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Sharks revert to bad
habits
Sharks help extend Miller's shutout
streak
By all appearances, the Sharks looked as if they
played a decent game on Thursday night. The truth is, they didn't. Look past
the 39 shots they threw at Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller. If you're
using shots as a measuring stick, the Sharks would be Stanley Cup Champions.
They don't and as a result, the Sharks are looking up at the Phoenix Coyotes
for the conference lead. San Jose played 40 minutes of lifeless hockey, then
were forced to exert themselves in the 3rd period in an effort to catch the
Sabres who held a 1-0 lead. All the scrambling proved fruitless as the Sharks
fell for the 10th time in their last 15 games.
Miller turned in his
2nd consecutive shutout, and by all other accounts, it will sound like Miller
turned in one of the ages. What the box score won't tell you is that San Jose
tried to beat Miller with a number of unscreened, long-range shots that the
Sabres handled with ease.
The fact of the matter is, the Sharks didn't
really challenge Miller. Few black jerseys parked themselves in front of the
Sabres crease, so Miller had nothing to obstruct his view. When facing a
40-foot shot, any goaltender has all day to setup. Do that against a guy like
Miller and you're just wasting energy.
"It's tough to play
back-to-back and especially when you have to bounce into San Jose," said the
Sabres netminder. " I knew we would probably be a little bit tired and thought
it was great job by our guys to show some fight in the first period there. [We
got] a lead and we could battle from there."
The Sharks opened the game
with little commitment and generated nothing in terms of quality scoring
chances. The opening 20 minutes felt like any of the losses on the recent
9-game road trip. It lacked energy, urgency and effort.
All that was
missing was the one mistake that would cost the Sharks. That would come with 69
seconds remaining in the opening period.
Brent Burns tried to split
three Sabres in the neutral zone, which was picked off by Tyler Ennis at the
Sabres blueline. Ennis sprinted up ice, drawing two defenders his way before
dropping the puck to Drew Stafford. Stafford ripped a shot that beat Antti
Niemi to the top left corner.
That was all the scoring Buffalo would
need.
" It was just, a mistake ended up in our net," said Ryane Clowe.
"We had probably a couple of turnovers too many but the second period we
competed harder and the third period … you know that's what happens with
teams on back-to-back games and their up a goal. You're going to get back on
your heels a little, that's just how it works. We poured it on, couldn't score,
but I really liked our game, for sticking with it tonight, that's important. I
mean we gave up one goal in two games we should have two wins in that case but
… just find a way to score."
San Jose floundered through the 2nd
period, throwing 11 meaningless shots at Miller. Joe Thornton missed on a
chance with the puck perched between Miller's pads late in the period, but a
cross check across Thornton's hands prevented him from getting his stick on an
rubber.
Not until the 3rd period would they kick things into gear, but
Miller was locked in and seemed destined to knock off San Jose. That's nothing
new for Miller, who has won his last 4 starts against the Sharks.
San Jose put 17 shots on net in the period, but
everything seemed to hit Miller in the chest. Still the Sharks refused to put
any bodies in front of Miller. Without any distractions, Miller locked in on
the puck and snuffed out any thoughts of a goal.
The Sabres let the
Sharks try and poke holes in their defense, but even after San Jose was forced
to pull Niemi, they were up to the task. The Sharks got the puck to the Buffal
o zone, but did little with it once they were there.
"It's a 1-0 game
so it's a pretty tight game," said Thornton. " I thought we had the better of
the chances tonight just for whatever reason we couldn't score."
Game Notes:
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan missed his second
straight game due to the concussion symptoms that he continues to experience.
Dominic Moore made his home debut for San Jose, recording 2 shots on 20 shifts.
Moore skated on a line with Daniel Winnik and Torrey Mitchell.
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Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| BUF |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 1st period - 1, BUF,
Stafford 13 (Ennis), 18:51. |
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| 1st period - Winchester,
SJ (elbowing), 11:23. |
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| 2nd period - Winnik, SJ
(high sticking), 10:54; Leino, BUF (holding), 17:27. |
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| 3rd period - Myers, BUF
(cross checking), 8:33; Vlasic, SJ (high sticking), 15:23. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| BUF - Miller |
39 |
39 |
| SJ - Niemi |
19 |
18 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| BUF |
10 |
11 |
5 |
19 |
| SJ |
11 |
4 |
17 |
39 |
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| Referees: Lee,
Walsh. Linesmen: Miller, Murphy. |
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