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Nightmare December
continues
Sharks drop 9th game in last 10
The nightmare that has been the month of December
got even worse on Sunday night, as the Sharks buckled in the 3rd period once
again to drop their third straight decision. After working a 1-1 tie in the 3rd
period, San Jose let costly mistakes bite them late to drop their ninth game in
the last ten games, losing 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center. The
same old game plan continues to cripple San Jose.
After a coaching
change, the Sharks have been desperate to mix things up. They gave Aaron Dell
his second start in the last three games, after Martin Jones failed to stop the
St Louis Blues on Saturday night. Dell made big saves early, but San Jose just
doesn't have those game saving performances by their goaltending tandem.
By losing, the Sharks fell to last place in the Western Conference.
Their -32 goal differential is the worst in the conference, and third worst in
the league. The loss also pushed the Sharks to a sub .500 record on home ice.
Both teams seemed tentative to start the game, with Vegas out-shooting
San Jose 13-6 in the opening 20 minutes. The Knights enjoyed a pair of power
play chances in the opening frame, but the Sharks league best penalty kill
squashed both opportunities.
Vegas finally broke through with 2:29
left in the 2nd period, when the Sharks lost track of Paul Stastny who worked a
give-and-go with Alex Tuch deep in the Sharks zone. Tuch fed Stastny a puck
from behind the Sharks net, setting up a shot from outside the left post. Dell
was late to react, as the puck tucked under the crossbar for Stastny's 9th goal
of the season.
The Sharks finally got on the board 3:54 into the 3rd
period, when Logan Couture banged home a Brent Burns feed from the right side.
Sensing a need to generate some offense, Burns pinched, carrying the puck
around the back of the net from right to left and drawing the attention of
goaltender Malcolm Subban to the left corner. With the focus on the puck, Burns
whipped a pass through the crease to Couture on the weak side for a slam dunk
goal.
Vegas reclaimed the lead less than 5 minutes later,
when Shea Theodore ripped a shot from the right side, beating Dell with his 5th
goal of the season. The Sharks let the defenseman fire the shot after pinching
on the right side.
Jonathan Marchessault drove the final nail in the
coffin, with his 12th goal of the season at 16:35 of the period. Erik Karlsson
was caught flat-footed as Reilly Smith raced around him at the Sharks blueline.
Smith raced toward the left post before dropping the puck to Marchessault for
the punch-in goal from the slot.
Game Notes:
* Sharks
head coach Bob Boughner was not available for post game comments, as it was
reported that he was headed out of town. The Sharks have the next four days
off, but it wasn't clear if Boughner was getting a jump on his Christmas break.
* Four Sharks recorded 5 shots, but it wasn't enough to get more than
a single puck past Knights backup goaltender Malcolm Subban.
* Vegas
won the season series 3-0-1, and take 7 of 8 points against San Jose this
season.
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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 |
| VGK |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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| 2nd period - 1, VGK,
Stastny 9 (Tuch, Zykov), 17:33. |
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| 3rd period - 2, SJ,
Couture 12 (Burns, Hertl), 3:54. 3, VGK, Theodore 5 (Karlsson), 8:05. 4, VGK,
Marchessault 12 (Smith, Karlsson), 16:35. |
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| 1st period - Kane, SJ
(tripping), 1:30; E. Karlsson, SJ (delay of game - puck over glass), 17:17.
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| 2nd period - Carrier,
VGK (delay of game - puck over glass), 7:27; Burns, SJ (elbowing), 11:08;
Reaves, VGK (roughing), 18:4; Dillon, SJ (roughing), 18:49. |
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| 3rd period - McNabb, VGK
(tripping), 9:42; McNabb, VGK (holding the stick), 13:03; Kane, SJ (tripping),
13:03; Stephenson, VGK (slashing), 17:44. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| VGK - Subban |
38 |
37 |
| SJ - Dell |
37 |
34 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| VGK |
13 |
10 |
14 |
37 |
| SJ |
7 |
11 |
20 |
38 |
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| Referees: StPierre,
Brenk. Linesmen: Knorr, Murphy. |
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