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Sloppy in the
desert
Nabokov's off night cost
Sharks
3/25/08 - by Mike Lee
Three
days worth of cobwebs were too much for the Sharks to shake on Tuesday night,
but they mustered enough 3rd period energy to make it entertaining. In the end
though, the Sharks dropped a 5-4 decision to the host Phoenix Coyotes in
overtime, extending their point streak to 16 games. The point they earned by
reaching overtime, gave the Sharks 100 for the season, moving them to within 5
points of clinching the division title. Joe Thornton bagged 3 goals in the 3rd
period to help overcome a 3-0 deficit, but a Martin Hanzel goal in overtime
gave Phoenix the win.
A lethargic opening period left the Sharks
outshot 12-6, but Phoenix came out on the short end of the stick when they lost
defenseman Ed Jovanovski to injury. Jovanovski suffered a laceration to the
back of his calf after Sharks rookie Devin setoguchi's skate blade caught the
blueliner near the Phoenix end boards.
Jovanovski required 7 stitches
to close the wound and did not return to the game.
Derek Morris gave
the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at the 8:25 mark of the 2nd period, and Daniel Carcillo
came close to extending the lead with a breakaway with 5 minutes remaining in
the period.
Coyots rookie Enver Lisin made it 2-0 chipping a shot off
Nabokov's stick from in tight with jus over a minutes remaining in the period.
Lisin took a pass from Carcillo near the right corner then skated in on Sharks
goaltender Eveni Nabokov before pushing the puck on net. The shot hit Nabokov's
blade, then bounced over the Shark goaltender's left shoulder and into the San
Jose goal.
A wild 2:38 stretch early in the 3rd period resulted in 5
goals and left everyone in the building who would decide to play defense first.
Nabokov misplayed a short handed shot by Shane Doan early in the 3rd
period after Peter Mueller was sent off for hooking. The puck bounced off
Nabokv's pad, then trickled on the goal line, but the Sharks netminder swept
the puck away from danger with his glove.
Down would capitalize
seconds later when the Coyotes won the ensuing faceoff in the Sharks zone then
took a pass from Winnik and wristed a shot past Nabokov. Winnik circled around
the left dot, then found Doan cutting toward the net, where he used a Sharks
defenseman to screen Nabokov.
Thornton would finally get the Sharks on the board,
converting at 17:09 after Keith Ballard was sent off for tripping, giving the
Sharks a 2-man advantage. Jeremy Roenick sent a 40-foot pass through the slot
from left to right, to Thornton who was parked outside the right post. Coyotes
goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov had no chance to get over to the far post to cover
Thornton's easy tap in.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic would roof a shot past
Bryzgalov just 27 seconds later when the Coyotes failed to clear the puck out
of their own zone. Vlasic picked up the loose puck in the high slot, then sent
a shot in from between the circles that cleared Bryzgalov's glove.
The
Sharks continued to coast in the defensive zone and Steve Reinprecht made them
pay with an easy goal at 4:05 of the period. Nabokov tried to play the puck
behind his own net, then failed to get back in time after Mathias Tjarnqvist
sent a pass from the end boards to a cutting Reinprecht.
Sharks head
coach Ron Wilson would immediately pull Nabokov in favor of Brian Boucher.
Thornton would answer 50 seconds later with his 23rd of the season.
Jeremy Roenick sent a backhanded pass from the right corner through the slot to
Thornton, who tried to bait Bryzgalov by walking the puck toward the net, then
sending a pass toward Milan Michalek on the right post. Hanzel tipped the puck
into his own net while trying to tie up Micalek's in front of the crease.
Thornton recorded his hat trick with 2:46 remaining in regulation on a
redirect off a Christian Ehrhoff shot from the blueline. Lurking near the
crease, Thornton got his stick on the puck as it sailed wide right, chipping
just inside the right post for the 4-4 tie.
Hanzel ended it in the
overtime period with a shot that beat Boucher high to the glove side. Ballard
carried the puck into the Sharks zone on the 4-on-4, then dropped the puck to
the rookie centerman near the top of the right circle. Hanzel had to double
back to the puck after overskating it, then whipped the shot past Boucher to
end it.
Game Notes:
Sharks defenseman Craig Rivet got the
night off, in favor of Matt Carle. Jonathan Cheechoo was also scratched in
order to nurse a sore groin. Marcel Goc, Alexei Semanov and Sandis Ozolinsh
were healthy scratches.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
| PHO |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
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| 2nd period - 1, PHO,
Morris 8 (Winnik, Doan), 8:25. 2, PHO, Lisin 3 (Carcillo), 18:49. |
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| 3rd period - 3, PHO,
Doan 27 (Winnik), 2:16, (sh). 4, SJ Thornton 22 (Roenick, Vlasic), 2:51, (pp).
5, SJ, Vlasic 2 (unassisted), 3:18, (pp). 6, PHO, Reinprecht 16 (Tjarnqvist,
Weller), 4:05. 7, SJ, Thornton 23 (Roenick, Michalek), 4:54. 8, SJ, Thornton 24
(Ehrhoff, Campbell), 17:14. |
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| Overtime - 9, PHO,
Hanzel 7 (Ballard, Morris), 3:23. |
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| 1st period - McLaren, SJ
(roughing), 15:41; Campbell, SJ (slashing), 18:17; Morris, PHO (tripping),
19:27. |
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| 2nd period - Murray, SJ
(fighting major), 15:08; Weller, PHO (fighting major), 15:08. |
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| 3rd period - Mueller,
PHO (hooking), 1:11; Ballard, PHO (tripping), 2:42; Ehrhoff, SJ (cross
checking), 14:29. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
26 |
22 |
| SJ - Boucher |
10 |
9 |
| PHO - Bryzgalov |
34 |
30 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| SJ |
6 |
10 |
17 |
1 |
34 |
| PHO |
12 |
9 |
12 |
3 |
36 |
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| Referees: Devorski,
StPierre. Linesmen: Cameron, Cormier. |
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