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A loss is a loss, regardless of
why
Plenty of blame to go around in 3-2 OT loss in
St Louis
Good teams find ways to win. Bad teams find ways to
lose. The 2020-21 version of the San Jose Sharks isn't making any run for the
Stanley cup this year, but they found a way to cough up a win against a better
team. The Sharks were 40 seconds from their 3rd win in regulation, before
surrendering a tying goal to the Blues. A terrible call in the overtime handed
the Blues the win, when David Perron scored a power play goal to help St Louis
steal the two points with a 3-2 win.
Blame it on the failure to
execute or blame it on poor officiating, but it still amounts to a loss. The
Sharks aren't good enough to give away points, especially in a season that
offers up the unusual format of divisional play only.
Brent Burns had
a chance to clear a puck late with the Sharks clinging to a 2-1 lead, but poor
execution allowed the Blues to keep the puck pinned in the offensive zone, then
Brayden Schenn punches home the equalizer. It was the kind of play that
confirmed everything the naysayers have been criticizing San Jose for. Poor
execution. Lose game.
The officiating was simply atrocious.
The Blues took advantage of an interference penalty to Burns, when Mike Hoffman
slammed home a deflection from the right post at 6:12 of the opening period.
Burns was called for hauling down Perron, who dressed up the play with a weak
attempt to stay upright. Perron would earn the secondary assist when his pass
found its way to Oskar Sundqvist who tried jamming the puck home from in tight
on the left side. The rebound slid over to Hoffman, who had nothing but open
net to shoot at.
Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington held the fort for
St Louis in that opening period, making a big save off a John Leonard redirect
with 6 minutes left in the period. He would follow that up with a big save on
Burns with 3:40 left in the frame.
The Sharks tied the game at 8:27 of
the 2nd period, when Noah Gregor fired home a big rebound from the left side
after Nicolas Meloche bounced a shot off Binnington. Meloche ripped his chance
from the top of the right circle splitting Dylan Gambrell's skates. Binnington
got a leg pad down, but the puck shot over to the bottom of the left circle
where Gregor lifted a shot for his 3rd goal of the season.
San Jose
grabbed the lead 6 minutes later when John Leonard bagged his 2nd tally of the
year. Ryan Donato tried skating the puck toward the net in traffic, and
improvised with a backhand spin-o-ramma chance that turned into a pass that
found Leonard on the right post. Leonard pulled the puck back on his forehand
before sliding the puck under Binnington's pads for the 2-1 lead.
Evander Kane had a chance to pad the Sharks lead in the final minute of the
period when he found himself on a breakaway, but the forward put his shot over
Binnington.
The Sharks went toe to toe with St Louis for 19 minutes in
the 3rd period, but were forced to kill a big penalty late in the game when
Timo Meier was called for a phantom tripping call.
They would kill the
penalty, but it took some gas to get it done. That likely allowed for the Burns
gaff, which led to the Schenn goal.
The officiating really cost San Jose in the overtime
when Patrick Marleau was called for hooking, on a standard play where a
defender is lifting an opposing players stick. It was simply a blown call.
That enabled the Blues to convert when Perron whipped a one-time
chance between Jones' pads to end it.
Game Notes:
*
Defensemen Frederik Claeson and Nicolas Meloche made their second consecutive
starts with both Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek on the shelf. Both defensemen
played well, recording +2 nights. Claeson recorded a shot on goal and a pair of
hits.
* Erik Karlsson did not travel with the Sharks, as he nurses his
gimpy groin. Radim Simek did travel with the Sharks, who play in St Louis again
on Saturday afternoon.
* Martin Jones turned into another good
performance, but wasn't rewarded for his play. the Sharks netminder made 40
saves, including 7 in the overtime period.
* Logan Couture was injured
in the 2nd period, requiring some attention in the dressing room, but he would
return. The Sharks captain recorded 4 shots on goal, but he never challenged
Binnington. The Sharks rely on their big money guys, and Couture just didn't
deliver on Thursday night.
* So much for calling games more loosely in
the 3rd period of tight games. Even more so for games in overtime. This one may
have been more about rewarding the team that is supposed to win and penalizing
the team that was supposed to lose.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| STL |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
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| 1st period - 1, STL,
Hoffman 6 (Sundqvist, Perron), 6:12, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 2, SJ,
Gregor 3 (Meloche, Gambrell), 8:27. 3, SJ, Leonard 2 (Donato, Marleau), 14:31.
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| 3rd period - 4, STL,
Schenn 8 (Hoffman), 19:20. |
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| Overtime - 5, STL,
Perron 6 (Krug), 4:00, (pp). |
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| 1st period - Dunn, STL
(high sticking), 0:57; Burns, SJ (interference), 5:00; Donato, SJ (high
sticking), 19:56. |
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| 3rd period - Meier, SJ
(tripping), 15:14. |
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| Overtime - Marleau, SJ
(hooking), 3:21. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Jones |
43 |
40 |
| STL - Binnington |
32 |
30 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
11 |
9 |
1 |
32 |
| STL |
13 |
6 |
15 |
8 |
43 |
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| Enterprise Center - no
attendance |
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| Referees: Peel,
Lee. Linesmen: Fournier, Daisy. |
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