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Lerg provides a small silver
lining
Rookie bags game winner in NHL
debut
After all the failure this season, a 29 year-old
rookie who's wallowed in the minors for the past 7 years provided one of the
few feel-good stories of the year for the Sharks on Thursday night. Making his
NHL debut for the Sharks in Edmonton, Bryan Lerg slipped on a glass slipper
then banged home the game winning goal in San Jose's 3-1 win over the Oilers at
Rexall Place. Lerg upstaged the 49 save performance by goaltender Laurent
Brossoit, who made his NHL debut for the Oilers.
Brossoit was the
story for most of the evening, shutting out the Sharks for 50 minutes before
Patrick Marleau cashed in on a turnover midway through the 3rd period. The
Oilers goaltender was recalled from Oklahoma City on Wednesday, skating on NHL
ice for the first time in his professional career.
The netminder
stopped all 33 shots he faced through the first 40 minutes of the game, which
included a 5 minute stretch in the 1st period that required his teammates to
kill off a major penalty after Curtis Hamilton was sent off for boarding Lerg.
The Sharks hero was lucky to escape with only a bruise across his
cheek after Hamilton hit him from behind, forcing his face into the lip of the
boards. The Sharks forward was able to skate away from the injury and continue,
but Hamilton created a precarious position for his Oilers teammates.
Backed by Brossoit, Edmonton killed off the penalty and got through the period
unscathed after the sharks threw 19 pucks Brossoit's way. That was instrumental
in allowing the Oilers to grab the lead in the 2nd period, when Nail Yakupov
scored his 13th goal of the season 12:30 into the 2nd period.
Yakupov
was the beneficiary of a horrendous turnover by Sharks defenseman Justin Braun
right in front of his own net. The Oilers tried carrying the puck into the
Sharks zone, but Teddy Purcell lost the handle on it. Braun was back-skating as
he tried passing the puck up ice, but didn't get enough on the pass as Yakupov
stepped in front of it. The Oilers forward immediately snapped a shot on net,
catching Antti Niemi flat footed for the 1-0 Oilers lead.
The Sharks
capitalized on a similar miscue by the Oilers defensive corps midway through
the 3rd peirod. Justin Schultz tried picking up a loose puck in his own zone,
but lost an edge as Marleau collapsed on him. The Sharks forward pounced on the
puck before deeking Brossoit with a nasty move to his right and sliding through
the slot and lifting a shot over the Oilers netminder.
Lerg's
Cinderella moment would come with 2:52 left in regulation after the Sharks
peppered Brossoit with another 19 shots in the period. Logan Couture setup the
goal by taking a Tayler fedun pass up the left wing boards before and
undressing Keith Aulie with a move to his left before cutting back toward the
slot. Couture saw Lerg on the right wing, hitting him with a pass as the rush
collapsed on Brossoit. Lerg collected Couture's pass and whipped a shot that
Bossoit lunged at and missed.
The journeyman forward almost caught an
edge as the puck hit the back of the twine, but he recovered in time to pop up
and bounce off the end board glass in celebration. Lerg's smile extended from
ear to ear, accented by the missing front tooth that undeniably identifies the
forward as a hockey player.
After toiling in the minor leagues for so
long, it was a storybook ending for Lerg. The goal turned out to be the game
winner after Matt Nieto capped the game's scoring with an empty net goal late
to seal the victory.
Lerg's parents and younger brother were in attendance
to experience the thrilling day. He led all players with 8 shots on goal, which
came in only 11:32 of ice time on 18 shifts. Lerg finished with a +1, 2 hits,
and was a perfect 4-for-4 in faceoffs.
When asked what he expected to
do for an encore on Saturday afternoon when the Sharks close out the 2014-15
season with their regular season finale against the Kings. The rookie just
shrugged his shoulders, trying to take it all in. He was caught in the moment,
trying to absorb all the positives that marked his first game as an NHLer.
The Sharks won't get the satisfaction of eliminating the Kings from
the playoffs on Saturday. The Calgary Flames had that honor on Thursday night,
as they beat the Kings 3-1 to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup Champions
from the playoff race.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| EDM |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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| 2nd period - 1, EDM,
Yakupov 13 (unassisted), 12:30. |
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| 3rd period - 2, SJ,
Marleau 19 (unassisted), 10:32. 3, SJ, Lerg 1 (Couture, Fedun), 17:08. 4, SJ,
Nieto 10 (Wingels, Tierney), 19:31, (en). |
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| 1st period - Hamilton,
EDM (boarding major), 2:08. |
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| 2nd period - Irwin, SJ
(tripping), 4:34. |
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| 3rd period - Stollery,
SJ (tripping), 4:05. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
27 |
26 |
| EDM - Brossoit |
51 |
49 |
| EDM - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
19 |
14 |
19 |
51 |
| EDM |
7 |
14 |
6 |
27 |
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| Referees: Pochmara,
Rehman. Linesmen: Murchison, Shewchyk. |
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