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Sharks come back from down two again to beat the Kings

April 8, 2012, 3:12 AM ET [45 Comments]
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Sharks come back from down two again to beat the Kings

The Sharks showed resiliency and character by coming back from two goal deficits against the Kings in two straight games to finish their season on a high note. It was a 3-2 overtime win for the Sharks on the tails of a two goal night from defenseman Dan Boyle as he popped in the winner with just over minute left in overtime.

“The ability to come back against that team in back to back games in the third period were pretty good character wins” commented Coach Todd McLellan after the game.

The last game of the regular season in San Jose didn’t take on the same level of intensity that Thursday’s battle in LA did. Both teams are in the playoffs and they both knew before the puck dropped that the Phoenix Coyotes won their last two games to clinch the Pacific Division and third place in the conference.

The Kings and the Sharks started out with a lot jump but the game settled in after a few minutes of tight checking. It would have been tough to duplicate the same electricity that the last game these two teams participated in two nights ago.

Tempers flared and the pace picked up in the third period for the Sharks compared to the first two, but without the Sharks spark plug from last game Ryane Clowe on the bench the chances of a fight dropped dramatically. Clowe played only 7:50 in the game but we were told that he and Colin White who also didn’t play in the final twenty needed a maintenance period and will be fine going forward.

The Sharks didn’t look as committed as they did last game through the first two periods and perhaps there was something to that. If the Sharks won their last game of the year they would finish seventh in the West which would mean a first round match-up against the St Louis Blues who have had their way with the Sharks this season. The Blues won all four games they played this year shutting out San Jose twice.

If San Jose finished in the 8th spot they face the Vancouver Canucks who ended the Sharks playoff run last spring winning the series in five games.

As it turns out it will be the Blues for the Sharks who gave this team fits this season. In four games against St. Louis the Sharks scored two goals so they have their work cut out for them and will need to spend lots of time studying tape.

“There just a tough team to play against” said Dan Boyle when asked about facing St. Louis in the first round. “Defensively they don’t give up much at all. The way they play the game is very simple but very effective. The last game we played against them here they just wore us down, plain and simple.”

Joe Thornton missed out on continuing his twenty goals or more per season streak when playing 58 games or more. Joe had eleven and was going for his twelfth but came up two shy with eighteen this year. Only Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames has more when counting players currently playing in the NHL.

Antti Niemi was pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss to start the third period which is what the team had planned to do all along. Last year they needed their back-up in the post-season and they wanted him to get some game time. As it turned out Greiss was great and got the win for San Jose.

Scoring details

1st Period

LA – 11:09 –PP – 14 J.Williams(22) – assists – 28 J.Stoll(15), 27 A.Martinez(6)

2nd Period

LA – 19:04 –PP – 10 M.Richards(18) – assists – 14 J.Williams(37), 33 W.Mitchell(19)

3rd Period

SJ – 0:35 –EV – 22 D.Boyle(8) – assists – 9 M.Havlat(19), 39 L.Couture(33)

SJ – 8:14 –PP – 12 P.Marleau(30) – assists – 8 J.Pavelski(30), 39 L.Couture(34)

Overtime

SJ – 3:58 –EV – 22 D.Boyle(9) – assist – 9 M.Havlat(20)

The turning point in this game was Dan Boyle’s first goal in the third period while playing four on four. It got the team going and gave them that belief that they needed. It has been the team’s leaders lately that have turned things around and Saturday night it Boyle’s turn.

Contenders & Pretenders

Contenders

Dan Boyle – scored two tonight both while playing four on four, his second won the game for San Jose. Boyler is the first contender.

Logan Couture – finds his way onto the list for his grit and toughness as well as his two assists. Couture has taken a beating in the last few games but he keeps getting up and contributing. He may not be big in stature but Logan has shown how big his heart is and that it will take more than a cheap boarding penalty to keep him down.

“That’s the way it is this time of year” said Couture after the game. “You have to expect that from team’s battling for playoff spots, that the way it’s going to be from here on.”

Justin Williams – has been a Shark killer and he is no stranger to the contenders list. He scored one and assisted on the other for the Kings.

Pretenders

Mike Richards – had a cheap shot on Couture after and looked somewhat remorseful after, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a low blow. Richards plays hard but his crossing the line puts him on the pretenders list in this game.

Martin Havlat – was in the box for both of the Kings power play goals. His first minor seemed to be a ghost call but his second was on a Sharks power play and the puck was long gone. That was a momentum killer for the Sharks and had they of lost this game Havlat would be taking a bigger wrath. Welcome back to the pretenders list Marty.

Look for a break-down of the Sharks versus the Blues on Hockeybuzz in the next couple of days. We will take a look at each position in depth.

Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore
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