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Back to back
implosions
Another 2-goal lead squandered in the 3rd
period
They say it’s good to have a short memory
after a loss. The Sharks put their poor performance in Colorado so far behind
them that they seemed to forget how they lost on Wednesday and did the exact
same thing in Dallas on Thursday night. San Jose coughed up another two-goal
lead in the 3rd period, then allowed an opponent to score in overtime to steal
a point. Mike Ribeiro scored 2:52 into the extra session to send the Sharks
home with their 5th consecutive road loss.
After establishing a
commanding 4-2 lead through the first 50 minutes of the contest, San Jose
seemed to go into a shell, allowing the Stars to control the front of the net.
Dallas scored two ugly goals by simply sending bodies to the goal and ramming
pucks on Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi from the doorstep. It was an unfortunate
outcome for Niemi who looked poised to record his second consecutive win.
His defense would let him down with all the black and green jerseys
that were allowed to roam in front of him. The Stars staked themselves to an
early 2-0 lead on goals by Brad Richards and James Neal. Richards was the
beneficiary of a fluke bounce of the glass as everyone was tracking it into the
left corner. The puck hit a seam and deflected in the opposite direction to
Richards who was trailing on the play. All he had to do was grab the puck and
tuck it around the right post as Niemi was looking in the opposite direction.
Neal would crank a shot from the blueline that caught Niemi up high
and trickled over the goal line.
The Sharks would storm back with 4
straight goal to establish their own lead.
Scott Nichol made it a 2-1
game with 1:19 remaining in the opening period with a nifty goal. The feisty
forward snagged a Jason Demers lead pass out of the air as he was splitting two
Stars defenseman. He would then sweep a knee high shot past Kari Lehtonen for
his 3rd goal of the season.
Joe Pavelski would tie the game midway
through the 2nd period by putting a wrap-around attempt past Lehtonen. Dan
Boyle threw a shot on net from the right point that Lehtonen partially
deflected. The puck trickled over to the left side of the net. Pavelski swooped
around the back of the net from right to left, depositing his 6th goal of the
season.
Logan Couture gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead two minutes later
when he put a shot off Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen that deflected into the
goal. Couture took a feed from Ryane Clowe in the left corner before firing a
shot at the Stars blueliner. Niskanen went down to a knee to take away the low
side, but by doing so, setup the deflection by having the shaft of his stick on
the ice.
Patrick Marleau added his 8th of the season at 6:27 of the
3rd period on a hustle play. Jamie McGinn sent a shot on net from the left side
that kicked out in front of the net. Marleau streaked around the back of the
net to corral the puck and pivot to put the puck past Lehtonen.
With
10 minutes to play groundhog day set in. The Sharks appeared to take a
three-goal lead when Marleau deflected a shot into the Stars net, but like the
game the evening before, the goal was disallowed for a deflection above the
waist.
The wheels would come off with under three minutes to
play in regulation.
Neal would cut the sharks lead to 4-3 with a goal
at 17:25, redirecting a shot in the slot under Niemi. Richards slid the puck
toward the top of the crease parallel with the goal line, hitting Neal in the
skate for the deflection into the Sharks goal.
Rather than buckle
down, the Sharks folded. They allowed the Stars to gain control of the puck on
the ensuing faceoff and drive right back on goal. Ribeiro took a Brendan Morrow
feed from behind the net and flipped it over Niemi from the top of the crease.
With the momentum clearly on their side, Marc-Edouard Vlasic took a
questionable interference penalty with 1:42 remaining in regulation to back the
Sharks into a corner. They would kill off the penalty, which carried over into
overtime, but they didn’t have an answer for Ribeiro.
The Stars
forward was the beneficiary of a non-call behind the Sharks net after Boyle
gathered the puck. Morrow cross checked the Sharks defenseman, knocking him off
the puck and allowing Ribeiro to grab the loose puck in front of the net. He
would move from left to right waiting out Niemi who sprawled out in an attempt
to defend the shot. Ribeiro would lift a backhand shot over the fallen
goaltender to complete the Sharks implosion.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| DAL |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
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| 1st period - 1, DAL,
Richards 9 (Neal, Eriksson), 5:15. 2, DAL, Neal 6 (Richards, Robidas), 7:30,
(pp). 3, SJ, Nichol 3 (Demers, Heatley), 18:41. |
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| 2nd period - 4, SJ,
Pavelski 6 (Boyle, Clowe), 10:21. 5, SJ, Couture 8 (Clowe), 12:37. |
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| 3rd period - 6, SJ,
Marleau 8 (McGinn, Setoguchi), 6:27. 7, DAL, Neal 7 (Richards, Eriksson),
17:25. 8, DAL, Ribeiro 1 (Morrow, Benn), 17:54. |
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| Overtime - 9, DAL,
Ribeiro 2 (Morrow), 2:52. |
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| 1st period - Joslin, SJ
(tripping), 7:16; Moore, SJ (fighting major), 7:51; Fistric, DAL (fighting
major), 7:51; Burrish, DAL (goaltender interference), 8:28; Morrow, DAL
(tripping), 12:04. |
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| 2nd period - Setoguchi,
SJ (fighting major), 0:19; Benn, DAL (fighting major), 0:19; Ott, DAL
(slashing), 0:19; Couture, DAL (hooking), 5:40; Mayers, SJ (fighting major),
11:56; Barch, DAL (fighting major), 11:56; Mitchell, SJ (10 min misconduct),
14:14; Richards, DAL (10 min misconduct), 14:14; Pavelski, SJ (hooking), 15:50;
Neal, DAL (high sticking – double minor), 18:37. |
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| 3rd period - Vlasic, SJ
(interference), 19:18. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
41 |
36 |
| DAL - Lehtonen |
39 |
35 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
15 |
11 |
12 |
1 |
39 |
| DAL |
14 |
12 |
12 |
3 |
41 |
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| Referees: Devorski,
Lee. Linesmen: Lazarowich, McElman. |
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