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Winning streak
Sharks follow up Thursday win with another W
The Sharks returned home for the first time since
their home opener on October 2nd, limping back from a 1-2-0 record, which
positioned them in last place in the Pacific Division. San Jose also hit the
ice with a new player in tow. Patrick Marleau, the long time Shark, skated
through the Sharks head for the first time in three two years. Marleau helped
jump start the Sharks to their first win of the season last Thursday night.
Sunday night's affair was more of a homecoming.
Marleau renewed his
tradition of being the last skater to hit the ice, bringing up the rear after
his teammates made their entrances. The former Sharks captain did this for
years. It was picked up by Marc-Edouard Vlasic, but the defenseman ceded the
responsibility back Marleau, who energized the non-sellout crowd when he
stepped out on to the SAP Center ice.
Marleau didn't repeat his 2-goal
performance from Thursday, but he did get on the score sheet with an assist on
the game's first goal. That goal, and two more from Marleau's teammates helped
propel San Jose to a 3-1 win over the visiting Calgary Flames.
The
Sharks addressed the formality of a real welcome home for Marleau early in the
contest. After an early whistle, the Sharks welcomed Marleau back with a
jumbotron message that resulted in a standing ovation for the franchise leader
in goals scored.
Energy was the theme of the night, and Marleau's
response to the standing ovation helped juice up the home crowd.
San
Jose struck early, scoring when Timo Meier bagged his 1st goal of the season
3:04 into the contest. Meier parked himself on the Flames doorstep and
deflected a Logan Couture feed while standing behind defenseman Travis Hamonic.
Hamonic had a good look at the pass from Couture as it came off the right wing
boards, but Meier was able to get his stick on the puck first. deflecting it
past Flames goaltender Cam Talbot.
Patrick Marleau was credited with
the secondary assist, giving him 3 points in two games with San Jose.
Kevin Labanc made it 2-0 when he exchanged passes with Tomas Hertl on a
give-and-go play that ended with a shot from just inside the right dot that
beat Talbot top shelf.
The Flames took exception with a Hertl trip on
captain Mark Gioradano, but couldn't convert on the only Sharks penalty of the
opening period. Mikeal Backlund tripped Evander Kane to cut their power play
short.
Calgary cut into the Sharks lead 6:43 in the 2nd period, when
an Elias Lindholm shot deflected off Marc-Edouard Vlasic and past goaltender
Martin Jones. Lindholm uncorked a shot from the point, hitting Vlasic who was
in the slot between the circles. The puck shifted its trajectory slightly to
the right, fooling Jones.
A Rasmus Andersson slashing penalty with 5 minutes to
play in the middle frame setup a second power play chance for the Sharks, but
Brent Burns was forced to haul down Michael Frolik to put an end to that
thought. The Sharks did one better when Couture stepped in front of a pass in
the Sharks zone then raced up ice.
Couture waited on Tomas Hertl, who
trailed on the play, before feathering a pass to his teammate on the right
wing. Hertl promptly skated in and deposited past Talbot to push the Sharks
lead back to two goals.
San Jose went clearly into prevent mode in the
3rd period, generating a mere 3 shots in the period. The Flames made a push to
claw back into the game, but Jones came up big in the period. Jones stopped all
11 shots that he faced.
Jones teammates didn't make things easier by
taking a pair of penalties in the period. Brent Burns was whistled for holding
at 9:34, then Brendan Dillon was sent off two minutes after the Sharks killed
off the first penalty.
Through all the early season struggles, the
penalty kill has been the one bright spot. San Jose moved to 7th in the league,
with their four kills on Sunday night. The Sharks 90% penalty kill efficiency
kept the Flames at bay all night.
When the final horn sounded, the
Sharks had a winning streak. With Marleau's return, it was just like the good
old days.
Game Notes:
* Trevor Carrick and Danil
Yurtaykin where scratches, allowing Lukas Radil and Tim Heed to get back in the
lineup. The Sharks are experimenting with various lineup combinations with
younger players.
* It was not surprise that the Sharks found more
success by controlling the puck. They won more faceoffs than their opponent for
the first time this season. They out-drew Calgary 33-28 (54%). Tomas Hertl won
12 of 18 draws to lead San Jose.
* San Jose also had more blocks than
the Flames (17 to 16).
* The Sharks took full advantage of the Flames
lineup who were likely more fatigued after playing in Vegas on Saturday night.
Back-to-back games are part of the job, but San Jose put the screws to Calgary
early in the contest, trying to take advantage of tired legs.
* After
his win on Thursday, Aaron Dell found himself on the Sharks bench against
Calgary. That may have been because Martin Jones is 11-3-0 all time against
Calgary, and he has won his last 6 straight versus the Flames.
* Logan
Couture finished the evening with a pair of assists, 2 shots on goal, a blocked
shot and was 7-for-17 (41%) on draws.
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think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CGY |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| SJ |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Meier 1 (Couture, Marleau), 3:04. 2, SJ, Labanc 2 (Hertl, E. Karlsson), 10:13.
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| 2nd period - 3, CGY,
Lindholm 1 (Brodie), 6:43. 4, SJ, Hertl 1 (Couture), 18:08, (sh). |
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| 1st period - Hertl, SJ
(tripping), 16:52; Backlund, CGY (tripping), 18:21. |
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| 2nd period - Andersson,
CGY (slashing), 15:08; Burns, SJ (tripping), 16:51. |
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| 3rd period - Burns, SJ
(holding), 9:34; Dillon, SJ (slashing), 13:33. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CGY - Talbot |
20 |
17 |
| SJ - Jones |
33 |
32 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CGY |
11 |
11 |
11 |
33 |
| SJ |
6 |
11 |
3 |
20 |
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| Referees: Morton,
Rehman. Linesmen: Daisy, Nansen. |
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