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Nabby falls short in first
start against old club
San Jose wins on back to back
nights
The Sharks re-acquainted themselves with old friend
Evgeni Nabokov as the Sharks played their old goaltender for the first time
since he was allowed to leave as a free agent after the 2009-2010 NHL season.
San Jose played their second game in as many days, holding off the host New
York Islanders 4-3 in a spirited affair that allowed the Sharks to keep pace
with the Anaheim Ducks for the Pacific Division lead.
*Nabokov played
10 seasons in San Jose, amassing a 283-178-66 record. Nabokov was on the shelf
with an injury when the Islanders visited San Jose back in December. He was
acknowledged by the SAP Center crowd with a rousing ovation. The Sharks were
less accommodating in Long Island Friday night. They put 4 goals past him on
only 26 shots.
* Nabokov's teammates were motivated to get a win for
their goaltender, putting 38 shots on the Sharks current netminder, Antti
Niemi, who stood tall against the young Islander offense.
* Rookie
forward Matt Nieto introduced himself to Nabokov with a shot from the slot at
13:27 of the opening period that hit the Islanders goaltender in the right leg
pad before bouncing up and into the New York goal. San Jose created the chance
with some nice stick work along the end boards. Logan Couture trade passes with
Patrick Marleau before kicking the puck out to the Nieto from behind the
Islanders net.
* The passing clinic continued on the Sharks next shift
when James Sheppard and Martin Havlat moved the puck through the area between
the circles before finding Jason Demers on the right side for a wrist shot that
lifted over Nabokov's right shoulder.
* The Sharks forgot how potent
the Islanders young offense can be, allowing the Islanders to score just 32
seconds into the 2nd period. Anders Lee cut through the slot where Frans
Nielsen hit him with a touch pass, then lifted a backhand shot that hit Niemi
in the left shoulder. The puck floated over Niemi, landing in the crease and
creeping toward the goal line. Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan tried reaching
for the puck, but ended up pushing it over the goal line for Lee's 6th of the
season.
* Joe Thornton made it a 3-1 game 9:32 into the 2nd period
after Nabokov gave a fat rebound off a Brent Burns shot from the top of the
right circle. Nabokov had squared himself to the Burns shot, but the rebound
kicked out to the left where Thornton was cruising. The Sharks captain easily
swept the puck into the wide open net as Nabokov tried diving to his right to
get something in front of Thornton's shot.
* San Jose played the game
without taking a penalty, but Niemi should have been given a delay of game
penalty for playing the puck in the forbidden zone in the right corner. The
Sharks netminder tried to glove the puck after shuffling it with his stick, but
the puck was clearly outside the trapezoid past the end line.
* Brock
Nelson cut the Sharks lead to 3-2 with just under 3 minutes left in the middle
period. Matt Donovan threw the puck to the slot from the right point, where
Nelson deflected it with his stick blade. Rather than sailing wide, the puck
tucked itself just inside the left post for Nelson's 12th goal of the season.
* Martin Havlat pushed San Jose's lead back to a pair
of goals with 1:45 before the 2nd intermission. James Sheppard fished the puck
out of the left corner then setup his linemate with a pass to the bottom of the
left circle. Havlat roofed a shot that seemed to surprise Nabokov for his 7th
goal of the season.
* Nielsen made things interesting with a backhand
shot that found the back of the net with 21.4 seconds left in regulation. Kyle
Okposo picked up a loose puck in the Sharks zone before skating along the end
boards from left to right. Okposo flipped a backhand pass out to the front of
the goal before ducking past the left post. Nielsen gathered the pass and
lifted his own backhander into the Sharks goal. Niemi was screened by
Marc-Edouard Vlasic who was trying to move Islanders Casey Cizikas away from
the goal mouth.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
| NYI |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Nieto 10 (Couture, Marleau), 13:27. 2, SJ, Demers 4 (Havlat, Sheppard),
14:46. |
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| 2nd period - 3, NYI, Lee
6 (Nielsen, Okposo), 0:32. 4, SJ, Thornton 10 (Burns), 9:32. 5, NYI, Nelson 12
(Donovan, Bailey), 17:02. 6, SJ, Havlat 7 (Sheppard), 18:15. |
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| 3rd period - 7, NYI,
Nielsen 21 (Okposo, Lee), 19:38. |
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| 3rd period - Donovan,
NYI (tripping), 3:02. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Niemi |
38 |
35 |
| NYI - Islanders |
26 |
22 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
12 |
7 |
7 |
26 |
| NYI |
11 |
11 |
16 |
38 |
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| Referees: Charron,
Joanette. Linesmen: McElman, Nowak. |
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