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Sharks rally to beat Blues
By Dave Fowkes January 6, 2010 |
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(San Jose, CA) -- The San Jose Sharks rallied for a 2-1 overtime lead over the St. Louis Blues. Dany Heatley used a breakaway in overtime to give the Sharks the win. Patrick Marleau scored on the power play and Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves for his 24th victory of the year. Blues goalie Chris Mason looked like he might be the star of the game though stopping 42 shots on the night. Heatley used a breakaway in overtime to get the win. It was all about Heatley as he blocked a shot which created the turnover at the blue line. Heatley swept it up and got in front of the defense. As he attacked the goal he wristed a shot that beat Mason on his stick side for the 2-1 overtime win. “I knew it was pretty even,” Heatley said of the race down the ice. “I just got a little step on the guy but I knew there was not much room.” “He does a great job blocking the shot and then he just pulled away from those guys,” Marleau said of his view on the play from the bench. “He had some breakaway speed there. Everybody was up on the bench just waiting for him to put it in.” It did not always appear like it would go the Sharks way in this one. The first period ended in a scoreless draw. The period brought back memories of Monday night’s loss to the Kings with the Sharks peppering shots on goal but not able to break through for a goal, while the Blues seem to generate better scoring chances. The Sharks out shot the Blues 12-7 despite the Blues have two power play opportunities compared to the Sharks one. “When you go back to the LA game, this one was not a lot different,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “We had the same energy, the same jump. The difference is tonight we brought our minds to the game.” St. Louis tallied the first goal. Andy McDonald scored on the power play. Nabokov made a move to come out of the net to cut down the angle on a shot. He made the save but McDonald got blocked into Nabokov and took the opportunity to remove the goalie from the play. With an open net, Rob Blake jumped in and made a save on the first shot, but McDonald got a second shot and scored past Blake. The biggest ovation of the night came with 6:21 left in the second period. Jody Shelly and Cam Janssen dropped their gloves and went toe to toe. While there were a few nice jabs, some solid hooks, neither player was able to land and big hits and the fight was as much dancing around as it was a slugfest. But the crowd enjoyed it and both benches awarded their teammates standing ovations afterwards as well. “Not sure if Jody’s fight gave us a spark,” McLellan said. “I thought we were playing well at that point. It got the crowd into it. It created some energy in the building. It was Jody making a statement that he is back.” The Sharks ended the second period with a large shot lead again out shooting the Blues 17-11 in the period for a 29-18 lead overall. But the scoreboard still said St. Louis 1 San Jose 0. Just when it looked like the Sharks were headed for a shut out, Marleau tied the game. Boyle pushed a pass from the blue line to the right side that Marleau rifled a one-timer that just nicked a defender before beating Mason over his left shoulder. There was “confusion” in the locker room after the game that the puck may have been deflected by Torey Mitchell skating across the middle, but a overhead replay showed the puck glanced off the defender instead of Mitchell. “I was back there on the point with Danny (Boyle) and I was just trying to get a lane to the net,” Marleau said. “Pretty much Mitchell did all the work in front with keeping the D occupied and getting his stick up there.” The Sharks win snapped a one game losing streak. Having won eight of their last nine games now, the Sharks will host Detroit on Saturday. The Sharks with 63 points are once again tied with the Blackhawks for best record in the NHL. GAME NOTES: **Torrey Mitchell played in his 100th career NHL game. **Patrick Marleau netted his 28th goal of the season. He remains in a tie with Marian Gaborik for the league lead. Marleau now has a three-game goal streak (3-1=4). **Dany Heatley potted his team-leading sixth game-winning goal in OT. Heatley is now tied for second overall with Rich Peverley. **The Sharks posted 44 shots on goal marking the fourth time the team has posted 40 or more shots on goal. ** The Stockton Thunder, a two-time recipient of the ECHL “Award of Excellence,” and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League have entered into a working agreement for the duration of 2009-10 season. |
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