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Kane leads Sharks past
Leafs
SJ wins third game in a row
| 3/3/20 - By Mike Lee - |
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The end of the 2019-20 season is on the horizon,
and with all the injuries and the trade deadline purge, the Sharks are just
trying to wrap up the final month of the season. Playing teams that are still
jockeying for playoff spots would make it easy for the Sharks to pack it in,
but for whatever reason, they're figuring some things out. The Toronto Maple
Leafs entered play on a four-game winning streak, but a strong 3rd period
helped propel San Jose past their guests with a 5-3 win.
San Jose was
led by Evander Kane, who scored a pair of goals. Stefan Noesen and Antti
Suomela added two point nights for the Sharks, who had their hands full with
Auston Mathews and Mitch Marner.
The Sharks scored a rare power play
goal to start the scoring 6:38 into the contest. Brent Burns sent a shot in on
goal from the blueline, and Kane was able to tip the shot past Maple Leafs
goaltender Jack Campbell for his 23rd tally of the season. Kane had defenseman
Justin Holl draped all over him but he was able to get a stick on the Burns
shot.
Mathews tied the game 2:48 into the 2nd period, when he chipped
at a puck that had banked off him as he sat parked just off the right post. The
Maple Leafs goal scoring machine was able to fend off Mario Ferraro before
swiping at the puck, pushing it past goaltender Martin Jones.
Suomela
answered 66 seconds later by bouncing a puck off Campbell as he skated along
the end line on the left side. It was the first goal of the season for the
Sharks 4th line forward.
The Sharks played a decent middle period, but
game is dictated by the scoreboard, and Toronto out-performed the Sharks in
that department. Marner knotted the game at 2-2 with 2:33 left in the frame
with a highlight reel goal.
The Leafs forward took a pass from Mathews
as he was cutting through the slot from right to left, then fed the puck to his
forehand by sliding it between his legs before sweeping home his 16th goal of
the season. Brent Burns had the defensive assignment, but never saw the puck
until it was too late. Marner deftly positioned it for the shot as Burns could
only flail at thee attempt.
Out-scoring teams in the 3rd period has
been an issue for San Jose this season, and their rag-tag roster didn't suggest
that the trend would change, but they figured it out. The sharks 4th line
converted when Noesen punched home a rebound after the Sharks worked the puck
to the Leafs end boards. Suomela sent a shot that sailed wide left, tbut the
puck worked it's way to Noesen on the right side.
Kane scored his second goal of the game 50 seconds
later when Marc-Edouard Vlasic worked the puck up the left side. Kane carried
it toward the net uncontested and was able to pick his shot, lifting the puck
past Campbell for his 24th of the season.
The Leafs made a run late,
but Jones stood tall. The Sharks netminder finished with 25 saves on the night.
Radim Simek capped things with an empty net goal late to cap the
game's scoring.
Game Notes:
* Joe Thornton played in
his 1100th game as a Sharks, becoming the second player in team history to
eclipse that mark. Patrick Marleau has played in 1,719 games for San Jose.
* Brandon Davidson made his Sharks debut after being acquired at the
trade deadline last week. The defenseman was recalled after Jacob Middleton was
injured last weekend against Pittsburgh.
* Martin Jones has gone 4-2-0
over his last four starts, posting an impressive 1.50 goals against average on
a .947 save percentage.
* Evander Kane's multi-goal night was the 40th
of his career.
* Timo Meier led all skaters with 6 shots on goal. San
Jose was credited with 18 shots in the 2nd period.
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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 |
| TOR |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ, Kane
23 (Burns, Couture), 6:38, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 2, TOR,
Mathews 46 (Marincin), 2:48. 3, SJ, Suomela 1 (Noesen. M. Karlsson), 3:54. 4,
TOR, Marner 16 (Mathews, Rosen), 17:27. |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Noesen 6 (Suomela), 5:48. 6, SJ, Kane 24 (Vlasic), 6:38. 7, SJ, Simek 2
(unassisted), 19:03, (en). |
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| 1st period - Gregor, SJ
(tripping), 3:11; Dermott, TOR (interference), 6:08. |
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| 2nd period - Holl, TOR
(interference), 8:19; Gregor, SJ (hooking), 17:53. |
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| 3rd period - Ferraro, SJ
(holding), 11:50. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| TOR - Campbell |
37 |
33 |
| TOR - empty net |
1 |
0 |
| SJ - Jones |
27 |
25 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| TOR |
14 |
6 |
7 |
27 |
| SJ |
11 |
18 |
9 |
38 |
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| Referees: Lambert,
Lee. Linesmen: Cormier, Gawryletz. |
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