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Comeback too little, too
late
Hurricanes 3 goal 1st too much to
overcome
3/24/07 - by Mike Lee
The
Carolina Hurricanes are a hungry team. The defending Stanley Cup
Champions sat
in the 9th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference entering Saturday
night's
matchup with the Sharks. They used that energy to jump out to a 3-goal
lead in
the 1st period, then fought off the Sharks in the 3rd period, to beat San
Jose
6-4 at RBC Center in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes also had the
benefit of
getting Cam Ward, their starting goaltender back in net for the first
time in 2
weeks. Ward had not started a game after suffering a laceration to his
leg. The
Hurricanes had the added motivation of being a bubble team with 8 games
remaining in the regular season.
Former
Shark Ray Whitney opened the Hurricanes 1st period scoring barrage with
his
29th goal of the season 5:36 into the game. Whitney capitalized on a
Sharks
turnover, before lifting a shot over Evgeni Nabokov's shoulder.
Carolina scored again 59 seconds later on a defensive lapse that stung
the
Sharks. David Tanabe dumped the puck in, bouncing the puck off the end
boards.
The puck ricocheted back to Eric Cole, who scooped up the rebound and
snapped
it past Nabokov for the quick 2-0 lead. The absence of any defensive
pressure
on the play made the chance a slam dunk once Cole controlled the puck.
The Hurricanes landed the haymaker with 1:57 left in the period on an
Andrew
Ladd goal. Ladd out-muscled Kyle McLaren in front of the Sharks net after
Glenn
Wesley pumped a shot on goal from the point. Ladd grabbed the rebound and
slipped it past Nabokov for the 3 goal lead.
Sharks head coach
Ron Wilson
pulled Nabokov to start the 2nd period. The Sharks responded by
committing two
penalties within the first minute of the period to go down two skaters.
The
Sharks dodged the penalty bullet then chipped away at Carolina's lead.
Bill Guerin got the sharks on the board with a 60-foot blast on the power
play
after former Sharks Ray Whitney was sent off for holding. Guerin beat Cam
Ward,
nicking the right post with his long range shot, deflecting into the
goal. The
tally was Guerin's second in the last 2 games, giving him 35 for the
season.
Patrick Marleau and Matt Carle were credited with the assists.
Eric Staal made it 4-1 at
12:29 of the period with a goal after man-handling the Sharks defense.
Staal
carried the puck up the right wing before powering his way past Scott
Hannan
and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Staal put a move on Toskala before depositing
his 28th
of the season.
The Sharks decided to join the party in the final
period, but it was too little, too late. Jonathan Cheechoo pulled the
Sharks
back to a 2-goal deficit with his 31st of the season at 2:42 of the
period.
Steve Bernier scored on a rebound at the midway mark of the
period
after Mike Grier tried putting the puck past Ward.
Trailing by
only a
goal, the sharks shot themselves in the foot when Bill Guerin allowed his
wayward stick to cut Niclas Wallin, drawing a 4-minute high sticking
penalty.
Ladd would score his 2nd of the game on the ensuing Carolina power play.
Mike Commodore would be sent off for holding with 2:02
remaining, and
the Sharks would convert 6 seconds into the man advantage on a 25-foot
slapper
after taking a feed from Marleau.
The Sharks would pull Toskala
for an
extra attacker with a minute remaining, but a lone shot from Thornton
would be
the closest the Sharks would come to tying things up. Cory Stillman would
add
an empty-net goal to seal things.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
| CAR |
3 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
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| 1st period - 1, CAR,
Whitney 29 (unassisted), 5:36. 2, CAR, Cole 27 (Tanabe, Kaberle),
6:33. 3, CAR,
Ladd 10 (Wesley, Walker), 18:03. |
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| 2nd period - 4, SJ,
Guerin 35 (Marleau, Carle, 6:49, (pp). 5, CAR, Staal 28 (Commodore,
Stillman),
12:29 |
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| 3rd period - 6, SJ,
Cheechoo 31 (Rivet, Thornton), 2:42. 7, SJ, Bernier 14 (Grier),
10:11. 8, CAR,
Ladd 11 (Walker, Vasicek), 17:40, (pp). 9, SJ, Thornton 21
(Marleau, Rivet),
18:04, (pp). 10, CAR, Stillman 5 (Walker), 19:56, (en). |
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| 1st period - Wesley, CAR
(delay of game - puck over glass); Vasicek, CAR (holding the
stick), 9:55.
Clowe, SJ (boarding), 12:31; Cheechoo, SJ (roughing), 18:44;
Commodore, CAR
(roughing), 18:44. |
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| 2nd period - Rivet, SJ
(slashing), 0:25; Cheechoo, SJ (holding the stick), 0:52; Whitney,
CAR
(holding), 5:23; Clowe, SJ (roughing), 15:34; Commodore, CAR
(boarding),
18:34. |
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| 3rd period - Walker, CAR
(holding), 10:32; Ehrhoff, SJ (hooking), 12:53; Guerin, SJ )high
sticking -
double minor), 15:27; Commodore, CAR (holding), 17:58. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
10 |
7 |
| SJ - Toskala |
9 |
7 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| CAR - Ward |
24 |
20 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
5 |
8 |
11 |
24 |
| CAR |
10 |
3 |
7 |
20 |
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| Referees: Dave Jackson, Kevin
Pollock. Linesmen: Tony Sericolo, Mark Wheler. |
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