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Choke job
Sharks huck up win in final
minute
12/20/07 - by Mike Lee
After
dominating the Phoenix Coyotes this season, the Sharks turned what looked like
their 4th consecutive win into a shoot out loss after gagging up the lead in
the final minute of regulation. Shane Down scored the equalizer with 42 ticks
left in the 3rd period, then Coyotes goaltender Ilya Brygalov stopped all three
Sharks in the shootout to steal 2 points.
A wild 3rd period and
overtime was quite the contrast to the first two periods, which produced no
goals, even though both teams combined for 49 shots.
Sharks goaltender
Evgeni Nabokov kept the game scoreless going into the 1st intermission after
stoning the Coyotes, during a Phoenix power play. The Coyotes threw 6 shots on
goal during the man-advantage, including a shot by Niko Kapanen that seemed
destined for the back of the net. Nabokov denied Kapanen with a pad save,
sticking his skate against the left post to cutoff the shot.
Both
teams traded punches early in the 2nd period, but neither goaltender would
flinch. Bryzgalov stopped Joe Thornton on an odd-man break, then Nabokov
stopped a Shane Doan shot from the slot after a Sharks turnover.
Kapanen just missed on a golden opportunity late in the period after Nabokov
gave up a big rebound. The Coyotes forward raced in toward the goal, but
Marc-Edouard Vlasic hauled got enough of his stick to prevent a solid shot on
goal. Vlasic was whistled for hooking on the play, which would cost the Sharks.
The Coyotes finally broke their scoreless streak against the Sharks,
when Mike York squeezed a shot through Nabokov's pads 33 seconds into the 3rd
period on the power play. York was positioned on the goal line, just outside
the left post. His shot found a sliver of an opening between Nabokov's pads,
ending the second longest shutout streak for a goaltender against a single
team.
Nabokov's 271:10 of goal free play against Phoenix is 2nd all
time, 10 minutes behind a Dominik Hasek's NHL record.
The Sharks would
answer 1:42 later when Torrey Mitchell slammed home a Mike Grier pass while
perched on the Coyotes doorstep. Grier raced up the right wing boards, then
slid a pass back toward the crease.
All hell broke loose 2 minutes later on a routine
stoppage in front of the Sharks net. Several players started swinging at each
other, including Daniel Carcillo who went after Steve Bernier. The issue for
Carcillo was that Bernier was already engaged with Nick Boynton. Jeremy Roenick
tried to pull Carcillo off of Bernier, and in doing so appeared to bend
Carcillo's leg awkwardly.
Carcillo was helped off the ice after
Phoenix's trainers were summoned to the ice. After all the penalties were
sorted out, San Jose ended up with a 5-minute power play. Keith Ballard would
take a roughing penalty with a minute remaining in the 5 minute power play to
give the Sharks a 5-on-3.
San Jose's power play unit was disheveled,
failing to generate much through the first 3 minutes, so Sharks head coach Ron
Wilson called a timeout to give his special team's unit a tongue lashing from
the bench.
It looked as if the Sharks would squander the chance, but
Jeremy Roenick would stuff home a shot from the same spot that York scored his
goal just as the 1st penalty was set to expire. The goal broke an 0-for-19
drought on the power play.
Mike Grier missed on a shorthanded
breakaway chance with 7:30 to play. With Kyle McLaren in the box for the 3rd
time, Grier intercepted a pass at the red line and raced up, but shot high on
Bryzgalov.
Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky pulled Bryzgalov with a
minute remaining in regulation, but Keith Ballard was sent off for cross
checking Mitchell. With the extra skater, it looked as if the Sharks had things
wrapped up, but they let their guard down, failing to clear a puck in their own
zone.
With the Sharks on the power play, Doan would knock Milan
Michalek off the puck near the Sharks blueline, then rip a shot past Nabokov
shorthanded.
Patrick Marleau had a chance to end it in regulation on a
play in tight with 7.4 seconds left, but Bryzgalov snuffed out the chance.
Ballard's penalty carried over into the overtime period, but the
Sharks were content to play patty-cake with the puck. Phoenix almost scored
after Ballard's penalty expired on a breakaway chance, but Ballard's shot
sailed wide. Phoenix then had a 3-on-1 break that Nabokov somehow managed to
foil.
Grier and Joe Pavelski had their own 2-on-1 chance moments
later, but Bryzgalov gloved Pavelski's snap shot.
Ballard would trip
Mitchell with 45 seconds remaining in the overtime period after the Sharks
rookie picked his pocket in the Coyotes zone. San Jose put one shot on goal,
but couldn't crack Bryzgalov in the extra period.
In the shootout Joe
Pavelski rang a shot off the left post, then Peter Mueller snapped a goal home
through Nabokov's 5-hole.
Marleau flubbed on a weak attempt to head
fake in tight, then Radim Vrbata missed on a backhand attempt to the left.
Bryzgalov ended it with a stop on a Mitchell shot that bounced off the
goaltender's left pad.
Game Notes:
Joe Thornton
recorded his 700th career point on Roenick's goal. The Sharks power play
finished 1-for-9 on the evening.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
SO |
T |
| PHO |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
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| 3rd period - 1, PHO,
York 5 (Reinprecht, Jovanovski), 0:33, (pp). 2, SJ, Mitchell 6 (Grier,
Rissmiller), 2:14. 3, SJ, Roenick 7 (Ozolinsh, Thornton), 7:59, (pp). 4, PHO,
Doan 9 (Jovanovski), 19:19, (sh). |
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| Shootout - SJ: Pavelski
(miss), Marleau (miss), Mitchell (miss). PHO: Mueller (goal), Vrbata
(miss). |
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| 1st period - Kapanen,
PHO (hooking), 4:44; Carcillo, PHO (roughing), 7:40; Mitchell, SJ (roughing),
7:40; Bench, PHO (too many men), 8:44; Boynton, PHO (fighting major), 12:24;
Murray, SJ (fighting major), 12:24; Vlasic, SJ (tripping), 18:19. |
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| 2nd period - McLaren, SJ
(hooking), 3:32; Vrbata, PHO (hooking), 4:47; Kapanen, PHO (tripping), 8:41;
Boynton, PHO (interference), 13:12; McLaren, SJ (hooking), 16:24; Vlasic, SJ
(hooking), 19:03. |
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| 3rd period - Boynton,
PHO (fighting major), 3:07; Perrault, PHO (fighting major), 3:07; Carcillo, PHO
(fighting major), 3:07; Carcillo, PHO (game misconduct), 3:07; Marleau, SJ
(fighting major), 3:07; Bernier, SJ (fighting major), 3:07; Ballard, PHO
(roughing), 7:11; McLaren, SJ (tripping), 10:06; Ballard, PHO (cross checking),
19:09. |
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| Overtime - Ballard, PHO
(tripping), 4:14. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| PHO - Bryzgalov |
38 |
36 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
37 |
35 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| PHO |
16 |
11 |
9 |
1 |
37 |
| SJ |
15 |
7 |
13 |
3 |
38 |
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| Referees: Dan
Marouelli, Brad Watson. Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Dan Shachte. |
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