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Defensive gaff late costs
SJ
Sharks battle back from deficit, but still
lose
The Sharks inconsistency is one of the most
consistent things about them this season. After their mesmerizing performance
against the Montreal Canadiens last Friday, the Sharks turned 5 days of rest
into a dumbfounding performance that resulted in a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa
Senators on Wednesday night on SAP Center ice. The Senators jumped out to an
early 2-0 lead, then stunned the Sharks with a go-ahead goal with a minute left
in regulation after San Jose clawed their way back to tie the game.
The Sharks were 0-7-1 this season when entering the 3rd period with a deficit.
They had a chance to overcome that statistic with a 3rd period goal by Brent
Burns that helped the Sharks erase a 2-0 deficit.
That was all for not
when a bouncing puck skipped past a flat-footed Justin Braun late in the 3rd
period. Braun had his back to his own goal, so his failure to control the puck
resulted in a break for Chris Kelly who took two strides toward Martin Jones
before flipping a shot that hit the Sharks goaltender in the shoulder and into
the San Jose net.
Braun's defensive gaff took the air out of the
building in the blink of an eye.
Burns showed why the Sharks just
inked him to an 8-year contract, when he unloaded a shot from the top of the
right circle that tucked inside the upper right corner of the net to tie the
game at 2-212 minutes earlier. Burns used Paul Martin and a Senators defender
to screen Senators goaltender Mike Condon on the shot, shifting all the
momentum in San Jose's favor.
Patrick Marleau stunted that momentum by
taking a bad interference penalty with 4 minutes to play. Pageau drew the
penalty by essentially jumping into the glass. Logan Couture was displeased
with the play and basically accused Pageau of diving.
The Senators
forward got the last laugh with an empty net goal late, which was added salt to
the wound. Pageau and Joe Thornton were chirping at each other all night, but
his stunt to draw the 3rd period penalty set Thornton off.
The opening
period was a disaster for the Sharks, who seemed to be stuck in neutral early
in the game. Mark Stone staked the Senators to a 1-0 lead just 3:42 into the
game after Tommy Wingels was sent off for hooking. Stone was sniffing around
the front of the net when his shot attempt bounced off Jones, hit Burns in the
skate and bounced back to him for the quick put back.
Ottawa captain
Erik Karlsson made it 2-0 with a shot from the high slot 4 minutes later.
Joonas Donaskoi may have deflected the shot a bit with his stick, but
regardless, the puck caught twine and the Sharks were in a quick hole.
The Sharks had to whittle away at the Senators lead, which started with a power
play goal by Couture. The Sharks forward took a drop pass from Joe Pavelski in
the slot before snapping a shot that beat Condon.
Couture was 4 days removed from ankle surgery. The
Sharks forward had one of the six screws in his ankle removed because it was
causing him some discomfort. Couture had the screws inserted last season after
breaking his ankle in Tampa Bay.
San Jose had plenty of opportunities
to score, out-shooting the Senators 37-17, but also out-chancing them on the
power play. The Sharks had 6 chances on the man advantage, but Couture's goal
would be all they would salvage from the opportunities.
Game
Notes:
* The Sharks continue to fail to draw fans in mid-week
games. The game was a non-sellout, which is more often than not the last two
seasons.
* Joe Pavelski led all skaters with 7 shots on goal. Pavelski
just missed on a chance in the 3rd period when his partial breakaway chance
pinged off the crossbar.
* The Senators blocked 21 shots, which isn't
surprising given the Sharks habit of trying to derive scoring with long shots
from the point.
* San Jose out-hi the Senators 24-21
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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 |
| OTT |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| SJ |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, OTT,
Stone 9 (Hoffman, Karlsson), 3:42, (pp). 2, OTT, Karlsson 7 (unassisted),
7:19. |
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| 2nd period - 3, SJ,
Couture 10 (Pavelski, Thornton), 8:19, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Burns 11 (Martin), 4:30. 5, Kelly 2 (Pageau, Karlsson), 18:54. 6, OTT, Pageau 4
(Smith), 19:44, (en). |
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| 1st period - Wingels, SJ
(hooking), 3:09; Robinson, OTT (holding), 8:46; Kelly, OTT (interference),
14:58. |
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| 2nd period - Karlsson,
OTT (holding), 6:54; Bench, SJ (too many men), 11:51; Neil, OTT (slashing),
16:11; Phaneuf, OTT (interference), 19:27. |
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| 3rd period - Neil, OTT
(interference), 4:52; Boedker, SJ (goaltender interference), 5:46; Marleau, SJ
(interference), 16:02. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| OTT - Condon |
37 |
35 |
| SJ - Jones |
16 |
13 |
| SJ - empty net |
1 |
0 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| OTT |
6 |
5 |
6 |
17 |
| SJ |
9 |
10 |
18 |
37 |
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| Referees: Walsh,
Hebert. Linesmen: Cameron, Heyer. |
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