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Costly win for
S.J.?
Nabokov injured in win over
Phoenix
11/11/06 - by Mike Lee
The
Sharks extended their winning streak to four games on Saturday night in
Phoenix, but may have lost a goaltender in the process. Starter Evgeni Nabokov
was forced to leave the game with a stiff neck after Coyotes centerman Michael
Zigomanis plowed into the Sharks netminder early in the contest. Zigomanis also
hit Nabokov with his stick with a cross check that should have drawn a harsher
penalty.
Nabokov's teammates took immediate exception to Zigomanis'
reckless play and went after him on the ice. When the smoke cleared, the
Coyotes ended up with a man-advantage situation. Mark Bell was sent off for
roughing during the stoppage and Mike Grier drew an unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty.
Scott Hannan added to the predicament by drawing a holding
penalty 19 seconds into the Coyotes 5-on-4 advantage. San Jose rebuffed the
Coyotes power play, but did little to avenge Zigomanis' misdeed when they were
given a two-man advantage for a minute later in the period.
Donald
MacLean appeared to give the Coyotes the early lead as Hannan's penalty
expired, but the would-be goal was waved off, because MacLean kicked the puck
into the net as the Coyotes staged another bum rush on Nabokov.
Yannic
Perreault would convert for the Coyotes with 53 ticks left in the period, by
redirecting an Oleg Saprykin pass past Nabokov.
Nabokov would finish
out the period, but did not return when the puck was dropped to start the
middle period.
The Sharks rallied around Vesa Toskala who would
replace Nabokov and stop all 25 shots he would face, including 15 in the 3rd
period.
"Getting outshot is not a significant factor," said Nabokov.
"It's the quality chances that you want to eliminate, and then it's up to the
goalie to see the puck and make the save. So far, our defense has been solid,
and that makes my job easier."
The Sharks would tie things up 4 minutes into the 2nd
when Steve Bernier was credited with tipping in a shot by Hannan. Sharks
Captain Patrick Marleau setup the scoring chance by drawing a defender away
from the puck before sliding a pass to Hannan.
Marleau would score the
game winner midway through the period with a 40-foot slapper that beat Curtis
Joseph. Marleau rifled a Milan Michalek pass over Joseph's right shoulder to
score his 11th goal of the season.
Toskala played superbly considering
the limited notice he was given to prepare himself. Phoenix failed to generate
any serious scoring chances in the final period despite the high shot count.
"Our defense is doing an outstanding job, but we need to clean up some
little things," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "The wingers are turning the
pucks over and that's not acceptable. Sure, we picked up the two points, but
have to figure out how we can do things better and improve."
Sharks
head coach Ron Wilson called a timeout with just under a minute to play to rest
his players for the rush that the Coyotes would through at San Jose, but Marcel
Goc won 3 of 4 faceoffs in that final minute to deny Phoenix any chance to
establish a serious charge.
"If we were 9-4 instead of 4-11, you might
say, 'Oh well, we played well. Let's get ready for our next game,"' said
Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky. "We can't afford to give any points away. Our
effort was strong, but that's not good enough."
Notes:
Former Sharks captain Owen Nolan saw only 15:29 of ice time on 24 shifts
against his former team, and was hardly a factor in the contest. Nolan recorded
a single shot on goal and was credited with a hit, but provided little spark
otherwise.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| PHO |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, PHO,
Perreault 1 (Saprykin, Morris), 19:07. |
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| 2nd period -
2, SJ, Bernier 5 (HAnnan, Marleau), 3:58. 3, SJ, Marleau 11 (Michalek,
Bernier), 10:34. |
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| 1st period - Bell, SJ
(roughing), 7:48; Grier, SJ (unsportsmanlike conduct), 7:48; Zigomani, PHO
(goaltender interference), 7:48; HAnnan, SJ (holding), 8:09; Carle, SJ
(hooking), 11:13; Fischer, PHO (tripping), 14:54; bench, PHO (too many men),
15:57. |
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| 2nd period - Laraque,
PHO (interference), 13:37. |
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| 3rd period - Jovanovski,
PHO (tripping), 0:36; Brown, SJ (interference), 3:43. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
14 |
13 |
| SJ - Toskala |
25 |
25 |
| PHO - Joseph |
18 |
16 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
7 |
8 |
3 |
18 |
| PHO |
14 |
10 |
15 |
39 |
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| Referees: Mike Hasenfratz,
Dennis LaRue. Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Mark Wheler. |
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