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Sharks shut-out Stars as they move into a playoff position |
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Sharks shut-out Stars as they move into a playoff position
The Sharks had the wheels turning on all cylinders in a 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars as they moved into the eighth and final playoff spot, by doing so they pushed the Stars into the ninth position in the conference on the outside looking in.
The story tonight was a goal less than a minute in and a tired Dallas team that lost in Vancouver Friday night 5-2.
“We knew they played last night in Vancouver” said Joe Thornton after the game “We started well and I thought we competed hard all the way through.”
Niemi stopped 22 shots for the shutout but he was seldom tested in this game. Niemi was good when he had to be and with some missed opportunities by the Stars looked competent when called upon.
The Sharks and the Stars played their first game of a home and home series. San Jose travel to Dallas for the other half on Tuesday, and then on to LA to battle the Kings on Thursday night before they return to home for the last regular season home game of the year.
San Jose has played well against the Stars this year with a record of 4-0-1. They are the only team in the division that they have winning record against and they have a chance to make it 5-0-1 on Tuesday night.
Joe Pavelski scored two goals for the Sharks against Dallas but the hat trick eluded the Shark forward. San Jose had an opportunity to pad their lead and get Pavelski his third goal of the game when they had a two man advantage for 1:15. They were much too casual and let the Stars gain the only momentum of the game they had with an easy kill. Too many weak passes and a lack of intensity made the 5 on 3 a non-factor in this game.
The Stars finished their four game road trip Saturday night going 1-3. Dallas looked tired and struggled to find their legs all night. They were unable sustain pressure in the offensive zone and half way through the hockey game after the Sharks went up 3-0 Dallas had only seven shots on net.
As most teams do when the game is out of reach, and they play the same team in their next outing, the Stars got chippy and sent a message with some physical play. Ryan Garbutt dropped the gloves with Torrey Mitchell and the activity after the whistle was much more active than it was earlier in the game when Dallas still had a chance to win.
Good news for the Sharks is that Patrick Marleau looked more involved in the game. He wasn’t invisible on the offensive side of things and put himself in some great scoring positions. Patty hit the post on the man advantage and finished the game with six shots on net.
Scoring Details
1st Period
SJ – 0:58 –EV – 8 J.Pavelski(30) – assists – 19 J.Thornton(57), 12 P.Marleau(32)
SJ – 18:38 –PP – 60 J.Demers(3) – assists – 9 M.Havlat(17), 29 R.Clowe(27)
2nd Period
SJ – 9:39 –EV – 8 J.Pavelski(31) – assists – 44 M.Vlasic(18), 19 J.Thornton(58)
3rd Period
No scoring
The turning point in this game was the Sharks first penalty kill in the second period. San Jose did a great job keeping the puck in the offensive zone and got some great individual efforts killing time, most notably from Daniel Winnik. The fans at the sold-out HP Pavilion loved the effort and showed it.
Coach Todd McLellan commented on the momentum swing of the penalty kill in this game “It brought the fans really into the game. It gave us a boost. That can work against the opposition when the building is loud and you can feel the energy.”
Contenders & Pretenders
Contenders
Joe Pavelski – has taken over as the team’s goal scoring leader by potting two against the Stars. Joe’s opening goal came on his first shift of the game less than a minute in on a one-timer from the slot and his second was a deflected point shot while playing four on four. The Big Pavelski is getting his playoff game in shape and he was the first contender.
Joe Thornton – continues to deserve to be on the list with two assists. The Joes have been a dynamic duo down the stretch.
Sharks fans – get a nod on the contender’s list Saturday for tailgating in the lot and for giving their team a standing ovation on an instrumental penalty kill.
Pretenders
The Stars top line – had one play where the puck came towards the point and neither Ryder or Ribeiro made a play on it as it slowly slid out of the offensive zone. That summed the Stars game as a whole, but that line was the pretenders Saturday night. Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro, and Jamie Benn combined for minus -4 and looked dog tired.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore