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Positive
response in Vancouver
Sharks rebound from opening
night
blues
10/5/07 - by
Mike Lee
After a sluggish
performance in Edmonton just 24 hours earlier, the
Sharks kicked the offense into gear on Friday night in
Vancouver. San Jose scored three times in the opening
period, then leaned on Evgeni Nabokov for a 3-1 win at
GM Place over the host Canucks. Hart Trophy finalist
Roberto Luongo was peppered in the opening period,
stunning the opening night crowd.
Joe Thornton added his second goal of the season in as
many nights, and the old man, Jeremy Roenick, scored
two goals to pace the Sharks.
Thornton's poise helped to convert the game's first
score 5:30 into the contest. Thornton carried a
Christian Ehrhoff pass into the zone then let the
defensive pursuit shift out of his shooting lane in
the slot. Thornton ripped another wrist shot past
Luongo from about 20 feet out.
The old and the new helped the Sharks ash in again 6
minutes later, when Roenick cleaned up on a Torrey
Mitchell shot from the right corner. Mitchell, the
Sharks rookie forward, recorded his first NHL point
with the assist. Roenick punched in the rebound as he
hovered around the left post for his first goal as a
Shark and the 496th of his career.
Roenick would add goal number 497 with just under five
minutes to play in the period, after he redirected a
Douglas Murray shot while trying to create some
traffic in front of Luongo. Murray rifled a shot from
the left point, and Roenick got his stick blade on the
puck, changing the trajectory of Murray's shot.
And just like that, the Canucks were down by three
goals. That would be more then the Sharks needed to
earn their first win of the season. Nabokov would
keep the Canucks at bay for three-quarters of the
game, before finally allowing a Vancouver goal.
Ryan Shannon missed on a point blank blast to start
the 2nd period, one timing a shot from the slot, but
Nabokov played the sequence with text book
positioning.
The Sharks had a chance to pad their lead, when
Shannon and Mathias Ohlund were sent off for separate
infractions 39 seconds apart. San Jose missed on the
ensuing 5-on-3, generating few quality scoring
chances. Joe Pavelski came closest to scoring with a
shot that Luongo snared at the end of the 2-man
advantage.
Brendan Morrison finally got the Canucks on the board
at the 5:56 mark of the 3rd period on a wrap around
attempt that bounced off Nabokov's pad and into the
goal. Mason Raymond setup the goal by keeping the
puck deep in the Sharks zone, while the Sharks tried
clearing it by winding it around the right wing
boards.
Shannon appeared to score his first career NHL after a
bank shot from behind the net pin-balled off a Sharks
defender and skipped along the goal line. Video
replays could not provide conclusive proof that the
puck crossed the goal line, so it was waved off.
Morrison missed on a golden opportunity with 3:30 left
in regulation, shooting at a wide open net. Patrick
Rissmiller hustled back and deflected the shot by
extending his stick, helping the Sharks preserve a
two-goal lead.
Game Notes:
Murray finished with a team high +3 rating and a
career high 2-point night. Murray was rewarded or his
play, with 29 shifts, second only to Marc-Edouard
Vlasic who led the Sharks in ice-time for the second
consecutive game. Vlasic, the second year defenseman,
logged 24:21 ice time, down from the 27 minute game in
Edmonton. Devon Setoguchi will have to wait until
Sunday to make his NHL debut. The rookie forward is
still nursing a bum ankle. Curits Brown was a healthy
scratch for the second consecutive game.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| VAN |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Thornton 2 (Ehrhoff, McLaren), 5:30. 2, SJ, Roenick.1
(Mitchell, Murray), 11:48. 3, SJ, Roenick 2 (Murray,
Michalek), 15:20. |
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| 3rd period - 4,
VAN, Morrison 1 (Raymond), 5:56. |
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| 1st period -
Mitchell, VAN (hooking), 1:07; Bieksa, VAN (high
sticking - double minor), 7:45; Cheechoo, SJ
(hooking), 17:07; D. Sedin, VAN (hooking), 19:22. |
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| 2nd period -
McLaren, SJ (roughing), 3:44; Ehrhoff, SJ (hooking),
12:14; Shannon, VAN (high sticking), 16:28; Ohlund,
VAN (tripping), 17:07. |
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| 3rd period -
Shannon, VAN (hooking), 8:14; McLaren, SJ (tripping),
14:34. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
23 |
22 |
| VAN - Luongo |
31 |
28 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
13 |
9 |
9 |
31 |
| VAN |
8 |
8 |
7 |
23 |
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| Referees: Stephane Auger,
Paul Devorski. Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Ryan
Galloway. |
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