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Sharks get back to winning in
St Louis
SJ avoids back to back loses
If the Sharks are going to make a run this season,
they have to learn how to avoid back to back loses. They took a big step
forward on Thursday night, bouncing back from their in Anaheim two nights
earlier with a solid 3-1 win in St Louis. San Jose took advantage of a St Louis
Blues team that has been hard pressed to score goal s of late. The Blues have
averaged a goal a game in their last five contest, and the Sharks chipped away
in a crucial road game that helped them keep pace in the playoff race.
The Blues are 6-3-1 in their last ten games and sit 8 points ahead of the
Sharks in the Western Conference standings, so waltzing into Scottrade Center
and capturing a solid win was no easy task. The Sharks continue to be an
anomaly on the road, stifling another opponent.
The Sharks played a
solid opening 20 minutes, keeping the puck out of their own net. The game
opened with a flurry of scoring chances for both teams in the opening 3 minutes
before both defenses settled down. San Jose won the shot counter battle by
periods end 16-13. All the shot netted a scoreless period though, due in part
to solid performances by Martin Jones and Brian Elliott.
Elliott was
the first to surrender a goal. Joonas Donskoi snapped a shot from the right
circle 3:55 into the 2nd period after Joe Pavelski carried the puck up the gut,
veering to his left and feeding his linemate after both Blues defenders slid to
cut off his path. Donskoi had plenty of open ice in which to pick his path
toward the net. As he got to the dot, the young Finnish forward got a shot off
that zipped past the Blues goaltender for his 8th tally of the season.
Joe Thornton tacked his 10th goal of the season less than 4 minutes later right
after the Blues killed off a power play. The goal went in the books as an even
strength tally but centerman Jori Lehtera was late to get back into the
defensive zone as the Sharks completed a 4-legged passing sequence that ended
with Thornton taking a cross-ice feed form Pavelski before putting a shot under
Elliott's left pad as the goaltender tried sliding across the goal-mouth to cut
off Thornton's shot.
Jay Bouwmeester cut the Sharks lead in half with a
blast from the left point with 3:06 left in the period. The Blues defenseman
sent a blast toward forward Vladimir Tarasenko where the puck was deflected
down to the ice where it bounced past Jones. Tarasenko was originally credited
with the goal, but replays showed that Sharks defenseman Paul Martin actually
got his stick blade on the puck, which forced the direction change.
The Blues made a push to knot the game up early in the 3rd period, but the
Sharks and their netminder found a way to keep the lead. San Jose did a solid
job controlling the neutral zone, suppressing any nail biting situations.
Matt Nieto helped pad the Sharks lead late in the game on one of those
hockey oddities. A Sharks shot hit defenseman Brent Burns and shot up into the
air, unbeknownst to anyone on the ice. When it landed, Nieto was the first to
identify it, scooping it up then taking three strides to the net from the left
side of the slot. The Sharks forward pulled the puck back across the goal mouth
from left to right before sliding the puck under Elliott for his 7th goal of
the season.
Nieto's goal was the dagger that did the Blues in, which
was validated by the exodus of fans from Scottrade Center. St Louis made little
push to try and make up the two goal lead with such little time left, allowing
the Sharks to get back into the win columns.
It was an important
position to take if the Sharks are serious about making a real run.
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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 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| STL |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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| 2nd period - 1, SJ,
Donskoi 8 (Pavelski), 3:55. 2, SJ, Thornton 10 (Pavelski, Vlasic), 7:15. 3,
STL, Bouwmeester 2 (Pietrangelo, Statsney), 16:54. |
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| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Nieto 7 (unassisted), 16:44. |
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| 1st period - Braun, SJ
(slashing), 1:06; Edmundson, STL (cross checking), 8:48; Burns, SJ (hooking),
12:51; Backes, STL (slashing), 13:43. |
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| 2nd period - Lehtera,
STL (hooking), 5:09; Burns, SJ (tripping), 6:33; Tarasenko, STL (hooking),
6:49; Ward, SJ (roughing), 13:12; Upshall, STL (roughing), 13:12. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
27 |
26 |
| STL - Elliott |
32 |
29 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
16 |
10 |
6 |
32 |
| STL |
13 |
6 |
8 |
27 |
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| Referees: Hebert,
Hebert. Linesmen: Amell, Racicot. |
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