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Ducks continue dominance over
SJ
Sharks slip to 8th in the West with 3-1
loss
With five games left in the regular season, it's
time for the Sharks to kick it into gear if they have plans on extending their
season. With division foes Los Angeles and Dallas both winning on Wednesday
night, the Sharks had to win in Anaheim in order to hold on to their Pacific
Division lead. They failed to do either, dropping a 3-1 decision to the cellar
dwelling Ducks, falling to the 8th position in the Western Conference
Standings.
With the victory, Anaheim beat San Jose for the 5th time in
six tries this season. All of those wins came in regulation, accounting for 10
standings points, 13% of the Ducks total this season.
As has been the
case in most of their meet-ups with the Ducks this season, the Sharks didn't
bring their A-game. Luckily for San Jose, they won't see the Ducks any more
this season.
The timid Sharks spent the first 20 minutes of the game
feeling out their opponent, looking for a crack to exploit. Problem is, there
was little opportunity for them. Top line players were largely absent most of
the evening. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton combined for 3 shots on goal and
were never a factor in a game in need of some big contributions.
The
Ducks grabbed a 1-0 lead midway through the 2nd period, when Bobby Ryan
deposited a feed from Devante Smith-Pelly out of the left corner. Ryan slipped
past Dan Boyle, driving the net and one-timing the Smith-Pelly feed past Antti
Niemi.
San Jose answered less than a minute later, when Ryane Clowe
took a pass from Logan Couture near the bottom of the right circle, then cut
toward the slot. Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller overcommitted to the right post,
allowing Clowe to skate in the opposite direction and slam the puck home for
his 15th goal of the season.
Anaheim reclaimed the lead 5:22 into the
3rd period when Teemu Selanne tipped a Luca Sbisa shot over Niemi's stick. San
Jose simplified things by allowing Selanne and Andrew Cogliano to roam free in
front of Niemi. The goal was Selanne's 50th against the Sharks.
Offensive chances were few and far between the remainder of the game. The
Sharks best chance came off a one-time chance by Joe Pavelski with 10 minutes
left in regulation. Pavelski ripped a shot that Hiller snared with a waving
glove hand.
Selanne missed on a chance to score his 51st career goal
against San Jose with 5 minute remaining in regulation when his breakaway
chance was denied by Niemi.
San Jose pulled Niemi with a minute
remaining in the contest, but the Sharks couldn't get the puck anywhere near
Hiller. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf had an open net to shoot, but put a backhand
chance wide of the net. Corey Perry scooped up the rebound off the end boards
and threw a shot that hit the outside of the net as Boyle dove to block the
shot.
Referee Francois St Laurent immediately signaled goal
even though the puck never cross the goal line. St Laurent insisted that Boyle
knocked the goal off the moorings. Replays clearly showed the puck hitting the
bottom pipe that makes up the back side of the goal, so it was difficult to
understand how a goal was awarded.
It turned out to be meaningless,
given the time remaining. With 10 ticks left on the clock, San Jose didn't have
enough time to gain control of the puck, much less moved it the length of the
ice and get a shot off on Hiller.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| ANA |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
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| 2nd period - 1, ANA,
Ryan 28 (Smith-Pelly, Bonino), 9:22. 2, SJ, Clowe 15 (Couture), 10:14. |
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| 3rd period - 3, ANA,
Selanne 25 (Sbisa, Koivu), 5:22. 4, ANA, Perry 36 (unassisted), 19:51,
(en). |
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| 1st period - Visnovsky,
ANA (tripping), 9:00. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
27 |
25 |
| SJ - emty net |
1 |
0 |
| ANA - Hiller |
29 |
28 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
8 |
12 |
9 |
29 |
| ANA |
8 |
10 |
9 |
27 |
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| Referees:
StLaurent, O'Halloran. Linesmen: Cherrey, Heyer. |
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