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Primeau's OT goal sinks
Stars
Sharks reach 100 point mark for the first time
in team history
3/28/04 - by Mike Lee
Sunday's game versus the Dallas Stars has been billed as the game that
could possibly decide the Pacific Division. Much of the hype that had been
building over the past few weeks subsided when the Stars starting goaltender
Marty Turco was suspended for four games by the league for a slashing incident
last week, but the Sharks made things interesting anyway with a 2-1 overtime
win over the visiting Stars at HP Pavilion. Wayne Primeau, who had two other
chances to put the Sharks on top earlier in the game, delivered 2:57 into the
extra period to help the Sharks set a franchise record for points in a season
with 100. The victory also pushed the Sharks lead over Colorado for the 2nd
seed race in the Western Conference and it pulled San Jose to within three
points of the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightening for the best record in
the NHL with three games to play.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| DAL |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 2nd period - DAL,
P. TURGEON (13) (P. BOUCHER, B. GUERIN), 01:30 S.J, N. EKMAN (21) (A. MCCAULEY,
T. PREISSING), 08:48 |
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| Overtime - S.J, W.
PRIMEAU (8) (J. MARSHALL), 02:57 |
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| 1st period - DAL,
B. GUERIN, 02:43 - Slashing S.J, C. BROWN, 06:41 - Hi stick |
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| 2nd period - DAL,
V. BURE, 09:27 - Interference S.J, T. HARVEY, 11:45 - Slashing |
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| 3rd period - DAL,
B. MORROW, 03:28 - Tripping DAL, S. CORSON, 09:52 - Interference - Obstruction
S.J, S. THORNTON, 12:17 - Hi stick |
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Shots |
Saves |
| DAL - Tugnutt |
31 |
29 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
21 |
20 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| DAL |
7 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
21 |
| SJ |
8 |
8 |
12 |
3 |
31 |
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Turco's absence seemed meaningless the way veteran
backup Ron Tugnutt was playing in net for the Stars. Tugnutt faced 31 shots,
including twelve in the 3rd period, and kept his team in the thick of things by
allowing a single goal in regulation.
Dallas was also missing Jere
Lehtinen, Sergei Zubov, Jon Klemm, Scott Young, Stu Barnes and Teppo Numminen,
who are all out with injuries.
The Stars had also lost in overtime the
night before in Vancouver and didn't get into San Jose until early Sunday
morning. The fatigue and a depleted roster was reason enough for the Stars to
lay down, but they didn't.
Pierre Turgeon gave the Stars a 1-0 lead 90
seconds into the 2nd period when he redirected a pass from Phillipe Boucher
past Evgeni Nabokov. Turgeon was able to get a stick on the puck after Sharks
defenseman Kyle McLaren failed to tie him up at the top of the crease, after
Boucher whipped a pass from the right corner.
Nils Ekman knotted the
game up at 1-1 at 8:48 of the period when he lifted a backhand shot over an
outstretched Tugnutt from outside the right post. Ekman was able to score on a
rebound after Alyn McCauley sent in a shot from the right point that bounced
off Tugnutt's left pad. Ekman appeared to get his stick on the initial shot,
but Tugnutt made the initial save. The Stars netminder wasn't so lucky after
the puck kicked back out to Ekman who was four feet out when he scored.
The Sharks turned up the heat in the 3rd period but they couldn't get
one past Tugnutt. Primeau almost converted late in the game when he made a nice
move to slip past a Stars defender while carrying the puck up the right wing
boards, then sending a shot in on the Dallas goal. Tugnutt made the stop, but
almost allowed Curtis Brown to swat the rebound home for what would have been
the go-ahead goal.
Primeau wouldn't miss on his next attempt. The
veteran winger took a breakout pass from Jason Marshall at the red line then
steamed up the right wing, taking the same path as his near miss in the 3rd
period, but this time he struck gold. Primeau carried the puck across the Stars
blueline then put a move on Valeri Bure before uncorking a shot from the right
circle that slipped under Tugnutt's right arm.
Primeau's teammates
mobbed him along the glass just past the Dallas bench, as the dejected Stars
streamed off the ice.
Play of the
Game
Hard to ignore an overtime winner, especially when it comes
against a division foe who trails by only four points with three games
remaining in the regular season. The fact that it essentially seals the
division for the Sharks makes Primeau's goal that much bigger. San Jose was
only 1-6-12 in overtime games this season, and San Jose played for the tie late
in the 3rd period. Their second OT win of the season was a big one.
The Turning Point
Ekman's answer to Turgeon's goal in the 2nd period
kept the Sharks within striking distance and it allowed the Sharks to stick to
their game plan, which was to wear down the fatigued Stars. The Sharks winger
converted for the 22nd time, which moves him 3rd on the Sharks in goals scored
this season.
Save of the
Game
Nabokov made a pair of pad saves in the 3rd period after a
pile of skaters clogged up the slot, keeping the game tied at 1-1. The Sharks
netminder only faced 21 shots on the evening, but the Stars put up a noble
fight considering their difficult travel schedule.
Box Scores Do No
Justice
Contrary to reports Mike Modano was in the building on Sunday
night. The Stars forward has struggled this season and things didn't get much
better for him in San Jose. Modano had zero shots on goal and was on the ice
when Primeau scored the game winner for the Sharks. His minus 19 ranks near the
bottom of the NHL.
Honorable
Mention
Defenseman Mike Rathje had a solid game on the blueline,
but drew the ire of Stars forward Steve Ott for some reason. Ott tried getting
under Rathje's skin throughout the game, but to no avail. On one play the, the
6'0", 185 pound forward tried laying a lick on the 6'5", 235 pound Rathje along
the Sharks bench, but ended up bouncing off him and landing on his backside.
The two would mix it up several times throughout the night.
Quotables
"The 100 points for this team, the way that people expected
us to really falter coming into this season, it feels great. We felt that we
had a good overall season. I think we've been peaking all year." - Wayne
Primeau
"There's no better feeling than to win a game like this in
overtime. I thought the right guy scored, too. He kind of epitomizes our team
-- a bunch of guys looking for redemption. I think we've got a little more than
redemption, but we've still got a lot of work left." - Sharks head coach Ron
Wilson
"It's nice, especially doing it against Dallas. We knew the
importance of this game. We talked about it for a couple of weeks, about how
it's probably going to come down to this one." - Vincent Damphousse
"We're chasing points right now, and we didn't get them tonight. The schedule
certainly wasn't in our favor, but we wanted to try and hang around this game,
give ourselves a chance. We did that, but we needed a big play from someone. We
didn't get it." - Dallas head coach Dave Tippett
Milestones
Jason Marshall played in his
500th NHL game.
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