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Roadtrip rebound
SJ starts trip with shutout
10/23/06 -
by Mike Lee
Marc-Edourd Vlassic got the best news of his very
short NHL career on Monday, then celebrated by notching his first NHL point in
Columbus as the Sharks kicked off their five-game road trip. The Sharks
announced that Vlassic would remain with the NHL club, rather then return to
his junior team, the Quebec Ramparts, then ended their short lived losing
streak with a 3-0 win over the host Blue Jackets.
Vlassic recorded an assist on Marcel Goc's first goal of the season hours after
Sharks GM Doug Wilson made the announcement that surprised nobody. Vlassic has
been one of the biggest surprises of the season for San Jose this season, but
his steady play on the blueline has earned a prolonged stay.
The 19-year-old defenseman setup Goc with a shot that bounced off Blue Jackets
goaltender Pascal Leclaire. Mark Smith started the play by skating up the
right-wing board before dropping a pass to Vlassic, who sent a shot on net from
the right point. Goc cleaned up on the rebound, pushing the puck into a wide
open net.
San Jose got all the scoring it would need in the 1st period after Steve
Bernier scored on the first of eight power play opportunities on the night.
Matt Carle, the Sharks other highly touted young defenseman, threw the puck on
net and Bernier chopped at it for his 2nd goal of the year.
While the Sharks were turning up the heat on offense, Vesa Toskala was
preventing the Blue Jackets from gaining the early momentum with solid
goaltending.
"I feel comfortable on the ice," Toskala said. "It always feels good after you
get a couple of good saves. I saw the puck well. Our defensemen blocked so many
shots, and that really helps a goalie a lot."
Things turned dicey for the Sharks early in the 2nd period when Milan Michalek
landed awkwardly into the boards after being tripped on a scoring attempt.
Michalek appeared to slam his tailbone into the boards and laid on the ice for
several minutes before trainers helped him off the ice. He would return later
in the period.
The Sharks would establish a bit of a buffer moments later when Jonathan
Cheechoo scored on the ensuing 4-on-3 power play chance by sliding in a pass
from Patrick Marleau. The assist by San Jose's captain extended a 3-game
scoring streak, and showcased Marleau's skills after he was forced to control a
lead pass from Joe Thornton with his skate, before feeding Cheechoo just
outside the left post.
"One of the keys early on was getting the puck deep and putting pressure on
their defense, allowing us to get some chances," Cheechoo said. "When the
puck's in deep, it's hard for them. Our defense did a great job of standing up
to them and protecting the front of the
net."
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Mark Smith mixed it up midway through the 3rd
period. Tollefsen caught Smith with a couple of right hands, outreaching the
much shorter Sharks forward.
"San Jose is a good hockey team, but there is no reason for that to happen to
us," Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said. "They made us look bad out there.
They embarrassed us."
San Jose spent the 3rd period locking down the Blue Jackets offense, much the
same way Minnesota did to them on Saturday night. Toskala recorded his 5th
career shutout, setting a Sharks record with his 12th
consecutive win, dating back to last season. Steve Shields and Evgeni Nabokov
held the previous mark of 11 consecutive starts without a loss.
Notes:
The Sharks recalled defenseman Doug Murray from Worcester on Monday. Murray
was assigned to the Sharks AHL affiliate last week on a conditioning
assignment. Blue Jackets forward Sergei Federov returned to the ice after
missing the first six games with a shoulder injury.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
| CBJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Bernier 2 (Carle, Michalek), 2:24, (pp). |
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| 2nd period -
2, SJ, Cheechoo 5 (Marleau, Thornton), 3:15, (pp). 3, SJ, Goc 1
(Vlassic, Smith), 5:02. |
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| 1st period - Chimera, CBJ (hooking), 1:16;
Brown, SJ (hooking), 6:16. |
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| 2nd period - Tollefson, CBJ (hooking), 1:29;
Hainsey, CBJ (tripping), 1:46; Bell, SJ (interference), 2:03; NAsh, CBJ
(slashing), 8:37; Brule, CBJ (hooking), 11:44; Vyborny, CBJ (hooking),
14:51. |
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| 3rd period - Eriksson, CBJ (tripping), 2:56;
Foote, CBJ (roughing), 4:06; Bell, SJ (boarding), 4:06; Bell, SJ (roughing),
4:06; Tollefson, CBJ (fighting - maj), 8:30; Smith, SJ (fighting - maj), 8:30;
Ehrhoff, SJ (elbowing), 10:31; Nieminen, SJ (hooking), 15:51; Svitov, CBJ
(tripping), 15:58. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Toskala |
23 |
23 |
| CBJ - Leclaire |
32 |
29 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
13 |
15 |
4 |
32 |
| CBJ |
9 |
4 |
10 |
23 |
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| Referees: Stephane Auger, Kevin Pollock. Linesmen:
Scott Driscoll, Ryan Galloway. |
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