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Rissmiller leads home
charge
Another strong showing leads to
win
1/5/08 - by Mike Lee
Home hasn't
been so kind to the Sharks this season, but their second consecutive strong
effort paid dividends on Saturday night. An up tempo pace, combined with
scoring from an unlikely source helped propel San Jose to a 3-2 win over the
Columbus Blue Jackets at HP Pavilion. Patrick Rissmiller scored two goals to
help pace San Jose to its first win on home ice since December 13th. The win
also moved the Sharks into sole possession of 1st place in the Pacific
Division.
The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead, before letting Columbus
slip back into the game with a pair of 3rd period goals.
Rissmiller
gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 1:29 into the 2nd period, after deflecting a Matt
Carle shot past Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclair. Carle cranked a shot
from the left point that Leclair seemed to have a bead on, but Rissmiller
changed the trajectory of the puck with his stick.
After the Carle
goal, the Sharks smelled blood. Jonathan Cheechoo pushed the puck across the
front of the goal mouth, but Leclaire was able to corral it, while the Columbus
defensive corps went head hunting.
Steve Bernier would convert 2
minutes after Carle's goal on a weird bounce. Milan Michalek floated the puck
into the Blue Jackets zone ahead of Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda, but the puck
stopped where it landed. Hejda over-skated the puck, but a trailing Bernier
scooped it up and whipped a shoat past Leclair after doing a three-quarter spin
in the slot.
With Jonathan Cheechoo in the penalty box for high
sticking, Rick Nash missed on a golden opportunity after racing around
Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Nash whipped around the right win and put a shot on goal
from point blank range, but Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov gloved the scoring
chance.
Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock would pull Leclair the 2nd
& 3rd periods, replacing him with Fredrik Norrena. That move would prove
fruitless, as the Sharks would score less than 3 minutes into the final period.
Rissmiller would put his 4th goal of the season past
Norrena, one timing a Joe Pavelski pass from the slot. Pavelski grabbed a loose
puck near the Columbus end boards, raced around the back of the Blue Jackets
net, then skated out toward the inside of the left circle. Headed away from the
net, Pavelski slipped the puck to Rissmiller as the two passed each other in
opposing directions.
Andrew Murray cut the Sharks lead to 3-1 at 8:21
of the period, by squeezing a shot past Nabokov from a severe angle. Murray
grabbed the puck behind the Sharks net, then threw it on net from the right
corner. The puck found a gap between Nabokov's left skate and the right post.
Jeremy Roenick would get sent off for cross checking less than 30
seconds later, which would tilt the ice in Columbus' favor. Sergei Federov
would convert on the ensuing power play, stuffing a shot through Nabokov's
pads. Rick Nash fired a shot that hit Nabokov in the chest, but dropped to his
feet. Federov swooped in an chipped the loose puck into the net for this 54th
point in 50 games against San Jose.
Hitchcock would pull Norrena for
another skater with a minute to play, and Bernier came within an inch of
scoring his second goal of the night. After skating across the red line,
Bernier backhanded the puck toward the empty net, but it bounced off the post
on the fly.
Nabokov would finish the game with 21 saves to earn his
23rd win of the season.
Game Notes:
Rob Davison and
Sandis Ozolinsh were both scratched for the 2nd consecutive game.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CBJ |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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| 2nd period - 1, SJ,
Rissmiller 3 (Carle, Rivet), 1:29. 2, SJ, Bernier 11 (Michalek, McLaren),
3:31. |
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| 3rd period - 3, SJ,
Rissmiller 4 (Pavelski), 2:28. 4, CBJ, Murray 2 (Fritsche, Hainsey), 8:21. 5,
CBJ, Federov 8 (Nash, Lindstrom), 10:35, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Federov,
CBJ (hooking), 1:48. |
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| 2nd period - Cheechoo,
SJ (high sticking), 5:03; Ehrhoff, SJ (holding), 9:35. |
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| 3rd period - Roenick, SJ
(cross checking), 9:07. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CBJ - Leclaire |
15 |
13 |
| CBJ - Norrena |
4 |
3 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
23 |
21 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CBJ |
6 |
9 |
8 |
23 |
| SJ |
4 |
11 |
4 |
19 |
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| Referees: Paul
Devorski, Tom Kowal. Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Vaughan Rody. |
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