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Spiral continues in
Phoenix
Losses continue to mount as Sharks seek
answers
There's not much to be positive about in Sharks
land these days. San Jose hoped to get back to winning on their four-game road
trip, but after dropping a 3-0 decision to the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday
night, they'll have to do a little more soul searching. Mike Smith stopped 42
shots en route to his 5th shutout of the season and 2nd against the Sharks in
2011-12. The Sharks dropped a 3-0 decision to Phoenix on November 12th.
The shot counter continues to be a deceiving measure of the Sharks
ability to pressure an opposing goaltender. San Jose has no problem putting
pucks on net, but few are of the challenging variety that are tied to a scoring
chance.
Saturday night was no different. San Jose outshot Phoenix 16-9
in the opening period, but nothing came close to beating Smith.
San
Jose beat themselves with an ill-fated attempt to move the puck out of their
own end 13 minutes into the middle period. The makeshift line of Joe Pavelski,
Michal Handzus and Andrew Desjardins were on their heels as the Coyotes turned
up the heat and kept the puck pinned in the Sharks end. A weak attempt to move
the puck up the left wing boards found its way to rookie Michael Stone who
fired a shot on net. Antti Niemi made the save, but the rebound kicked out to
Michael Boedker in the slot for a put back. Niemi had no chance on the 12-foot
shot.
Dominic Moore should have received an assist on the Coyotes next
goal, after his blind pass from deep in the Phoenix zone resulted in a jail
break for the opposing team. Phoenix gathered the puck and raced up ice and
throwing everything at Niemi. Moore and Douglas Murray backed themselves into
the crease as the Coyotes worked a pair shots on net. Stone ended the sequence
by scoring is 1st NHL goal with a one-timer off a Marc-Antoine Pouliot feed
from behind the net.
With 20 minutes left to kick things into gear,
the Sharks looked to strike early in the 3rd period, but the Coyotes turned the
tables on them with a goal 39 seconds into the final frame.
Long time
Sharks nemesis Raffi Torres was the benefactor of a Shane Doan shot that Niemi
failed to control. The Coyotes captain ripped a blast from the right dot,
bouncing the puck off Niemi. Torres filled the slot skating out of the right
corner, scooping up the rebound and sliding a shot around Niemi for his 12th
goal of the season.
The back-breaking tally sucked all the life out of the
Sharks, killing any notion of a comeback. The only question that remained was
if Smith would earn the shutout.
Tommy Wingels came closest after he
slipped past Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle and cut across the slot before
lifting a shot on net from 8 feet out. Smith slid to his right and gloved the
shot to keep the three goal lead firmly intact.
With the loss, the
Sharks sit a point out of a playoff spot in 9th place in the Western Conference
with 75 points, 6 points behind the Pacific Division leading Dallas Stars.
Phoenix sits in the 7th position with 78 points.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| PHO |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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| 2nd period - 1, PHO,
Boedker 9 (Stone, Pouliot), 13:58. 2, PHO, Stone 1 (Pouliot, Brule),
18:10. |
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| 3rd period - 3, PHO,
Torres 12 (Doan), 0:39. Whitney, PHO (unsucessful penalty shot), 10:32. |
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| 1st period - Smith, PHO
(delay of game - illegal play goalie), 16:08. |
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| 2nd period - Yandle, PHO
(slashing), 7:20. |
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| 3rd period - Couture, SJ
(tripping), 3:20; Aucoin, PHO (high sticking), 7:47. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
29 |
26 |
| PHO - Smith |
42 |
42 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
16 |
9 |
17 |
42 |
| PHO |
9 |
12 |
6 |
29 |
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| Referees: Lee, St
Pierre. Linesmen: Gibbs, Mach. |
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