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Comeback extends home points
streak
SJ scored 3 goals in the 3rd period to knock
off Blues
12/13/08 - By Mike Lee
Add
comebacks to the Sharks impressive portfolio of wins this season. San Jose
overcame a 3-1 deficit to the visiting St Louis Blues, winning a 5-4 shoot out
at HP Pavilion on Saturday night. Patrick Marleau broke a 4-4 tie with 5
minutes to play in regulation, capping the Sharks 34th victory of the season.
With the win, San Jose became the first team to reach the 50-point mark in the
NHL this season.
San Jose dominated the opening period, out-shooting
the Blues 12-4, but they failed to take advantage of the big shot advantage.
That failure to land a knock-out punch early would create problems for the
Sharks later in the contest.
Sharks captain Patrick Marleau gave the
Sharks a 1-0 lead 12:53 into the contest with a blast from the point. Joe
Thornton screened Blues goaltender Chris Mason as the shot left Marleau's
stick, providing the distraction needed to get the puck into the net.
A Dan Boyle high sticking penalty would provide an opening for St Louis with
just under 2 minutes to play in the period. Brad Winchester knotted the game up
at 1-1 on the Blues 4th shot of the period. The goal was Winchester's 1st of
the season, but more importantly it came with just 19 seconds remaining in the
period.
B.J. Crombeen opened the 2nd period with a quick goal, just 41
seconds in. Sharks forward Marcel Goc tried to break up a David Backes scoring
chance, but the puck trickled across the slot to a cutting Crombeen who
deposited his 7th goal of the season.
Winchester scored his 2nd of the
game less than a minute later on a 35-foot slapper that Sharks goaltender
Evgeni Nabokov failed to glove. The shot looked relatively routine, but it
sailed over Nabokov's left shoulder for the 3-1 Blues lead.
Jody
Shelley added to the Sharks woes by first taking a goaltender interference
penalty at 3:14, then made it a double minor by high sticking Barret Jackman in
an attempt to draw the Blues defenseman in to a fight.
The San Jose
penalty kill unit came up big, preventing the Blues from extending their lead
on the 4-minute power play.
Mike Grier cut the Blues lead to 3-2 at
15:15 of the period on a nifty setup by Marcel Goc. The Sharks centerman
whipped around the back of the net from left to right before sending out a feed
to the slot. Tomas Plihal fired the shot on goal, bouncing it off of Grier.
A Yan Stastney slashing penalty followed a St Louis penalty for too
many men on the ice, giving the Sharks a brief 5-on-3 power play, but the Blues
dodged the bullet.
The Sharks came out firing to open the 3rd period.
The Sharks top line tied the game at 3-3 at 1:15 on a
tic-tac-toe passing sequence. Joe Thornton setup Devin Setoguchi with his 15th
goal of the season after taking a feed from Marleau. Setoguchi put a one-timer
past Mason from the slot.
Ryane Clowe would put the Sharks ahead 2
minutes later on a put back from the front of the net, after Roman Polak was
sent off for hooking. Lukas Kaspar tried poking a shot in from just outside the
left post, but the shot bounced of Mason, kicking out to Clowe.
The
Sharks put themselves into a precarious position when Michalek took a hooking
penalty at the same time San Jose was called for too many men. San Jose killed
off the 2-minute 5-on-3, which was capped with Marleau being hauled to the ice
as he cleared the puck as the penalties expired.
Backes knotted the
game once again after whipping around Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle, then
backhanding a shot past Nabokov.
Marleau would score a crazy goal with
5:03 to play, which also turned out to be the game winner. Thornton set up a
breakaway by flipping the puck through the neutral zone as Marleau broke for
the St Louis net. The aerial pass got caught in Marleau's skate, forcing the
Sharks captain to pivot to regain control it as it trailed him. As Marleau
tried to gain control of the puck, Mason tried poking it, but it ended up back
on the Shark forward's stick. A backhand shot would seal the deal.
Kaspar took an ill-advised hooking penalty at 18:47, allowing the Blues to pull
Mason and skate with a 6-on-4 advantage. Nabokov came up big, snuffing a big
blast with 8.8 seconds to play.
Game Notes:
Joe Pavelski
absorbed a hit at the end of the 2nd period and did not return after the 2nd
intermission.
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What did you
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Marleau 14 (Thornton), 12:53. 2, STL, Winchester 1 (Backes, Steen), 19:41,
(pp). |
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| 2nd period - 3, STL,
Conrbeen 7 (Steen, McClement), 0:41. 4, STL, Winchester 2 (Perron, Polak),
1:38. 5, SJ, Grier 4 (Plihal, Goc), 15:15. |
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| 3rd period - 6, SJ,
Setoguchi 15 (Thornton, Marleau), 1:15. 7, SJ, Clowe 12 (Kaspar, Michalek),
3:32, (pp). 8, STL, Backes 7 (unassisted), 10:29. 9, SJ, Marleau 15 (Thornton,
Lukowich), 14:57. |
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| 1st period - Hinote, STL
(high sticking), 4:08; Cavanagh, SJ (hooking), 8:48; Boyle, SJ (high sticking),
18:07. |
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| 2nd period - Shelley, SJ
(goaltender interference), 3:14; Shelley, SJ (high sticking), 3:14; Bench, STL
(too many men), 16:06; Stastny, STL (slashing), 17:28. |
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| 3rd period - Polak, STL
(hooking), 3:19; Michalek, SJ (hooking), 5:01; Bench, SJ (too many men), 5:01;
Backes, STL (interference), 7:03; Stasney, STL (slashing), 14:27; Ehrhoff, SJ
(slashing), 14:27; Kaspar, SJ (hooking), 18:47. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| STL - Mason |
38 |
33 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
33 |
29 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
4 |
12 |
17 |
33 |
| SJ |
12 |
12 |
14 |
38 |
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| Referees: Furlatt,
Koharski. Linesmen: Mach, Nowak. |
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