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Rangers exploit jumbo defensive
hole
SJ surrenders 6 goals in ugly loss to New
York
The Sharks started the Jumbo-less period of their
schedule as Joe Thornton begins his rehabilitation following knee surgery
earlier in the day. San Jose got a bit of a reprieve in the schedule by having
the struggling New York Rangers to cut their teeth on the new roster situation.
They responded by playing a sloppy defensive game that resulted in 6 Rangers
goals and a 6-5 loss at SAP Center. If Thursday night's game is an indication
of things to come, the Sharks can't get Thornton back soon enough.
Knowing one of their leaders will miss multiple weeks, the injury has opened up
opportunities for other players to step up and carry some of Thornton's load.
Not one stepped up to pick up the defensive responsibility that is one of
Thornton's unheralded strengths.
The Rangers entered play in a funk,
having won only three times in their last ten games. They've been handled by
the Pacific Division teams that they've squared off against on their west coast
swing, but the Sharks simply put up little fight on the defensive end.
Kevin Hayes staked the Rangers to the 1-0 lead 5:45 into the game by ripping a
shot from the left dot as he skated up the left wing. J.T. Miller fed Hayes who
had a stride on defenseman Joakim Ryan, but elected to uncork the longer shot
rather than take matters to the net. That decision worked out for Hayes, who
recorded his 11th goal of the season.
The response was swift by San
Jose when Barclay Goodrow countered exactly a minute later, firing a shot off
Rangers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec before grabbing the rebound and slipping it
home after skating to the left side of the goal mouth. Goodrow's playing time
should increase with Joe Thornton's injury, and the young forward made the most
of his ice time early, scoring his 4th of the season.
Logan Couture
made it a 2-1 Sharks lead 4 minutes later when he elevated a shot from the left
side that tucked between Pavelec and the left post. Kevin Labanc fed his
centerman to earn the primary assist. Couture's attempt came from a tight
angle, but he found a way to squeeze it past the Rangers netminder for this
team leading 19th goal of the season.
San Joe had their chances to
extend their lead, but a defensive lapse late in the period bit them when
Jesper Fast poked home a Michael Grabner feed from the left side at 17:53. The
Sharks defense all floated over to the right corner to cover Grabner, leaving
Fast unattended in the slot for the point blank shot that resulted in the 2-2
tie.
Couture staked the Sharks to their second lead of the night 2:36
into the 2nd period when he carried a Kevin Labanc feed up the left side and
firing a shot that found a seam between Pavelec and the left post.
Ryan McDonagh tied the game again 11:04 into the frame on another massive
defensive lapse by San Jose. The Rangers worked the puck into the Sharks zone
and somehow found themselves on a 2-on-none chance when Hayes carried the puck
near the left dot, feeding McDonagh on the left side for the easy deposit past
Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell.
A Timo Meier tripping penalty put the Rangers on the
power play for the second time in the game, and they would cash in. Once again
it was McDonagh, who ripped a shot from the blueline that found a seam off a
screen in front of Dell.
San Jose finally drew a penalty when Brendan
Smith was whistled for holding at 16:15. The Sharks elected an unconventional
approach on the power play, by setting up in their own zone and letting the
Rangers start with the puck. Surprisingly, that tact failed, when a deflection
off Dell kicked out to Brady Skjei who was steaming down the slot. Skjei
deposited the rebound for his 3rd goal of the season to make it a 5-3 game.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic cut the Rangers lead to a single goal with 9:09 to
play, putting a shot from the left side past Pavelec. Justin Braun teamed up
with his defensive partner to earn the primary assist.
J.T. Miller put
a dagger in the Sharks left knee with 1:50 to play, when he put a 6th goal past
Dell. The Sharks were forced to play a more offensive game late in order to
score a tying goal, and that opened up an already porous defense which allowed
the Rangers to push their lead back to two goals.
Tomas Hertl finally
made an appearance, albeit too late. The forward scored his 14th goal of the
season with 50 seconds left in regulation, but the gap was insurmountable.
Game Notes:
* Kevin Labanc led the Sharks with 3
assists on the night. The young forward had his ups and downs during the game.
He finished with a +2, but was on the ice during the Skjei short handed goal.
* Melker Karlsson had a game to forget. The forward did nothing
offensively, even though the Sharks scored 5 goals, and was on the ice for the
Rangers first and last goals. He did not record a shot on goal and was credited
with one giveaway.
* Aaron Dell has surrendered 11 goals in a 72 hour
span. The Sharsk goaltender has been handed the reigns while Martin Jones
rehabs his injury, and the last two showings have not been indicative of his
early season play.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| NYR |
2 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
| SJ |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
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| 1st period - 1, NYR,
Hayes 11 (Miller, Zuccarello), 5:45. 2, SJ, Goodrow 4 (Burns), 6:45. 3, SJ,
Couture 19 (Labanc, Ryan), 10:56. 4, NYR, Fast 8 (Grabner, Holland), 17:53.
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| 2nd period - 5, SJ,
Couture 20 (Labanc, Vlasic), 2:36. 6, NYR, McDonagh 1 (Hayes, Miller), 11:04.
7, NR, McDonagh 2 (Buchnevich), 12:16, (pp). 8, NYR, Skjei 3 (unassisted),
17:09, (sh). |
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| 3rd period - 9, SJ,
Vlasic 8 (Braun, Tierney), 10:51. 10, NYR, Milller 11 (Zuccarello, Skjei),
18:10. 11, SJ, Hertl 14 (Labanc, Burns), 19:10. |
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| 1st period - Dillon, SJ
(hooking), 12:40. |
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| 2nd period - Meier, SJ
(tripping), 11:23; Smih, NYR (holding), 16:15; Demelo, SJ (holding), 18:49.
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Shots |
Saves |
| NYR - Pavelec |
28 |
23 |
| SJ - Dell |
29 |
23 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| NYR |
12 |
11 |
6 |
29 |
| SJ |
7 |
7 |
14 |
28 |
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| Referees: Watson,
Schlenker. Linesmen: Knorr, Wheler. |
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