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First road trip of the season
starts well
Sharks wear down Devils in 3-0
win
After a disappointing 5-game home stand to start
the season, the Sharks kicked off their first road trip of the year in New
Jersey on Friday night. The Sharks played a solid two-way game to subdue the
red-hot New Jersey Devils 3-0 at the Prudential Center. The Sharks distributed
the scoring across three players and withstood some tense pressure by the
upstart Devils to win in consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Devils entered Friday's game with the 3rd best record in the
Eastern Conference at 6-1-0. A young team with plenty of team speed showed
flashes of what will soon become a dangerous team to deal with. Led by Taylor
Hall, New Jersey was simply faster than San Jose, but their youth may have led
to enough distractions to allow the more disciplined Sharks group to capitalize
on their chances.
New Jersey frequently held the advantage because of
that speed, including several instances while the Sharks were on the power
play. The Sharks enjoyed five Devils minor penalties, but they generated only 4
shots in that 10 minutes of man advantage time.
Martin Jones came up
big in the period, stopping 13 Devil shots. The Sharks netminder stopped a big
breakaway in the period and really shined on secondary chances the could have
been problematic for his team.
San Jose didn't panic, and used their
experience to slowly chip away at the Devils.
The Sharks grabbed the
lead 14:11 into the contest when Melker Karlsson punched home a Tomas Hertl
field from outside the left post. The forecheck behind the New Jersey net kept
the puck deep in the Devils zone. Hertl fished it out of the left corner then
dropped a pass to Karlsson as he skated behind the net.
Logan Couture
was injured on the ensuing faceoff, and had to be helped to the dressing room.
He would receive treatment for the remainder of the period, but returned to
start the 2nd period.
The Devils picked up the pace late in that
opening period, pressing the Sharks back on their heels. That included during a
San Jose power play that resulted in more puck possession time for the Devils
than Sharks.
Joe Pavelski pushed the Sharks lead to 2-0 six minutes
into the 2nd period on a redirect from the doorstep. Justin Braun cranked a
shot from the blueline with his captain sliding to the front of the net from
the right post. Pavelski got his stick blade on the shot, deflecting it to the
right to beat Keith Kincaid for his 2nd tally of the season.
Joonas Donskoi made it a 3-0 game with just over a
minute to play in the period off a great extra effort chance. The young Shark
took a Justin Braun pass up the right wing and put a shot on Kincaid from just
outside the right post. The Devils netminder made the stop, but the puck kicked
out back to Donskoi as he was cutting across the top of the crease from right
to left. Donskoi gathered the puck and put a backhand chance into an empty net.
The clock was the only thing that stood between the Sharks and two
points in the standings, but the Devils inexperience exposed itself over the
final 20 minutes. San Jose committed a pair of minor infractions that gave the
Devils the chance to fight back, but the penalty kill anchored by Jones held
New Jersey at bay. The Sharks held the Devils to single digits on the shot
counter in the period, keeping the puck away from Jones.
San Jose will
have a quick turnaround, playing in Brooklyn on Saturday night. The Sharks will
get a chance to avenge their loss to the Islanders that they suffered last week
at SAP Center.
Game Notes:
* Rookie defenseman Joakim
Ryan was born in New Jersey and had several family members and friends in
attendance. Ryan turned in a solid game, logging 14:02 of ice time on 20
shifts. He tied two other Sharks for the team lead in shots with 4, added 3
hits and a pair of blocked shots.
* Tim Heed recorded an assist on the
Karlsson goal, giving him two points in as many games. Heed and Ryan are
getting a chance to show their mettle while Paul Martin and Dylan DeMelo nurse
injuries.
* A big reason for the control the Sharks displayed on
Friday night may be attributed to their ability to control the puck. San Jose
owned the faceoff circle, winning 38 of 60 draws (63%). Tomas Hertl won 14 of
18 faceoffs (74%).
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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 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
| NJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Karlsson, 1 (Hertl, Heed), 14:11. |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Pavelski 2 (Braun, Thornton), 5:49. 3, SJ, Donskoi 1 (Braun), 18:50. |
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| 1st period - Labanc, SJ
(slashing), 2:09; Moore, NJ (holding), 9:48; Pavelski, SJ(high sticking),
14:32; Wood, NJ (holding the stick), 17:19; Hansen, SJ (holding), 19:21. |
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| 2nd period - Palmieri,
NJ (holding), 6:07; Wood, NJ (high sticking - double minor), 13:59. |
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| 3rd period - Burns, SJ
(cross checking), 3:22; Donskoi, SJ (slashing), 5:43. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
28 |
28 |
| NJ - Kincaid |
33 |
30 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
13 |
11 |
9 |
33 |
| NJ |
13 |
6 |
9 |
28 |
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| Prudential Center - 14,381 |
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| Referees: Hebert,
Joanette. Linesmen: Murray, Nowak. |
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