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Sharks stay perfect at
home
SJ beats Nashville 4-1 at SAP Center
It's early in the season so you can't gauge the
outcome on a few games in October, but not having to make constant corrections
to rights nagging issues is always a plus. The Sharks have figured some things
that have made them click at home, which was a far cry for their
inconsistencies on home ice last regular season. San Jose pretty matter of fact
on Saturday night, as they dispatched the visiting Nashville Predators 4-1 at
SAP Center.
The pace of the game was reminiscent of the Sharks
Conference Semi-Final series with Nashville last spring, which required a full
7 games to decide the winner. The Predators are a fast team, and the Sharks
were forced to turn in an A-game performance in order to secure the victory.
Nashville was hampered by some inconsistent play from goaltender Pekka
Rinne, who battled the puck all night. Rinne owes a debt of gratitude to his
defensive teammates who made the score a lot less laughable. Roman Josi was
awarded the 3rd star of the game solely for his ability to clean up Rinne's
messes all night long.
Joonas Donskoi opened the game's scoring 15:28
into the 1st period, punching home a loose puck that was bouncing around the
crease after Paul Martin threw the puck on net. Logan Couture took a hack at
the puck, pushing it toward Donskoi on the left side as Rinne fought to try and
control the puck as it bounced off of Couture. The puck found a seam between
Rinne's pads for Donskoi's 2nd of the season.
San Jose opened the 2nd
period by blitzing Rinne, in an attempt to better the crazy pace that Nashville
pushed in the first frame. Yannick Weber was induced into taking a cross
checking penalty at 2:41 of the period, and the Sharks made quick work on the
power play.
Joe Pavelski converted 6 seconds into the man-advantage by
firing the puck at Rinne from the right side of the net, using the Predators
goaltender to bank the puck home. Had RInne let the shot pass, it would have
sailed wide on an even plane with the goal line, but his interference pushed
the Sharks lead to 2-0.
Tommy Wingels made it a 3-0 game before the
arena public address announcer had time to call Pavelski's goal. Wingels sent a
backhand shot past a diving Rinne after a David Schlemko pass bounced off
Micheal Haley's skate and deflected right to the Sharks forward. Wingels beat
two defenders to the left side of the slot to take advantage of the fortuitous
bounce.
The period could have been more of a disaster for Nashville,
but a pair of shot clanked off iron, and a point blank miss by Joel Ward kept
the score manageable.
The Predators finally got a puck past Martin Jones
with 41.8 seconds left in the period. Ryan Ellis fired a shot from the blueline
that James Neal redirected from the left side of the slot. There was little
Jones could do to stop the rocket shot.
Nashville tried to bite in to
the Sharks lead early in the 3rd period, but it was Jones who denied the
visiting Predators from getting any more rubber past him. Jones faced 11 shots
in the period and turned aside every one of them.
The Sharks defense
also kept the Predators at bay with solid puck movement, especially when they
needed to move it out of their own end. David Schlemko has proven to be a solid
signing based on his performance through the first 9 games of the season.
The Predators were forced to pull Rinne with 2:30 to play in an
attempt to make one last run at the Sharks 2-goal lead. Not one to shoot on
goal much, Joe Thornton was credited with a goal without putting the puck
across the goal line or even shooting for that matter. The Sharks centerman was
on his way to pushing the puck into an empty net, but Filip Forsberg tripped up
Thornton, drawing an awarded goal.
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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 |
| NSH |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| SJ |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Donskoi 2 (Couture, Martin), 15:28. |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Pavelski 4 (unassisted), 2:47, (pp). 3, SJ, Wingels 1 (Haley, Schlemko), 3:04.
4, NSH, Neal 1 (Ellis, Josi), 19:18. |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Thornton 1 (Pavelski, Hertl), 18:40, (en). |
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| 2nd period - Weber, NSH
(cross checking), 2:41; Karlsson, SJ (interference), 12:55; Ekholm, NSH
(holding), 15:33. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| NSH - Rinne |
26 |
23 |
| NSH - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| SJ - Jones |
28 |
27 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| NSH |
8 |
9 |
11 |
28 |
| SJ |
10 |
11 |
5 |
26 |
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| Referees: Meier,
Hanson. Linesmen: Alphonso, Mach. |
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