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Another stinker dooms
Sharks
Lifeless start leads to second straight 3-2
loss
The Sharks have suddenly decided that they don't
need to play 60 minute hockey games. Their second consecutive lackluster
performance in as many games was a another indictment on the commitment of this
team right now. The Calgary Flames played a solid road game and knocked off the
Sharks 3-2 at SAP Center on Thursday night as San Jose turned another head
scratching performance.
The Flames took advantage of a Sharks team
that seemed disinterested in exerting themselves by jumping out to another big
2nd period lead, then scored the game winner in the 3rd period after the Sharks
had tied the game.
San Jose head coach Peter DeBoer has to be
scratching his head after his team failed to respond to their loss on Tuesday
in Arizona. His team spent 10 minutes on the power play as the Flames gifted
them 5 power play chances. The Sharks cashed in on one of those chances.
Calgary took a delay of game penalty 20 seconds into the contest, but
San Jose reverted to bad habits, trying to get cute with the puck, rather than
forcing the issue in front of the net against backup goaltender Chad Johnson.
After an Alex Chiasson interference penalty at the 3:10 mark, the Sharks played
the first quarter of the 1st period on the man advantage.
That
mattered little to the Flames who were out-shooting the Sharks 6-5 by the time
Chiasson exited the penalty box. A Brett Kulek high sticking infraction 11:05
into the game setup a 3rd Sharks power play, but the special teams unit was
disjointed all night long.
The Flames sat back and waited for their
opportunities, which came early in the 2nd period when Troy Brouwer sent a
Micheal Ferland feed from behind the net past Martin Jones. Ferland carried the
puck along the end boards and dropped the puck out to Brouwer who was cutting
to the right post. Tomas Hertl was late to cover Brouwer who pumped home his
4th of the season.
The Sharks let a rookie take them to task later in the
period when Matthew Tkachuk took a drop pass from Deryk Engelland at the top of
the right circle then cut to his left and ripped a shot that beat Jones between
the wickets. While not an easy shot to handle, it was one of those that a
goaltender on his game can stop. That wasn't Jones on Thursday night.
Sam Bennett's tripping penalty at the end of the period carried over into the
3rd giving the Sharks yet another chance on the man advantage. Brent Burns took
matters into his own hands and ripped a shot from the blueline that beat
Johnson to halve the Flames lead.
Melker Karlsson tied the game 9:18
into the period, tipping home a rebound after Marc-Edouard Vlasic ripped a shot
from the left point. The Sharks forward ventured where no other Shark wanted
to, in front of the net where he was able to get his stick on the puck.
San Jose had all the momentum at that point but they took their foot
off the gas, allowing the Flames to regroup.
Tkachuk put the Flames
back on top for good with 4:21 left in regulation, slipping underneath the
Sharks defense and redirecting another Frolik feed. Either a miscommunication
or lapse in judgement allowed Tkachuk to be in position on the doorstep, as
Burns circled in the high slot leaving Paul Martin as the lone defender down
low.
Tkachuk's shot was only the 5th of the period for Calgary. It was
a fitting ending for a Sharks team that was uncommitted to an up tempo effort
that was necessary to win on Thursday night.
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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 |
| CGY |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
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| 2nd period - 1, CGY,
Brouwer 4 (Ferland, Bennett), 16:32. 2, CGY, Tkachuk 2 (Engelland, Frolik),
18:05. |
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| 3rd period - 3, SJ,
Burns 4 (Pavelski), 0:35, (pp). 4, SJ, Karlsson 2 (Vlasic, Tierney), 9:18. 5,
CGY, Takchuk 3 (Frolik, Engelland), 15:39. |
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| 1st period - Bench, CGY
(too many men) 0:20; Chiasson, CGY (interference), 3:10; Kulak, CGY (high
sticking - double minor), 11:05; Donskoi, SJ (holding), 11:05; Martin, SJ
(hooking), 13:34. |
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| 2nd period - Bennett,
CGY (tripping), 18:55. |
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| 3rd period - Hertl, SJ
(tripping), 3:38; Tkachuk, CGY (roughing), 5:40; Dillon, SJ (roughing), 5:40;
Brodie, CGY (roughing), 6:42. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CGY - Johnson |
28 |
26 |
| SJ - Jones |
22 |
19 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CGY |
7 |
10 |
5 |
22 |
| SJ |
7 |
10 |
11 |
28 |
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| Referees:
Chmielewski, Rehman. Linesmen: Sericolo, Wheler. |
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