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No offensive support for
Niemi
Sharks netminder loses 4th straight
Antti Niemi held an opponent to two goals for the
first time since his opening day start against the Columbus Blue Jackets in
Stockholm on Thursday night in St Louis. Unfortunately, his teammates failed to
put anything past Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak, extending their road
scoreless streak to 6 periods. Halak stopped 25 shots to earn his 3rd shutout
of the year, extending the Blues home win streak to a perfect 6-for-6 this
season.
For the Sharks it was another loss with Niemi in net. Making
his sixth start of the season, the netminder wasn't terrible, but he was no
match for Halak who kept his net clear all night long.
San Jose
continued their dangerous trend of sending a conga line of players to the
penalty box. While it didn't result in any St Louis goals, it did prevent them
from mounting any sustained pressure on Halak. After their penalty parade in
Minnesota on Tuesday, the Sharks didn't seem inclined to overcome the evil of
their ways.
Considering the way Halak has played this season, any trip
to the penalty box seems ill advised. Halak's teammates made things worse for
the Sharks by applying a steady dose of hustle that had the Sharks on their
heels throughout the opening period.
Three minor penalties in that
opening period kept the Sharks from establishing any presence in front of the
Blues goal. One of those penalties was a Niklas Wallin boarding infraction, one
of three the Sharks would take during the contest.
San Jose managed to
kill off those 1st period penalties, but they wouldn't be able to stop the
Blues from taking a 1-0 lead into the 1st intermission.
Matt
D'Agostini would give the Blues the early lead on a shot from the right corner
that crossed up Niemi. The play started with a lofting dump in by Baret Jackman
from the Blues end of the ice. D'Agostini raced up the right wing, beating Kent
Huskins to the puck before sending the shot Niemi's way.
After
spending 12 seasons playing for the Blues, Jamal Mayers was especially
motivated to beat his former team. He would drop the gloves with Brad
Winchester on the ensuing faceoff in an attempt to light a fire under his
teammates.
The penalty issue went from bad to worse in the 2nd period.
Joe Thornton was the catalyst for the Sharks misfortunes in the period. First
he took the Sharks second boarding penalty of the game at 3:22 of the period,
then moments after existing the penalty box after that penalty expired he found
himself in position to lay a hit on Blues winger David Perron.
Perron never saw Thornton exit the penalty box and
with his head turned to receive a pass, he wasn't prepared for the open-ice hit
that would send him sprawling. As Perron lay face-down on the ice, Thornton was
given a major penalty for an illegal check to the head and a game misconduct.
With Thornton tossed, the Sharks seemed lifeless.
Perron was
no worse for the wear. That was validated when the forward scored the Blues
second goal of the game ten minutes later. The Blues would move the puck into
the Sharks zone by TJ Oshie who would try throwing a shot on net. The puck hit
Perron in the shoulder, deflecting the puck to the ice, where the Blues forward
would backhand a shot past Niemi for the 2-0 lead.
That was all the
scoring St Louis would need.
The Sharks had no answers for Halak. They
would outshoot St Louis 11-7 in the 3rd period, but nothing came close to
cracking the score sheet.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| STL |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, STL,
D'Agostini 5 (Jackman, Pietrangelo), 17:41. |
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| 2nd period - 2, STL,
Perron 5 (Oshie, Pietrangelo), 14:12. |
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| 1st period - Setoguchi,
SJ (hooking), 4:41; Wallin, SJ (boarding), 9:39; Setoguchi, SJ (interference),
12:10; D'Agostini, STL (holding the stick), 15:17; Mayers, SJ (fighting major),
17:42; Winchester, STL (fighting major), 17:42; Boyle, SJ (kneeing),
18:41. |
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| 2nd period - Thornton,
SJ (boarding), 3:22; McLaren, SJ (roughing), 3:22; Brewer, STL (roughing),
3:22; Thornton, SJ (illegal check to head major), 5:29; Thornton, SJ (game
misconduct), 5:29; Couture, SJ (fighting major), 5:29; Pietrangelo, STL
(fighting major), 5:29; Heatley, SJ (boarding), 9:09; Vlasic, SJ (roughing),
10:38; Perron, STL (roughing), 10:38; Crombeen, STL (tripping), 18:42. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
29 |
27 |
| STL - Halak |
25 |
25 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
9 |
5 |
11 |
25 |
| STL |
8 |
14 |
7 |
29 |
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| Referees: O'Rourke,
Pochmara. Linesmen: Brisebois, Wheler. |
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