3 minutes left
in regulation. Nieto was the benefactor, as he collected a pass from Thornton
and sent a long shot down the length of the ice for the empty-net goal.
For whatever reason, Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins elected to
keep Lack on the bench, which simply allowed Marc-Edouard Vlasic to pad his
stats. Vlasic deposited his own empty net goal to make it a 6-2 final.
Game Notes:
* Through all the positives, the Sharks were abysmal
in the faceoff circle. San Jose won 19 of 55 draws for a 35% success rate.
* Penalties was also an area of concern. With the Sharks ranked 25th
in the NHL on the penalty kill, San Jose can't afford to take 5 penalties a
game.
* Couture had a game high 5 shots on goal. Nieto had 4 shots on
goal.
* Justin Braun was a +4 for the game. Thornton and Vlasic were a
+3 each.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
3 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
| VAN |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Tierney 2 (Goodrow), 3:03. 2, SJ, Karlsson 10 (Pavelski, Irwin), 7:18. 3, SJ,
Couture 22 (Nieto, Marleau), 7:45. |
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| 2nd period - 4, VAN, D.
Sedin 14 (D. Sedin, Vrbata), 1:01, (pp). 5, VAN, H. Sedin 15 (D. Sedin,
Higgins), 9:12. 6, SJ, Nieto 5 (Marleau), 11:45. |
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| 3rd period - 7, SJ,
Nieto 6 (Thornton, Burns), 17:11, (en). 8, SJ, Vlasic 8 (unassisted), 18:09,
(en). |
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| 1st period - Scott, SJ
(fighting major), 12:53; Dorsett, VAN (fighting major), 12:53; Thornton, SJ
(hooking), 14:41; Irwin, SJ (delay of game - puck over glass), 19:31. |
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| 2nd period - Higgins,
VAN (high sticking), 6:24; Goodrow, SJ (cross checking), 12:20; Marleau, SJ
(high sticking), 12:54. |
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| 3rd period - Thornton,
SJ (high sticking), 8:59. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
28 |
26 |
| VAN - Markstrom |
4 |
3 |
| VAN - Lack |
24 |
23 |
| VAN - empty net |
2 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
7 |
18 |
5 |
30 |
| VAN |
10 |
11 |
7 |
28 |
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| Referees:
Joannette, Rehman. Linesmen: Cameron, Murchison. |
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