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Top line continues to
shine
Another hat trick for Cheechoo
1/5/06 - by Mike Lee
Winning at home hasn't been a
problem for the Sharks this season, so when you throw them against a team that
has never won in San Jose, the odds tend to sway in favor of the boys in teal.
That held true to form as the Sharks pummeled the visiting Columbus Blue
Jackets 6-3 at HP Pavilion on Thursday night.
Jonathan Cheechoo recorded his second hat trick of the season, and linemate Joe
Thornton added a goal and three assists. Nils Ekman matched his performance
against Colorado on Saturday with another four assist game. The trio has been
on a tear since Sharks head coach Ron Wilson moved Ekman onto the line last
week.
The Blue Jackets may be lucky to just get out of town without any major
injuries. Three Columbus players didn't finish the game because of a variety
of maladies. One of those players was Trevor Letowski, who sustained a chest
injury after Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren unloaded on the Blue Jackets
forward with a booming hip-check. Letowski was launched after absorbing the
legal hit squarely in the letters while carrying the puck into the Sharks zone
midway through the game.
San Jose looked like they would break the game open early after jumping on Marc
Denis for two goals early on. Cheechoo scored the first of his three goals
four minutes into the game on a bang-bang sequence in front of the Columbus
net. Ekman tried stuffing a shot past Denis, but the netminder got a pad on
the shot. Thornton then grabbed the rebound and slipped a touch pass to
Cheechoo in the slot for the easy deposit.
Thornton would bag a goal of his own just over three minutes later on a similar
scrum in front of the net. Denis would deny Ekman once again, but Thornton was
there to scoop up the rebound and slip the puck into an open net.
The Blue Jackets would bounce back with two goals later in the period on goals
by Rick Nash and Michael Rupp. Nash's tally came right after the first of two
Sharks penalties expired. Doug Murray had been whistled for a cheap boarding
call earlier which setup a Columbus 5-on-3.
Rupp beat Vesa Toskala with a shot from the top of the left circle, but the
Sharks netminder didn't see the puck until it was too late.
Cheechoo and Grant Stevenson would score a pair of goals in the 2nd period to
seal the victory. Cheechoo grabbed a faceoff draw in the slot and roofed a
shot over Denis' glove for the 3-2 lead. Stevenson poked at a loose puck that
Denis thought was covered for the 4-2 lead.
Nash scored his second of the night just 25 seconds into the 3rd period, but
Christian Ehrhoff and Cheechoo put the game out of reach with another pair of
goals. Cheechoo's coming on a power play break off a feed from Ekman.
Notes:
Ekman's eight points in the last two games are a franchise record. Sharks fan
favorite Jody Shelly made several runs at Sharks players in retaliation for the
punishing hits his teammates were absorbing all night. Shelly, you may recall,
ended former Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart's season in 2002-03 with a
crosscheck to the head that left Stuart with a severe concussion.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CBJ |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| SJ |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
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| 1st period - 1, San Jose, Cheechoo 21
(J.Thornton, Ekman), 3:58.
2, San Jose, J.Thornton 15 (Ekman, Ehrhoff), 7:33.
3, Columbus, Nash 6 (Fedorov, Berard), 10:42, (pp).
4, Columbus, Rupp 3 (Fritsche, Westcott), 12:13.
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| 2nd period - 5, San Jose, Cheechoo 22
(Ekman, J.Thornton), 2:50.
6, San Jose, Stevenson 7 (Michalek, Goc), 10:31, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 7, Columbus, Nash 7 (Berard,
Zherdev), 0:25, (pp).
8, San Jose, Ehrhoff 1 (S.Thornton, McCauley), 5:41.
9, San Jose, Cheechoo 23 (Ekman, J.Thornton), 8:56, (pp).
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| 1st period - Murray, SJS (boarding), 8:29;
McLaren, SJS (delay of game), 9:25; Berard, CLB (hooking), 14:12; Bench, CLB
(served by Platt (too many men)), 15:07. |
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| 2nd period - Rupp, CLB (interference), 8:35;
Michalek, SJS (holding), 18:30. |
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| 3rd period - Zherdev, CLB (holding stick),
7:59; Davison, SJS (hooking), 11:51; Vyborny, CLB (hooking), 19:02. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CBJ - Denis |
39 |
33 |
| SJ - Toskala |
31 |
28 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CBJ |
12 |
8 |
11 |
31 |
| SJ |
16 |
10 |
13 |
39 |
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| Referees: Shane Heyer, Dave Jackson. Linesmen:
Brian Murphy, Jay Sharrers. |
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