|
|
Dell exacts some revenge on
Blues
Sharks payback St Louis with 4-0
win
Eight days ago, the St Louis Blues ran roughshod
over a fatigued San Jose Sharks hockey team. San Jose was playing on back to
back nights, and the fatigue reared its ugly head in the second half of that
game when the Sharks fell 4-0 at the Enterprise Center. The Sharks got a little
revenge on Saturday night, as it was their turn to rest and wait for the Blues
who beat the Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City on Friday night. The Sharks took
advantage of the road weary Blues by reciprocating with their own 4-0 victory
at SAP Center.
Aaron Dell turned aside 30 shots for the shutout win to
lead San Jose. Dell didn't have to make the spectacular save to suppress the
Blues offense, but his steady hand allowed the Sharks skaters to focus on
defense and bite when the offensive opportunities presented themselves.
It was only the 2nd win for Dell in 6 decisions this season. The
goaltender had been the victim of a lack of offensive support when in net, but
the Sharks remedied that issue against the Blues.
The Sharks were
awful defensively against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, so defense
appeared to be a point of emphasis for them on Saturday night. San Jose did not
allow many quality scoring chances in the opening frame, limiting the Blues to
9 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
Chad Johnson was equally up to the
task, stopping all 13 Sharks shots in the 1st period, to keep the game
scoreless.
David Perron took an interference penalty late in the
period, which had 1:38 of power play time carry over for San Jose. St Louis
killed the penalty, but Joel Edmundson was called for slashing Kevin Labanc
right as Perron's penalty was expiring.
The Sharks took advantage of
the second chance on the man-advantage when Erik Karlsson finally scored his
first goal as a Shark. The defenseman stepped into a drop pass from the high
slot that beat Johnson over the right shoulder. The goal broke an 0-for-20 game
drought for the defenseman, who was brought to San Jose to score goals.
Karlsson hadn't gone that long to start a season since his rookie year
in 2009-10.
Joe Pavelski doubled the Sharks lead at 6:31 of the period
after fighting off defenseman Jay Bouwmeester along side the left post after
Timo Meier left a drop pass for the Sharks captain as he skated along the end
boards. Pavelski muscled up on the puck and was able to slide it across the
goal line as he was being checked to the ice by Bouwmeester.
Evander Kane added his 7th of the season, picking a
corner from the slot after he exchanged passes with Karlsson as the Sharks were
rushing in on net. The rush was facilitated by a big hit by Brendan Dillon in
the Sharks zone that left the Blues short a defender on the opposite end of the
ice. The three goal outburst by the Sharks all came within a span of 4:11.
Pavelski added a second goal with 8 minutes left in the 3rd period,
taking a Logan Couture pass through the slot, then burying a top shelf shot to
push the Sharks lead to 4-0. The goal was Pavelski's 13th of the season. That
moved him into a tie for 4th in NHL goal scoring along side Alex Ovechkin.
The only thing left to decide was if Dell would secure the shutout. St
Louis threw 11 shots at him in the final period, but the netminder was steady
between the pipes. The shutout was a welcome relief for San Jose's team goals
against average and save percentage. Both stats have been mediocre for San Jose
this season.
Game Notes:
* Rourke Chartier was assigned
to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) on Saturday and Dylan Gambrell was recalled to
the big club. Gambrell skated 16 shifts, logging 11:47 of ice time. He only
recorded one shot on goal, but he laid out 4 hits and added a blocked shot.
* Tomas Hertl missed his third consecutive game.
* Defensemen
Erik Karlsson and Brendan Dillon turned in +3 nights. Karlsson had 4 shots on
goal and missed the net 4 times, so he was getting chances to get pucks on net.
* The game was limited to 3 minor penalties. The Blues were called for
a pair of infractions and Logan Couture took a tripping penalty in the opening
48 seconds of the contest.
* The Sharks honored those who have fought
the cancer battle with Hockey Fights Cancer Night. All the advertisements on
the boards were colored purple, and there were fundraising efforts throughout
the night.
 |
|
| What did you think of
this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| SJ |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2nd period - 1, SJ, E.
Karlsson 1 (Couture, Kane), 3:34, (pp). 2, SJ, Pavelski 12 (Meier, Couture),
6:31. 3, SJ, Kane 7 (E. Karlsson, Suomela), 7:45. |
|
|
| 3rd period - 4, SJ,
Pavelski 13 (Couture, Meier), 11:59. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1st period - Couture, SJ
(tripping), 0:48; Perron, STL (interference), 19:38. |
|
|
| 2nd period - Edmundson,
STL (slashing), 1:42. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shots |
Saves |
| STL - Johnson |
29 |
25 |
| SJ - Dell |
30 |
30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| STL |
9 |
10 |
11 |
30 |
| SJ |
14 |
13 |
2 |
29 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Referees: McIsaac,
Rooney. Linesmen: Cherrey, Galloway. |
|
|
|
|
|
