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The Sharks keep their perfect season intact

January 30, 2013, 2:44 AM ET [12 Comments]
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Ryan Leong filling in for Cam who is on assignment.

The Sharks continue to find ways to win and remain perfect on the season at 6-0-0.

It was another milestone night for Team Teal as Justin Braun played in his 100th career NHL game. For once, Patrick Marleau did not score a goal but his teammates picked him up and the Sharks beat the Ducks 3-2 in a shootout.

It didn't take long for the "Ducks suck" chants to start, just seconds after the opening faceoff. Anaheim remains one of the Sharks' biggest rivals.

Antti Niemi was a busy man in the opening period, as the Ducks peppered the Sharks netminder with 13 shots. The Sharks only had four but one of those gave the Sharks the lead.

San Jose scores on a 2-on-1 breakaway off the faceoff started by Patrick Marleau to Joe Thornton at center ice. A rushing Joe Pavelski skates past Luca Sbisa from the slot beats beats Jonas Hiller low on the blocker side.

Nobody expected to see Nick Petrecki on the ice for San Jose. The big rookie defenseman made his NHL debut because Dan Boyle was out with a cold. Petrecki and Brent Burns participated in the morning skate. It was the first time Burns skated since his off-season hernia surgery he had in May. He is not optomistic about his progress according to Mercury News Sharks beat writer David Pollak.

Ducks failed to score on the power play but just as Marleau was coming out of the box, Anaheim scores on a shot from the goal line by Beauchemin. The puck went off of Niemi's right leg and into the net.

1:39 later, the Ducks took the lead on a blast from Matt Beleskey from the high slot on a centering pass from Ryan Getzlaf , a perfect shot just over the left shoulder of Niemi top shelf.

Logan Couture saved the day with his slapper from the high slot that Hiller simply could not see. The puck trickled through his pads for Logan's fourth goal of the season which is second on the team behind Marleau's team leading nine.

Scoring details

1st period

SJ – 9:46 –EV – 8 J. Pavelski (3) – assists – 19 J. Thornton (11), 12 P. Marleau (5)

2nd period

ANA – 8:40 –EV – 23 F. Beauchemin (1) – assists – 11 S. Koivu (6), 9 B. Ryan (1)

ANA – 9:39 –EV –39 M. Beleskey (1) – assists – R. Getzlaf (3), 34 D. Winnik (2)

3rd period

SJ – 17:15 –EV – 39 L. Couture (4) – assists – 23 S. Gomez (1), 29 R. Clowe (4)

Shootout

SJ – 26 M. Handzus

Contenders

Antti Niemi – The Sharks goalie was the first star of the game and deservedly so. Other than an unlucky bounce off his right pad that led to the first Ducks goal by Francois Beuchemin, Niemi was near perfect in the net.

Nick Petrecki – The Sharks rookie defenseman is 6-3, 225 lbs and he proved early in the game he is not to be messed with. In the first period when play was stopped, an Anaheim player was in the crease and Petrecki in one of his first plays, checked him away to protect Niemi.

"Well that's his job, that's everybody's job on the back end," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "He's a big man, he can use his assets which are big and powerful...the ability to move people and he did it."

Logan Couture – His goal to tie the game in the third period couldn't have come at a better time and he makes the list for coming through in crunch time.

Jonas Hiller – Was solid in the net for the Ducks. The two goals he allowed weren't easy. Pavelski with a blast and the Couture goal, while it looked somewhat soft, he never saw the puck after it came off Couture's stick. He kept his team in the game despite making only 16 saves on 18 shots.

Francois Beauchemin – He was big for the Ducks tonight, a +1, scored the first goal of the game for Anaheim and also blocked five shots.

Pretenders

Corey Perry – The Ducks veteran forward was a -2 and other than a point blank chance in overtime with Niemi making the kick save, he was a non-factor in this game.

Teemu Selanne – The former Shark who never caught on with Team Teal is still booed by the fans. He had only one shot on goal and was the Ducks last hope in the shootout and hit the crossbar. Unlike Handzus who also hit the crossbar, his puck went into the net and Selanne's didn't.

Said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau, "You know, that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. The hockey gods weren't with us tonight."

Patrick Marleau – Although he assisted on the Sharks first goal, his tripping penalty didn't The Sharks killed off the penalty but it still led to Anaheim's first goal. Marleau was whistled again for a very questionable goalie interference penalty because he was in the blue paint but had Cam Fowler right on his keyster. Marleau was also a -1 on the night.

The Sharks third and fourth line forwards – have been invisible this season and other than Handzus coming through on the shootout, they haven't contributed much thus far but the season is only six games old.

Keep your head up,

Ryan Leong
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