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OT finally sweet for
SJ
Sturm helps Sharks snap road losing
streak
2/14/04 - by Mike Lee
It took
them 17 tries to do it, but the Sharks finally won an overtime game this
season, pulling it off in dramatic fashion. Marco Sturm's swat with 16.1
seconds remaining in the extra period helped San Jose win in Columbus, breaking
a four-game road losing streak. Sturm's shot was the 50th of the evening for
the Sharks, a new franchise record. The victory helped push San Jose's lead in
the Pacific Division back to six points.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| CBJ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
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| 1st period - CBJ,
SANDERSON (9) (SVITOV, ZHERDEV), 03:14 S.J, STUART (3) (KOROLYUK, EKMAN), 15:32
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| Overtime - S.J,
STURM (15) (MARLEAU, STUART), 04:43 |
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| 1st period - CBJ,
SVITOV, 03:57 - Interference S.J, PARKER, 07:26 - Fighting (maj) CBJ, SHELLEY,
07:26 - Fighting (maj) CBJ, LING, 08:06 - Roughing S.J, S.J, 11:05 - Too many
men/ice - bench CBJ, JOHNSON, 19:03 - Hi stick |
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| 2nd period - S.J,
DAMPHOUSSE, 17:31 - Roughing |
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| 3rd period - S.J,
EKMAN, 07:11 - Hi stick CBJ, LETOWSKI, 10:36 - Hooking - Obstruction |
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| Overtime - S.J,
HANNAN, 02:09 - Holding |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
24 |
23 |
| CBJ - Denis |
50 |
48 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
17 |
12 |
16 |
5 |
50 |
| CBJ |
13 |
7 |
4 |
0 |
24 |
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Things looked dicey for the Sharks in the 3rd period,
even though they outplayed the host Blue Jackets for much of the game. Brad
Stuart made a bad turnover in his own zone that resulted in a one-on-one
faceoff between Rick Nash, the NHL's leading goal scorer, and Sharks goaltender
Evgeni Nabokov. Nash tried lifting a shot past Nabokov's blocker, but the shot
clanked off the left post.
Columbus also had a four-on-three power
play in the overtime period after Scott Hannan was sent off for a questionable
holding penalty. The Sharks diffused that situation and capped a wild ending
with Sturm's sixteenth goal of the season. Patrick Marleau set up Sturm's
opportunity by driving to the net and trying to jam the puck past Marc Denis,
but the Columbus goaltender stuffed Marleau on the goal line. As the puck sat
on Denis' outstretched pad, Sturm fought off a check and made one final whack
at it from just outside the left side of the net.
The Sharks were
lucky to pull off the win after failing on 48 other shots throughout the
evening. Geoff Sanderson staked Columbus to a 1-0 lead just three minutes into
the game when he stuffed a wraparound attempt past Nabokov after the puck
banked off a skater behind the Sharks net. Sanderson wound up with the puck and
slid it under Nabokov's left leg for the early lead.
San Jose would
rally late in the period and convert off a rebound in the slot. Nils Ekman hit
a slashing Alexander Korolyuk with a pass from the left corner, but Denis
denied Korolyuk after the Sharks winger tried to one time the shot from in
tight. Defenseman Brad Stuart pinched on the play and followed up by banging
the puck into an open net.
The Sharks hit double digits on the shot
counter in each of the three regulation periods, then added five in the extra
frame.
Play of the
Game
Stuart's goal restored some faith in the Sharks young
blueliner who's had a tough go of things as of late. He smelled out the scoring
chance and broke for the goal at the right moment before pouncing on the
rebound in the slot.
The Turning Point
Stuart's giveaway
early in the 3rd period could have sunk San Jose had Nash converted. Call it
divine intervention. Of course the Sharks also rang three shots off the post in
the 2nd period alone. Nash scores and the Blue Jackets get to clamp down on the
Sharks who were having an impossible time trying to solve Denis.
Save of the Game
Give the pipes all the
credit in this game. Without them this is a 4-2 final. Denis deserves credit
for his yeoman's effort in net. 48 saves is impressive win or lose, and he
frustrated the Sharks offense all evening long. It took San Jose's forwards
close to 65 minutes to finally figure things out.
Box Scores Do No
Justice
Alyn McCauley had another strong game accounting for six shots
on goal (Sturm also had six shots) and buzzing all over the ice. He just missed
on a scoring chance in the overtime period during a wild exchange in front of
the Blue Jackets net.
Honorable
Mention
There was no rematch between Sharks tough guy Scott
Parker and Jody Shelly. The two danced twice the last time these two teams
squared off, but Shelly seemed disinterested in engaging Parker.
Quotables
"It was kind of funny because (Marleau's) shot wasn't
really hard. The goalie didn't see it at all. It was laying right there,
between the posts and his pad. I got lucky that the defenseman didn't see it
either and I put it in." - Marco Sturm
"We just tried to keep shooting
the puck, keep it wide, put it on net and see what happens. Sometimes it pays
off, sometimes it doesn't. We were lucky enough to score in the final seconds
of the game." - Brad Stuart
"We can't play like that. We played like a
bunch of individuals tonight. It wasn't a team game. "That's why they deserve
to win in overtime. The whole game they dominated, from the 10-minute mark of
the first period on. One guy (Denis) scored a point for us tonight." - Columbus
interim head coach Gerard Gallant.
Milestones
Stuart's goal was his first since
November 30th.
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