It took 17 games but the Sharks finally
recorded a blow out victory. The fact that it came against a team on a 3-game
winning streak and potential playoff contender in the St Louis Blues made it
all the more rewarding for a team that hasn't had many successes this season.
Mike Hoffman led the Sharks with a pair of goals in the win and Kaapo Kahkonen
recorded 45 saves to earn his first win of the season, as San Jose rolled 5-1.
For the downtrodden in teal, it was nice to see some smiles on the ice
for once. The big change in the Sharks game came in the form or a marked
increase in the number of shots they put on their opponent. They set the tone
by out-shooting St Louis 15-11 in the opening period, then used a bushel of
attempts to knock out the Blues early in the 2nd period.
Mike Hoffman
staked the Sharks to the early 1-0 lead on a easy deposit into a wide open net
at 2:02. The Sharks moved the puck over to the right side, drawing the Blues
defense and goaltender Joel Hofer to the strong side. Nico Sturm received a
pass from Filip Zadina off the right wing boards, then took a stride toward the
net before sliding the puck to the left of the slot for Hoffman. The forward
had a wide open net to shoot at, collecting his 2nd tally of the season.
It took the Blues 9:37 to generate their first shot on goal. Kasperi
Kapanen ripped a shot from 15 feet out that goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen smothered
to preserve the Sharks lead.
San Jose started their goal scoring spree
just 17 seconds into the 2nd period when William Eklund tipped a Nikita
Okhotiuk shot. Okhotiuk ripped a blast from the left point with Eklund lurking
in the high slot. The shot beat Blues goaltender Joel Hofer just inside the
right post.
Givani Smith's grumpy disposition early in the contest was
turned upside down when he scored his 1st goal as a Shark at 2:39. Ryan
Carpenter tried to hit Luke Kunin with a pass out of the left corner, but the
puck bounced off Kunin near the slot and redirected right so Smith who trailed
his path. Smith immediately put the puck on net, beating Hofer to make it a 3-0
game.
The same line scored 56 seconds later when Smith
found Kunin cutting down the slot for a shot attempt that slid between Hofer
and the right post. Smith snapped a pass from the right corner after retrieving
a deflected pass. The goal was Kunin's 4th of the season.
Blues head
coach Craig Berube had seen enough and immediately called timeout and pulled
Hofer and inserted Jordan Binnington.
San Jose made it a 5-0 game when
Hoffman added his 2nd tally of the night. Filip Zadina threw the puck up ice
after recognizing that Hoffman had position on defenseman Colton Parayko.
Hoffman collected the lead pass at center ice and raced in on Binnington before
snapping a waist-high shot home.
Kahkonen lost the shutout with 6
minutes left in the game when a Justin Faulk shot was deflected by Pavel
Buchnevich, who was parked at the top of the crease.
Game
Notes: * Anthony Duclair returned to the lineup after missing the
last three games fighting a bout with Strep.
* St Louis entered play
with an 8-game wining streak against the Sharks, including the last 5 at SAP
Center. St Louis had 5th best defense in the league before the game started.
They were blown out by was is undoubtedly the worst offense in the league.
* Givani Smith became the 300th Shark to score a goal courtesy of
Darren Stephens).
* Luke Kunin extended his goal scoring streak to 3
games. Mike Hoffman has a 2-game streak. Ryan Carpenter has 3 assists over his
last 2 games.
* San Jose gets a rare weekend off. The schedule does
not call for another game until Monday
