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Donskoi bags late
winner
Sharks start swing through Western Canada
with 3-2 win
The Sharks embarked on a road trip through Alberta
on Thursday night, which kicks-off a 6-game stretch against Pacific Division
opponents. San Jose played a blue-collar game against the Calgary Flames en
route to a 3-2 win against their division rival. Joonas Donskoi returned from
an injury that cost him the last 6 games by scoring the game winning goal late
in the 3rd period.
The road trip takes the Sharks through Vancouver
and Edmonton, before returning home to face the Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, and
Flames at SAP Center. That stretch could help pad or dent the Sharks position
in the Pacific Division, which currently has them sitting in the 3rd position
behind Vegas and Los Angeles.
The 2 points collected on Thursday night
pushed them out of a tie with the Flames, who have played two more games than
San Jose but entered the night with an identical 35 points. The Flames, Ducks,
Canucks and Oilers all sit within 9 points of the Sharks, so every point
counts.
The Sharks helped themselves out against a feisty Flames squad
that had gone 4-4-2 over their last 10 games. Calgary had scored 10 more goals
than the Sharks entering play, but their goal differential of -8 explains why
they trail the Sharks in the standings.
Calgary drew first blood off a
turnover by Tim Heed in the Sharks zone 4:42 into the opening period. Heed made
a half-hearted attempt to pass the puck deep in his zone, which was intercepted
by Michael Frolik at the blueline. Frolik carried the puck to the left dot
before snapping a wrist shot that beat Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell through the
five-hole.
Timo Meier tied the game with just under 4 minutes
remaining in the period on a put back from the right post after Chris Tierney
stick-handled around a defender and tried to stuff a shot past Flames
goaltender Mike Smith from in tight. Smith made the stop on Tierney, but the
puck kicked out to Meier, who was trailing on the play.
Chris Tierney
gave the Sharks the 2-1 lead at the midway mark of the 2nd period after Smith
was called for tripping Joe Thornton. Tierney persisted with the puck from the
top of the crease, punching a shot that slipped through Smith's pads for his
8th goal of the season.
The Sharks had opened the period with a pair
of penalties themselves, setting up a brief 5-on-3 power play opportunity. San
Jose killed both penalties to escape the contentious start to the period.
San Jose held the lead until the 7:39 mark of the 3rd
period, when a puck skipped past Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic,
springing Garnet Hathaway up the right wing. Just Braun tried to assist the
trailing Vlasic defensively by sliding over to cover Hathaway, just as the
Flames forward slid a pass to the left wing where Johnny Gaudreau jammed home
his 13th goal of the season.
Perseverance was the theme of the night
as the Sharks as they kept the pressure on Smith and bagged the game winner
2:48 left in regulation when Joonas Donskoi fished out the puck from behind
Smith and slid the puck across the goal line. The Sharks created teh chance by
racing up the ice with Joe Thornton leading the rush. The big centerman fired a
shot from the top of the left circle that slipped between Smith's pads and sat
perched in the crease like a hen warming an egg. Referee Chris Lee was
positioned behind the Flames goal and could see the puck so play was allowed to
continue. Donskoi sat leaning on the left post as he reached back with his
stick and fished out the puck for his 8th goal of the season.
The
Flames pulled Smith with 2 minutes to play, but the Sharks locked down the
defensive zone to seal the game.
Game Notes:
* Chris
Tierney had himself a night. The forward had a goal and an assist to finish +1
on the night, and won 10 of 17 face offs.
* San Jose did a great job
of shutting down Flames leading scorer Sean Monahan. The forward was held to 2
shots (0 points) and was a -1 on the evening.
* Joe Thornton's assist
in the 3rd period moved him to within one point of Doug Gilmour for 18th on the
all time scoring list. Thornton now has 1,413 career points.
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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 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| CGY |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, CGY,
Frolik 6 (unassisted), 4:42. 2, SJ, Meier 4 (Tierney, Donskoi), 16:07. |
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| 2nd period - 3, SJ,
Tierney 8 (Meier, Labanc), 10:00, (pp). |
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| 3rd period - 4, CGY,
Gaudreau 13 (Hathaway), 7:39. 5, SJ, Donaskoi 8 (Thornton, Braun), 17:12. |
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| 1st period - Hamilton,
CGY (tripping), 11:02; Labanc, SJ (tripping), 12:10. |
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| 2nd period - Hertl, SJ
(tripping), 1:08; Dillon, SJ (high sticking), 2:31; Hamilton, CGY (hooking),
4:03; Smith, CGY (tripping), 9:06. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Dell |
34 |
32 |
| CGY - Smith |
29 |
26 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
9 |
14 |
6 |
29 |
| CGY |
13 |
10 |
11 |
34 |
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| Scotiabank Saddledome -
18,730 |
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| Referees: Lee,
L'Ecuyer. Linesmen: Murchison, Alphonso. |
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