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Big 3rd period paces win in
B.C.
Sharks take first of 5 with Canucks
It wasn't pretty, but the Sharks dispatched the
Vancouver Canucks in British Columbia with a big 3rd period fueled by 4 San
Jose goals. The Sharks snapped out of a 40 minute funk that was nothing but
lifeless hockey, pounding Ryan Miller with a flurry of goals that help the San
Jose keep pace with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific
Division race. Four different Sharks scored in the big 3rd period.
The
game marked the first time the division foes faced each other this season, and
was the opening salvo of a 5-game series between the teams. In a scheduling
quirk, the teams have their games all packed into a five week period. The two
teams play a pair of home and home series next week and at the end of March.
If the first two periods of Sunday afternoon's contest was any
indication, they may turn out to be 15 periods of utter agonizingly boring
hockey. Neither team seemed motivated to try and win Sunday night's contest in
the first two periods. Vancouver is trying to salvage their season as they sat
8 points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference entering
play.
The Canucks opened the game's scoring after a Justin Braun
penalty expired early in the 2nd period. Daniel Sedin was the beneficiary of a
setup feed from his brother Henrik as Bruan was existing the penalty box.
The Sharks enjoyed a pair of penalties in that middle period, but had
neither life or flow in their game. They would muster a mere 4 shots in the
period, even though they enjoyed 4 minutes of man-advantage time.
Things finally turned in San Jose's favor with the 3rd and final period of the
contest.
Sharks captain Joe Pavelski jump started his teammates with a
hard-nosed goal 4:21 into the period. Pavelski followed Luca Sbisa into the
right corner, picking his pocket as the pair skated around the bend toward the
back of the Canucks net. The Sharks centerman scooped up the puck, headed for
the front of the net, and flipped a backhand shot past Miller, tying the game
at 1-1.
Tomas Hertl gave the Sharks the lead 2 minutes later when he
tipped a Braun shot from the right point past Miller. The young Czech forward
skated across Miller's line of sight getting a piece of the puck and changing
the trajectory enough to find a hole.
Markus Granlund took a slashing penalty 13:06, which
was followed by a Dan Hamhuis slashing infraction 27 seconds later to setup a
lengthy 5-on-3 power play. Patrick Marleau cranked a Howitzer blast from the
slot during the 2-man advantage, one timing a Joe Thornton feed for his 18th
goal of the season.
The Canucks were forced to pull Miller with 4
minutes to play in an effort to claw back from their 2-goal deficit.
The Sharks simply played keep away, dumping the puck out of their zone at every
opportunity. Braun made the most of a Logan Couture feed, depositing the puck
into the open Vancouver net for this 2nd goal of the season to ice the contest.
Things got chippy at the final horn, as players came together along
the glass near the Sharks bench, setting the tone for the next meeting between
the two teams, which comes in four days, when the Sharks return to British
Columbia.
Game Notes:
* Logan Couture took a puck off
the side of his shin pad, catching the anterior area of his left knee. The
centerman limped to the locker room where he received treatment for a lengthy
period of time before returning to the ice.
* Goaltender Aaron Dell
made his Sharks debut, albeit as a backup, marking the first time he suited up
in an NHL game. Newly acquired goaltender James Reimer could not get his
immigration situation squared away to get to Vancouver. Reimer is expected to
be in San Jose on Monday.
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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 |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
| VAN |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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| 2nd period - 1, VAN, D.
Sedin 23 (H. Sedin, Hutton), 3:03. |
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| 3rd period - 2, SJ,
Pavelski 27 (Vlasic), 4:21. 3, SJ, Hertl 15 (Braun, Vlasic), 6:49. 4, SJ,
Marleau 18 (Thornton, Pavelski), 14:09, (pp). 5, SJ, Braun 2 (Couture), 18:50,
(en). |
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| 2nd period - Braun, SJ
(interference), 0:56; D. Sedin, VAN (hooking), 5:09; Horvat, VAN (hooking),
15:00. |
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| 3rd period - Granlund,
VAN (slashing), 13:06; Hamhuis, VAN (slashing), 13:33. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
24 |
23 |
| VAN - Miller |
27 |
24 |
| VAN - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
4 |
14 |
28 |
| VAN |
9 |
9 |
6 |
24 |
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| Referees: Walsh,
Rooney. Linesmen: Lazarowich, Wheler. |
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