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Jones solid as Sharks get back
to winning
Sharks snap 4-game losing streak with 3-1
win in Columbus
The Sharks righted the ship for a game, as their
current 5-game road trip hit the middle point with a stop in Columbus. San Jose
scored three goals and Martin Jones reverted to his old self to take a 3-1
decision over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Jones made 28 saves to lead
San Jose who broke a 4-game losing streak. The Sharks turned in solid
performances on special teams, which turned out to the storyline for the
struggling club.
San Jose locked down the Blue Jackets defensively,
largely due to Jones stellar play in net. San Jose had given up 17 goals over
their last four games. The win marked the second consecutive game where the
Sharks held an opponent to a single goal. San Jose lost 2-1 in the shootout out
Wednesday night.
The power play and penalty kill were exceptional on
Friday night. San Jose converted on 2 of 3 chances with the mad advantage and
killed off the lone Blue Jackets power play they were forced to defend.
Matt Calvert took a tripping penalty 4:14 into the game, setting up
Logan Couture's 22nd goal of the season. Couture allowed the Sharks power play
to spread the Blue Jackets defense before ripping a shot from the right point
that was hit a Blue Jacket stick and deflected downward to the ice before
bouncing past Sergei Bobrovsky.
San Jose made a late push to try and
double their lead with an energetic showing that kept the Blue Jackets focused
on their defense.
Boone Jenner tied the game 4:30 into the 2nd period,
ripping a shot from the left wing boards that beat Martin Jones over the right
shoulder. Jones had a good look at the puck, but he simply missed it. He may
have thought that it was going to sail high, but the shot clipped the underside
of the crossbar for Jenner's 5th of the season.
Columbus got
themselves into penalty trouble later in the period when Blue Jackets captain
Nick Foligno followed Seth Jones to the penalty box, leaving the Sharks with a
brief 12 second 5-on-3 power play. San Jose made good use of those 12 seconds
when Kevin Labanc ripped a one-time chance from 15 feet out to beat Bobrovsky.
Joe Pavelski setup Labanc with a feed from the bottom of the right circle.
Tomas Hertl just missed extending the Sharks lead late in the period
when his shot from the right dot rang off the left post. The Sharks turned on
the jets in the final 3 minutes, pressing Bobrovsky with a nice forecheck that
kept the Blue Jackets pinned in their own end.
San Jose finally extended their lead 6:51 into the 3rd
period, when Justin Braun lofted a long pass down ice to this defensive partner
Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The pass bounced at the blueline just as Vlasic was
sprinting up ice, receiving it on the forehand. Cutting to the right side of
the slot, Vlasic swept the puck past Bobrovsky with a backhand shot that found
twine for his 9th goal of the season.
Mikkel Boedker had a chance to
push the Sharks lead with a breakaway chance midway through the period, but his
backhand attempt was snuffed by Bobrovsky.
Jones was rock solid in the
3rd period, where his 14 saves denied the Blue Jackets from making any push.
Brandon Dubinsky had Jones dead to rights with a chance from 4 feet out, but
the Sharks netminder made the big save to keep the two goal lead in tact with 5
minutes to play.
Columbus pulled Bobrovsky with 2 minutes to play in a
last ditch effort to cut into the Sharks lead. It was too little, too late for
the Blue Jackets. Melker Karlsson missed on a chance to pad his stat line when
his shot from center ice hit the left post.
Game Notes:
* With his 3rd period goal Marc-Edouard Vlasic tied his career high in goals
with 9, set in 2014-15. The defenseman was credited with 2 shots on goal and
had 3 blocks to round out his solid overall night.
* Logan Couture
caught a puck in the face, which appeared to catch him in the teeth again.
Couture lost several teeth last year in Nashville when a puck hit him in front
of the net. Not a great dental year for Logan Couture. But at least he has team
mates that cheer him during the dentist appointment!
* Justin Braun
played one of his better games of the season. In addition to springing his
defensive partner for a goal, the defenseman was solid on the backend. He made
a key stick save on a Blue Jackets attempt in the 3rd period after Martin Jones
had gone down moments earlier to make a save.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| CBJ |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Couture 22 (Labanc, Hertl), 5:07, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 2, CBJ.
Jenner 5 (Atkinson, Kukan), 4:30. 3, SJ, Labanc 7 (Pavelski), 10:20, (pp).
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| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Vlasic 9 (Meier, Braun), 6:51. |
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| 1st period - Calvert,
CBJ (tripping), 4:14; Dillon, SJ (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:34; Dubinsky, CBJ
(unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:34. |
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| 2nd period - Jones, CBJ
(slashing), 8:25; Foligno, CBJ (hooking), 10:13. |
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| 3rd period - Ward, SJ
(tripping), 14:34. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
29 |
28 |
| CBJ - Bobrovsky |
28 |
25 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
14 |
5 |
9 |
28 |
| CBJ |
7 |
8 |
14 |
29 |
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| Nationwide Arena - 16,867 |
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| Referees:
StLaurent, Luxmore. Linesmen: Nansen, Brisebois. |
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