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Sharks open playoffs
ugly
Penalty kill is murderous
4/21/06 - by
Mike Lee
The Sharks opened the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs
with an
ugly performance, and even uglier loss at the hands of the Nashville
Predators
on Friday night in Tennessee. The Predators converted on 4 of 7 power
play
chances, including three in the 1st period to take game 1 of their
Western
Conference matchup. Paul Kariya recorded assists on all four Nashville
goals,
including the game winner, which he setup with a blast from the right
circle.
The Sharks get a day to ponder what
might have been, had they controlled things on the penalty kill. San Jose
goaltender Vesa Toskala never even saw the first two goals flash by him,
because the Predators threw a constant stream of interference in front of
the
net.
That was something the Sharks failed to do, allowing
Nashville
Chris Mason to win his first career playoff start. Mason didn't play a
remarkable game, but he made all the simple plays. The Sharks had little
chance
to jump on him early, because every time they were sent off in the
opening
period, Mason's teammates would convert.
After Mark Smith gave
the Sharks a
1-0 lead, Mike Sillinger, Martin Erat and Shea Weber ripped of three
goals in
succession. Weber's was a back breaker, because he scored it less than
four
seconds remaining in the period. Nashville forced the issue by pressing
on the
forecheck in the Sharks zone, causing a turnover deep in the zone. Kariya
found
the puck and sent a pass across the slot to an undefended Weber in front
of the
Sharks goal.
Sillinger's goal was reviewed for several minutes
because
replays showed that he knocked a Kimo Timonen shot down with a high stick
in
front of Toskala. Surprisingly, replay officials allowed the goal to
stand.
The
Sharks battled back from the 3-1 deficit with goals by Nils Ekman and
Scott
Thornton. Ekman scored on a 2n period power play chance in close. After
feeding
the puck to Joe Thornton, Ekman slid himself down low with his back to
Thornton
who was stationed on the outer perimeter of the right circle. Thornton
sent a
pass that Ekman stopped on the backhand, before firing a shot past
Mason
Scott Thornton tied the game midway through the 3rd period
on a
redirect in front of Mason. Ville Nieminen gained the puck along the
right wing
boards, then sent a cross-ice pass the Thornton, who was cutting in on
the left
post.
All the momentum the Sharks had re-established was quickly
eliminated when the team was whistled for having too many men on the ice.
Kariya decided things on the ensuing power play with a shot that
deflected off
Adam Hall's pant leg and into the Sharks goal.
The Sharks tried
to mount an
offensive late in the game, but Mason turned aside several shots. The
Predators
goalie flailed his arms wildly after the final horn sounded.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| NAS |
3 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, San
Jose, Smith 1 (Goc, Carle), 4:12. 2, Nashville, Sillinger 1
(Timonen, Kariya),
8:57, (pp). 3, Nashville, Erat 1 (Kariya, Hamhuis), 10:56, (pp). 4,
Nashville,
Weber 1 (Kariya, Sillinger), 19:56, (pp). |
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| 2nd period -
5, San Jose, Ekman 1 (J.Thornton, Preissing), 8:50, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 6, San
Jose, S.Thornton 1 (Nieminen, McCauley), 10:31. 7, Nashville, Hall
1 (Kariya,
Timonen), 12:06, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Witt, NAS
(holding), 0:56; Ehrhoff, SJS (interference), 8:30; Cheechoo, SJS
(interference), 9:31; Witt, NAS (roughing), 12:25; Ekman, SJS
(hooking),
19:44. |
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| 2nd period - Michalek,
SJS (goalie interference), 4:29; Hartnell, NAS (tripping), 7:29;
Nieminen, SJS
(holding), 10:58; Nieminen, SJS (goalie interference), 16:18;
Walker, NAS
(roughing), 16:18. |
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| 3rd period - Weber, NAS
(holding), 3:44; Nieminen, SJS (high-sticking), 6:41; Markov, NAS
(tripping),
7:40; Bench, SJS served by Rissmiller (too many men), 11:32;
Timonen, NAS
(holding), 14:00. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Toskala |
30 |
26 |
| NAS - Mason |
34 |
31 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
8 |
10 |
16 |
34 |
| NAS |
14 |
8 |
8 |
30 |
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| Referees: Marc Joannette, Dean
Warren. Linesmen: Vaughan Rody, Jay Sharrers. |
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