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Sharks rebound in
LA
9th straight road win for SJ
3/18/08 - by Mike Lee
The Sharks 11-game winning
streak may have ended on Sunday, but the Brian Boucher kept his personal streak
in San Jose going. The Sharks backup goaltender won for the 2nd time in as many
starts for San Jose, 2-1 in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. Boucher stopped 29
shots, and came within 4:47 of keeping his shutout streak as a Sharks
goaltender alive. Only a Lubomir Visnovsky goal late in the game kept Boucher's
shutout streak from continuing.
Boucher was on the defensive for most
of the night, but he came up big when necessary. The two teams traded 13 shots
apiece in the opening period, including several that had a chance to find their
way to the back of the net.
Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier played
solidly as well, but a Joe Thornton power play goal at 17:09 of the opening
period gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead heading into the 1st intermission. Thornton
actually tried setting up Joe Pavelski for a score from his perch along the
right post. Thornton saw Pavelski cutting through the slot and tried dishing a
feed, but Pavelski's shot attempt found its way back on Thornton's stick.
Cloutier went down trying to defend against Pavelski's scoring chance,
providing a wide open net for Thornton.
Los Angeles went on the
offensive in the 2nd period to try and score the equalizer, sending several
puck Boucher's way. Mike Cammalleri tried stuffing home a puck in tight from
the same spot that Thornton scored his goal, after Kyle McLaren gave the Kings
a power play chance for boarding at 2:11 of the period.
Derek
Armstrong had another Kings scoring chance go by the wayside 2 minutes later,
when Boucher turned aside a blast from the point, then Armstrong's put-back
attempt.
The Sharks got themselves into more trouble when they took
consecutive goaltender interference penalties 4 minutes part. First Torrey
Mitchell grazed Cloutier, but the Los Angeles goaltender's acting skills earned
Mitchell a trip the penalty box. Devin Setoguchi would follow when Cloutier
again embellished the amount of contact.
Ron Wilson dispatched the league's 2nd best penalty
killing unit to fend off the Kings. Along with Boucher's timely goaltending,
Los Angeles was unable to muster any scoring from their special teams unit.
Patrick Rissmiller gave the Sharks a 2-goal lead with 3:37 to play in
the period on a nifty piece of stick work. Rissmiller scooped up the puck in
his own zone, raced up the middle of the ice before dishing the puck to
Mitchell at the Kings blueline, then took a return feed in the slot. Former
Sharks defenseman Tom Preissing couldn't get back in time to stop Rissmiller's
shot which bounced off Cloutier, then landed right back on Rissmiller's stick.
The second shot found its way past Cloutier who sat in his own gal after
getting beat by Rissmiller.
The Kings would outshoot San Jose 8-3 in
the 3rd period, but wouldn't score until Visnovsky found the upper right corner
of the Sharks goal on a screen by Pavelski, who tried clogging the lane.
Armstrong stripped Kyle McLaren of the puck along the right wing boards, before
circling back behind the Sharks net and feeding Visnovsky near the top of the
left circle.
Los Angeles head coach Marc Crawfrod would pull Cloutier
with a minute remaining to try and score the tying goal. Cammalleri almost
pulled it off, taking a feed at the Sharks blueline then undressing Sharks
defenseman Brian Cambell with a deek in the high slot. The Kings centerman
would uncork a shot from 30 feet that Boucher barely deflected wide of the net
with a glove save.
Game Notes:
The Sharks extended their lead
in the Pacific Division by 5 points over the idle Anaheim Ducks. They moved 6
points ahead of the Dallas Stars who also had the night off. Those two teams
play each other on Wednesday night in Dallas. Jeremy Roenick was a healthy
scratch. Tomas Plihal made it back to the lineup in Roenick's absence.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| LA |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Thornton 20 (Paveski, Marleau), 17:09, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Rissmiller 8 (Mitchell), 16:23. |
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| 3rd period - 3, LA,
Visnovsky 7 (Armstrong), 15:13. |
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| 1st period - Grier, SJ
(delay of game - puck over glass), 13:37; Blake, LA (elbowing), 14:31; Ellis,
LA (hooking), 16:28. |
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| 2nd period - McLaren, SJ
(boarding), 2:11; Mitchell, SJ (goaltender interference), 7:55; Setoguchi, LA
(goaltender interference), 11:44. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Boucher |
30 |
29 |
| LA - Cloutier |
23 |
21 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
13 |
7 |
3 |
23 |
| LA |
13 |
9 |
8 |
30 |
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| Referees: Koharski,
Shick. Linesmen: Lazarowich, Wheler. |
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