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Toskala gets
offensive
2 assists help SJ jump
Hawks
2/3/07 - by Mike Lee
If
the
Sharks skaters aren't going to kick start the offense, it may as well be
the
goaltenders. That's exactly what netminder Vesa Toskala did on Saturday
afternoon at HP Pavilion, initiating play on the first two Sharks goals
en
route to a 4-2 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. Toskala became
the
first Sharks to register two assists in a game.
The Sharks
special
teams play also took a less obvious approach to scoring goals, by doing
it
short-handed. San Jose's power play is mired in a 1-for-38 slump, which
included another 6 failed attempts on Saturday.
Marcel Goc took the contrarian's approach to special team scoring by
punching
in a short-handed goal just under two minutes into the game after former
Blackhawk Mark Bell was sent off for interference. Patrick Rissmiller
setup the
unusual goal by dumping the puck into the Chicago zone then beating Cam
Barker
to the puck behind the Blackhawks goal.
Rissmiller then fed Goc
with a
centering pass into the slot, but the puck was redirected Troy Brouwer
across
the slot. Cutting from left to right, Goc skated right into Brouwer's
deflection for the easy deposit into the Chicago net.
Tuomo
Ruutu would tie the game 7 minutes
later on a blast that squeezed between Toskala and the left post. Toskala
appeared to be in good position to cutoff Ruutu's shot, but it found
enough
unprotected space to get the puck past Toskala.
The Sharks headed into the 1st intermission up 2-1
after Curtis Brown scored a goal with just over a minute to play in the
period.
Toskala would
Ruutu would setup Martin Havlat midway through the
2nd
period to knot the game up again, but Patrick Marleau would answer three
minutes later with his team leading 27th goal of the season.
The
Sharks coasted after Milan Michalek padded the Sharks lead with 8 minutes
to
play in regulation. Jonathan Cheechoo chipped the puck up to a streaking
Michalek, who beat Nikolai Khabibulin unencumbered.
San Jose
stayed
out of penalty trouble, committing only two minor penalties during the
contest.
Chicago on the other hand served up 6 chances for the Sharks to shake out
of
their power play doldrums, but San Jose would fail to convert on any of
the
chances.
Notes:
Scott Parker returned to the lineup
after spending two
months on the injured reserve with a bum ankle. Parker made is presence
felt
early, when he rubbed out Havlat with a jarring open ice check between
the
bluelines.
Mark Smith took Parker's place on the injured reserve
after
injuring his groin in the Sharks 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on
Thursday.
Evgeni Nabokov also tweaked his groin, and was placed on the injured
reserve as
well. Nolan Schaefer served as Toskala's backup.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CHI |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| SJ |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ, Goc
5 (Rissmiller, Toskala), 1:54, (sh). 2, CHI, Ruutu 12 (Sharp,
Wisniewski),
9:02. 3, SJ, Brown 7 (Hannan, Toskala), 18:42. |
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| 2nd period - 4, CHI,
Havlat 17 (Ruutu, Smolinski), 11:14. 5, SJ, Marleau 27 (Clowe,
Thornton),
14:51 |
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| 3rd period - 6, SJ,
Michalek 14 (Cheechoo), 11:54. |
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| 1st period - Bell, SJ
(interference), 0:38; Sharp, CHI (holding), 5:44; Keith, CHI
(interference),
12:56. |
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| 2nd period - Aucoin, CHI
(high sticking), 2:14; Clowe, SJ (high sticking), 3:07; Wisniewski,
CHI
(holding), 17:32. |
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| 3rd period - Seabrook,
CHI (holding the stick), 3:56; Salmelainen, CHI (hooking),
13:53. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CHI - Khabibulin |
31 |
27 |
| SJ - Toskala |
20 |
18 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CHI |
6 |
9 |
7 |
20 |
| SJ |
13 |
12 |
6 |
31 |
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| Referees: Bill McCreary, Mike
Leggo. Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Vaughan Rody. |
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