|
|
Burns saves Sharks with late
goal SJ picks up two points in Denver with nail
biter win
Back to back games are tough enough, but when those
games are matinee affairs on the road, the Sharks had their work cut out for
them. Forget the fact that the back end game came against the struggling
Colorado Avalanche. San Jose had to dig deep to pull off a win in Denver on
Sunday against an Avalanche team that had lost 7 of their first 10 games this
season. The Sharks picked an opportune time to suppress the Avalanche, scoring
a go-ahead goal with 65 seconds left in regulation to take a 4-3 decision over
the host club.
Giving up early leads has been a staple for the Sharks
of late, and Jerome Iginla added to their woes by punching home his 4th goal of
the season 5:17 into the game. Tomas Hertl setup things for the Avalanche by
taking a tripping penalty after chopping down Nathan MacKinnon at the Colorado
blueline. Iginla was the benefactor of a deflected pass that landed on his
stick as he raced in on net from the right side. The veteran forward napped a
shot that beat Martin Jones through the 5-hole for the early 1-0 Avalanche
lead.
Joel Ward continued to be the Sharks workhorse on offense,
scoring his 7th goal of the season less than 2 minutes later. Patrick Marleau
picked MacKinnon's pocket along the left wing boards as the Avalanche tried to
move the puck out of their own end. Ward pounced on Marleau's feed at the
bottom of the left circle before pumping a shot on net. Goaltender Semyon
Varlomov made the save, but Ward gathered the rebound and slipped it around
Varlamov on the right side for the tally.
Penalties plagued the Sharks
later in the period, then Matt Nieto took a hooking penalty midway through the
2nd period to setup the 4th power play of the afternoon for the Avalanche.
The Sharks turned the tables on Colorado by keeping the puck pinned in
the offensive zone, then Brent Burns uncorked a shot from the right point that
beat Varlamov to give the Sharks a brief 2-1 lead.
Call it too much
jubilation or not enough focus, but regardless, the Avalance answered 21
seconds later when Francois Beauchemin punched home a cross-ice feed from
Gabriel Landeskog at 12:24. Landeskog looked as if he was going to uncork a
shot from outside the right post, but saw Beauchemin pinching in from his
defensive position on the left side. The pass went through the slot for the
bang-bang shot that Sharks goaltender Martin Jones had no chance of stopping.
The 3rd period turned into a cat and mouse game as the
two teams went into prevent mode. The Sharks were held to 2 shots on goal
through the first 16 minutes of the period.
Brent Burns finally broke
the tie with 1:39 left in regulation by snapping a shot from the right dot that
slipped past Varlamov. Marleau setup the goal by racing up the left side before
putting on the breaks and finding a cutting Burns with a pass through the slot.
Burns gathered the pass and uncorked his shot as he raced up the right side.
Tomas Hertl screened the Colorado goaltender by parking himself at the top of
the crease.
Joe Pavelski appeared to cap the game with an empty net
goal at 18:40, but the Avalanche scored 15 seconds later.
Martin Jones
let a puck slip under his left pad after the puck kicked out of a scrum as the
Avalanche converged on the Sharks net. Tyson Barrie dumped the puck in on net
from outside the blueline, but the puck hit Jones in the chest, kicking back
out to the slot. Cody McLeod was credited with the goal after swiping at the
rebound.
 |
 |
What did you think of
this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
COL |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
|
1st period - 1, COL,
Iginla (Berrie, Soderberg), 5:17, (pp). 2, SJ, Ward 7 (Marleau), 7:00. |
|
|
2nd period - 3, SJ,
Burns 2 (Goodrow, Vlasic), 12:03, (sh). 4, COL, Beauchemin 3 (Landeskog,
Duchene), 12:24, (pp). |
|
|
3rd period - 5, SJ,
Burns 3 (Marleau, Hertl), 18:21. 6, SJ, Pavelski 6 (unassisted), 18:49, (en).
7, COL, McLeod 1 (Barrie, Holden), 18:55. |
|
|
|
|
|
1st period - Hertl, SJ
(tripping), 3:43; Brown, SJ (fighting major), 9:52; McLeod, COL (fighting
major), 9:52; Martin, SJ (high sticking), 10:57; Soderberg, COL (interference),
11:48; Tierney, SJ (slashing), 12:28. |
|
|
2nd period - Nieto, SJ
(hooking), 11:02; Varlamov, COL (tripping), 17:15. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shots |
Saves |
SJ - Jones |
26 |
23 |
COL - Varlamov |
31 |
28 |
COL - empty net |
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
SJ |
12 |
13 |
7 |
32 |
COL |
10 |
7 |
9 |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Referees:
Skilliter, Walsh. Linesmen: Lazarowich, Cvik. |
|
|
|
|
|