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Gaffs cost the Sharks in loss
to Sens
Ottawa wins 4-3 in shootout after SJ hands
them game
Playing for a 6th straight win, the Sharks
outplayed the visiting Ottawa Senators, but a series of mistakes cost the
Sharks in a 4-3 shootout loss in front of 16,619 at SAP Center. The outcome of
the game was frustrating, given the effort San Jose turned in. With the Sharks
finally turning the corner on their horrific home performances, they make a
pair of mistakes that essentially cost them a point in the standings.
It was a simple matter of lapses in better judgment. Poor decisions led to a
pair of Ottawa goals. The back breaker was a miscue in the 3rd period while the
Sharks were holding a 3-2 lead and were dominating the Senators. Goaltending
miscues added to the one that got away on Monday night.
Martin Jones
got the evening off, which let the netminding duties in the hands of backup
Alex Stalock. Stalock immediately made his presence felt, when he surrendered a
terrible goal midway through the 1st period. With Max McCormick chasing down a
loose puck in the Sharks zone, Stalock gambled and tried to ou-tskate the
Senators forward to the puck. He failed, allowing McCormick to swipe at the
puck and knocking it home for his 2nd goal of the season.
Stalock made
a similar mistake in Winnipeg last week, when he tried to play a puck behind
his own net with Blake Wheeler breathing down his neck. Wheeler would gain
control of that puck in that instance and tuck it into the unattended goal, but
a tripping penalty negated the score. The goaltender didn't heed the risk of
that mishap, but this time there was penalty to bail him out.
Joel
ward was sent off for tripping Jean-Gabriel Pageau4 minutes into the 2nd
period, setting up the first power play of the game for either team. It took
the Senators 11 seconds to convert on the man advantage, when Bobby Ryan fired
a shot from the right side, slipping the puck just inside the right post.
Stalock was partially screened on the shot, but he anticipated the puck's
flight path to hit him in the midsection, so he drew in his pads to try and
absorb the shot. That opened up the space between his body and the pipe,
allowing the puck to find twine for the 2-0 Senators lead.
San Jose
responded immediately, when Tomas Hertl deflected a Joe Thornton feed past
Senators goaltender Craig Anderson 8 seconds after the Ryan goal. Thornton
carried the puck up the right side and spotted Hertl cutting across the top of
the crease from left to right. He whistled a pass to the perfect spot in front
of the net, allowing Hertl to drag his stick blade and redirect the puck into
the open net.
Logan Couture woke the crowd up 2:47 into the 3rd
period, by snapping a shot past Anderson after picking up a loose puck near the
top of the right circle. The velocity in which Couture uncorked his shot caught
Anderson by surprise. The goaltender responded late, catching a part of the
shot with his right pad, but the puck;s momentum carried it over the goal line
for Couture's 2nd tally of the season.
The Sharks grabbed the lead at
7:54, finishing off one of the prettiest goals of the season. Joonas Donskoi
took a Chris Tierney feed on the right side, then had to position the puck onto
his forehand by kicking the puck to his backhand then pulling the puck between
his legs before slipping a pass to his right. Nieto received the puck in the
slot, then pulled it back as he slid past Anderson from left to right. All the
Sharks forward had to do was slide the puck underneath the sprawling
goaltender's pads for his 6th goal of the season.
Call it a Christmas carry-over, because the Sharks
were in a giving mood later in the period. Holding a 3-2 lead and outplaying
the Senators, Erik Karlsson took a holding the stick penalty to setup a Sharks
power play. Rather than use the opportunity to push their lead to a pair of
goals, they did exactly the opposite. San Jose turned the puck over in the
Ottawa zone and allowed Zack Smith to skate up the right wing with the puck.
Brent Burns couldn't get back in time and tripped Smith setting up a penalty
shot. Smith scored on the free chance, but the play was reviewed because the
Senators 4th liner appeared to draw the puck backwards before shooting the puck
past Stalock.
The challenge by Peter DeBoer was fruitless as replay
officials ruled the puck never stopped moving toward the Sharks net. That was
impossible, because Smith clearly pulls the puck backwards.
The
Senators got the game to overtime where the Sharks out-chanced them and outshot
them 3-1. Hertl hit the post with a shot from the slot, but when Bobby Ryan
took a tripping penalty with 1:52 left in the extra session, the win was gift
wrapped for the Sharks.
Unfortunately, the unwrapping was left in the
hands of the power play unit, which failed a second time, unable to convert on
the 4-on-3 advantage.
The game went to the shootout, where Mika
Zibanejad roofed a shot past Stalock for the only goal of the skills
competition. Stalock was caught between decisions, allowing the Senators
forward to rifle a shot over his right shoulder.
On the other end of
the ice, Anderson stoned Pavelski, Donskoi and Couture to steal the 2 points.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
SO |
T |
| OTT |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, OTT,
McCormick 2 (Ceci, Neil), 11:12. |
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| 2nd period - 2, OTT,
Ryan 15 (Zibanejad, Karlsson), 4:08, (pp). 3, SJ, Hertl 8 (Thornton, Burns),
4:16. |
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| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Couture 2 (Ward, Vlasic), 2:47. 5, SJ, Nieto 6 (Donskoi, Tierney), 7:54. 6,
OTT, Smith 9 (penalty shot), 14:29, (sh). |
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| Shootout - SJ: Pavelski
(miss), Donskoi (miss), Couture (goal). OTT: Ryan (goal), Zibanejad
(goal). |
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| 2nd period - Ward, SJ
(tripping), 3:57. |
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| 3rd period - Karlsson,
OTT (holding the stick), 12:45. |
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| Overtime - Ryan, OTT
(tripping), 3:08. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| OTT - Anderson |
32 |
29 |
| SJ - Stalock |
17 |
14 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| OTT |
5 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
17 |
| SJ |
11 |
9 |
9 |
3 |
32 |
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| Referees: Pollock,
Hanson. Linesmen: Rody, Henderson. |
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