|
|
Power play excels in win over
Habs
Sharks convert on 3 of 6 PP
chances
3/3/04 - by Mike Lee
The
Sharks accentuated the "power" in "power play" on Wednesday night by converting
on three of six man-up situations, skating to a nail-biting 4-3 win over the
visiting Montreal Candiens at HP Pavilion. Former Canadiens captain Vincent
Damphousse led the assault with a goal and two assists during the wide open
contest. The Sharks broke the game open with three 2nd period goals before
holding on to knock off the red hot Canadiens.
 |
| What did
you think of this game? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| MTL |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| SJ |
1 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
| 1st period - S.J,
STUART (5) (MARLEAU, DAMPHOUSSE), 06:51 |
|
|
| 2nd period - MTL,
PERREAULT (10) (ZEDNIK), 07:45 S.J, DAMPHOUSSE (7) (STUART, PREISSING), 11:52
MTL, MARKOV (5) (RYDER, PERREAULT), 12:51 S.J, STURM (20) (DAMPHOUSSE,
MARLEAU), 14:06 S.J, DIMITRAKOS (6) (RATHJE, STUART), 15:07 |
|
|
| 3rd period - MTL,
RIBEIRO (17) (RYDER, BRISEBOIS), 08:33 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st period - MTL,
ZEDNIK, 05:30 - Elbowing MTL, KILGER, 10:39 - Interference S.J, MARLEAU, 11:59
- Tripping S.J, DAVISON, 14:20 - Holding stick |
|
|
| 2nd period - MTL,
KOMISAREK, 09:45 - Hi stick MTL, QUINTAL, 11:46 - Cross check MTL, JUNEAU,
13:57 - Holding MTL, PERREAULT, 18:43 - Hi stick |
|
|
| 3rd period - S.J,
SMITH, 02:08 - Slashing S.J, SMITH, 08:07 - Hooking |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Shots |
Saves |
| MTL - Theodore |
29 |
25 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
28 |
25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| MTL |
8 |
9 |
11 |
25 |
| SJ |
8 |
17 |
4 |
29 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Sharks have been hot of late themselves, winning
their 8th consecutive home game, a new franchise record. Both teams buzzed
around the rink all night long, but San Jose was able to outlast Montreal in
the 3rd period to keep their lead in the Pacific Division at six points over
Dallas.
Damphousse, a native of Montreal, assisted on Brad Stuart's
1st period power play goal,, before tallying his own on the extra-man advantage
in the 2nd period. Stuart scored on a blast from the point that snuck past Jose
Theodore.
Yannic Perreault would knot things up less than a minute
later.
Andrei Markov tied the game at 2-2 midway through the 2nd
period on a shot that seemed to fool Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.
The power play continued to tick for San Jose in the period. Marco Sturm scored
his 21st goal of the season less than ten seconds after Joe Juneau was sent off
for holding.
Niko Dimitrakos would give San Jose a two-goal lead a
minute later by carrying the puck up the left wing and rifling a shot past
Theodore, just inside the right post.
Mike Ribeiro pulled the Candiens
back to within a goal midway through the final period by bouncing a shot off
Nabokov's leg from behind the Sharks goal, while Mark Smith was serving the
second of his two penalties in the period.
Nabokov held Montreal at
Bay over the last tem minutes of regulation to earn his 23rd win of the season.
Newly acquired forward Alexei Kovalev was in attendance, but he did
not skate for the Canadiens.
Play of the
Game
Damphousse was the man of the hour and his power play goal
was proof positive that he steps his game up a notch when he's facing his
former team. The veteran centerman was able to find the puck in traffic and
chip a flop shot over Theodore's shoulder.
The Turning
Point
The Dimitrakos goal turned out to be the game winner, but more
importantly it provided the Sharks with some breathing room. This was a high
octane affair with plenty of great skating and passing, and Dimitrakos
displayed why the Sharks speed is such an asset. Theodore had a clear line of
sight , and the shot was taken from the left circle, but it had enough mustard
on it to beat the former Hart Trophy Winner.
Save of the Game
Take your pick. Theodore faced
17 shots in theh2nd period but he was only able to stop 14 of them. Nabokov
turned aside 10 of 11 shots in crunch time, and you could say that Ribeiro's
shot was tough luck, kicking off the back of Nabokov's leg.
Box
Scores Do No Justice
Sturm tallied a power play goal in the 2nd period,
but he could have netted a hat- trick had he converted on the handful of
quality scoring chances throughout the evening. During one sequence in the 2nd
period, the German winger had three mouth watering chances deep in the
Canadiens zone, but he either lost the handle on the puck or he missed the
net.
Honorable Mention
Stuart
set a career scoring mark with his three point night (1 goal two assists). The
Sharks defenseman has started to open up his game in the offensive zone as of
late and it's resulted in points.
Quotables
"I know my
parents are watching, and tons of friends back home are watching. It's always
going to be a special game, especially when we only play them once a year." -
Vincent Damphousse
"Obviously, we've got to be aware of who's behind
us, but we've got to look ahead, too. I don't think we're just looking to hang
on in the Pacific Division. We're looking at the whole Western Conference. If
we take care of our games, we won't have to be looking over our shoulder." -
Brad Stuart
"They're a hardworking team, and they created a lot of
opportunities, and we took some bad penalties. You put those together, and you
see what happens. If we were late on a play, or they tipped the puck, it went
in." - Jose Theodore
Milestones
Damphousse moved into a tie for 60th
place on the NHL all-time scoring leaders list. He now sits along side Yvan
Cournoyer.
The Sharks named Marco Sturm the February Seagate Technology
Player of the Month for February.
San Jose also acquired defenseman
Jason Marshall in a trade with Minnesota. The Wild will receive the Sharks 5th
round draft pick in 2004.
|
| What did you think of
this game? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
| |
|
