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Lucky break gets Sharks
By Pearl Allison Lo April 14, 2010 |
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For some, it would seem the San Jose Sharks' playoff jinx is still alive, but the team wasn't too concerned as they lost to the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 Wednesday. From behind the net to the left side and off San Jose Rob Blake's skate, Colorado's Chris Stewart scored at 19:10 of the third period, aided by Paul Stastny and TJ Galiardi. It was Stastny's second assist of the game. Though the Sharks have now lost Game One at home in their last four Stanley Cup Playoff series, the Sharks' Evgeni Nabokov, Patrick Marleau and Todd McLellan mentioned the "ups and downs of playoff hockey," and McLellan reiterated that, their "backs aren't against the wall." The game was pretty uneventful at first, until midway of the second period. San Jose got off to an early advantage, with a power play twenty-eight seconds into the first period, as Stewart was called for hooking. At the end of the first period, the shots on goal were 12-11 in favor of the Sharks and remained that way until about 5:45 into the second period. At 7:08 of the second, Colorado's Brandon Yip was called for interference and Marleau was called for holding. The Sharks' Rob Blake's shot hit the corner of the post at 8:40. At 11:46, Blake was called for hooking, which proved costly, as John-Michael Liles scored from the top of the slot at 12:38 for the 1-0 lead. Around 16:30, the Avalanche held possession of the puck for awhile, earning boos from the crowd and at the end, Devin Setoguchi was called for hooking at 17:07 for Colorado's second power play opportunity. San Jose was outshot 12-3 during the period. Hopes were dimming as San Jose got their second power play opportunity at 2:49 of the third period, but failed to convert. McLellan stated that "the difference-maker was the power play, when you look at pure goal scoring." Clowe, however, kept hope alive as he played the puck alongside the boards against a defender and hooked the puck in as he turned around at 7:59. The Avalanche's Craig Anderson stopped 30 shots en route to his first win in his first NHL playoff game. Game notes: Colorado center Matt Duchene and Sharks' center Joe Thornton were both -1 for the game, with 0 to 5 shots on goal, respectively. Thornton's other line members, Marleau and Dany Heatley, also were -1... San Jose's Pavelski led all players with six shots on goal... Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals is Friday at 7:30pm. San Jose brought in goalie Henrik Karlosson from Sweden for playoff practice purposes. |
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