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It's not a dream, Sharks win
again
Big 3 and Niemi come up big on MLK
Day
Coming off their first win in two weeks on
Saturday, the Sharks followed it up with a big win on the road on Martin Luther
King’s birthday in Phoenix. San Jose got goals from all three of their top
line forwards and a power play tally from Logan Couture to knock off the
Coyotes 4-2. Goaltender Antti Niemi made 34 saves to earn his second
consecutive victory.
The win was magnified by the fact that it came
against a division foe. San Jose is playing a stretch of eight games against
Western Conference teams. With the standings so tightly packed right now, a
loss can mean the difference between making the playoffs or not.
With
all the focus and urgency on reclaiming a playoff spot, it was easy to overlook
the fact that Patrick Marleau was playing in his 1000th game. Marleau would
have been the youngest player to reach mark had the NHL not had a work stoppage
during the 2004-05 season. Instead, he became the third youngest, behind Dale
Hawerchuk and former Shark Vincent Damphousse.
Shane Doan almost got
things off to a hot start for Phoenix by rifling a shot off the left post just
44 seconds into the game.
Marleau would do his own celebrating by
getting the Sharks on the board three minutes later with a shot from the left
corner that found the top shelf for the 1-0 Sharks lead. Marc-Edouard Vlasic
sent a feed to Marleau who was skating up the left wing boards. Coyotes
goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was partially screened by Joe Pavelski, as the Sharks
forward skated along the end line.
Phoenix would tie things up
courtesy of Kent Huskins, who deflected a Derek Morris shot past Niemi at
12:09. Morris sent a long shot in from the right point, catching Huskins skate
for the redirect into the Sharks goal.
Dany Heatley would add his 18th
goal of the season 4 minutes into the 2nd period after the Coyotes tuned over
the puck during a line change. With Adrian Aucoin heading to his bench, the
Coyotes were only left with a single defenseman back in their own zone. Dan
Boyle stepped in front of a breakout pass in the neutral zone before sending
the puck up to Couture. Heatley would take a pass from the rookie in the slot
before deeking Bryzgalov and walking the puck into the net.
Heatley
would put his team in a precarious position five minutes later after he cut
Radim Vrbata with a high stick. San Jose would get relief form Niemi who stood
on his head during the four-minute double-minor penalty.
David
Schlemko would cross checking penalty with 4 minutes left before the second
intermission. Couture would crack the 20 goal mark on the ensuing power play,
off a Dan Boyle feed. Couture was cruising through the slot when Heatley and
Boyle put together a tic-tac-toe sequence that ended on his stick for the
redirect past Bryzgalov.
A tripping penalty to Joe Pavelski early in
the 3rd period gave the Coyotes a chance to cut into the Sharks lead, but Niemi
made a nice save on a Keith Yandle shot, then got a little help from the post
on a shot that came an inch from finding the back of the net.
Oliver
Ekman-Larsson would bite into that lead with a goal at 12:01 of the period on a
shot from the left dot. The Sharks were guilty of watching the puck as Lauri
Korpokoski skated around the back of the net. Rather than stepping into
Korpikoski, the Sharks allowed the forward to roam with the puck before finding
the cutting Ekman-Larsson.
Bryzgalov denied Joe Thornton with a big save on the
Sharks captain with just under 3 minutes to play. Niemi would answer with a big
save on Eric Belanger who tried jamming a shot past the Sharks netminder from
the doorstep with 1:50 left in regulation.
Joe Thornton would put the
game away with an empty-netter after Marleau forced a turnover in the Coyotes
zone. The Sharks had pushed a faceoff out of their zone, ad Marleau chased the
puck and forced Martin Hanzel into making a pass up the ice. Thornton stepped
in front of it and carried it into the Phoenix goal for his 13th of the season.
Game Notes:
Couture became the 3rd Shark to score 20
goals as a rookie. Benn Ferriero was a scratch after sustaining an eye injury
in the Sharks win over St Louis on Saturday night. Ferriero was scratched his
eye in his fight with Eric Brewer.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| PHO |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Marleau 18 (Vlasic, Pavelski), 3:45. 2, PHO, Morris 4 (Yandle, Belanger),
12:09. |
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| 2nd period - 3, SJ,
Heatley 18 (Couture, Thornton), 4:03. 4, SJ, Couture 20 (Boyle, Heatley),
17:19, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 5, PHO,
Ekman-Larsson 1 (Korpikoski, Stempniak), 12:01. 6, SH, Thornton 13
(unassisted), 19:11, (en). |
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| 1st period - Lepisto,
PHO (interference), 19:54. |
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| 2nd period - Heatley, SJ
(high sticking – double minor), 9:11; Schlemko, PHO (cross checking),
16:06. |
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| 3rd period - Pavelski,
SJ (tripping), 3:15; Doan, PHO (delay of game – puck over glass), 13:27.
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
36 |
34 |
| PHO - Bryzgalov |
35 |
32 |
| PHO - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
12 |
10 |
14 |
36 |
| PHO |
9 |
12 |
15 |
36 |
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| Referees: Peel,
Rooney. Linesmen: Cameron, Henderson. |
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