SHARKSPAGE

Two unanswered goals by Dallas Stars lead to 3-2 Sharks loss, San Jose’s win streak snapped at 8

SHARKS LW #29 RYANE CLOWE KNOCKED INTO DALLAS G #32 KARI LEHTONEN IN 3RD

SHARKS RW #10 JAMAL MAYERS SPLAYED ON TOP OF #32 KARI LEHTONEN IN 2ND

#19 JOE THORNTON FACEOFF WIN, #63 MIKE RIBEIRO FACEOFF LOSS IN 2ND

If the San Jose Sharks 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at HP Pavilion was a sign of things to come for the remainder of the regular season, it is going to be a long, hard slog. Both teams are two of the toughest in the league to play against when they put an early lead on the scoreboard. San Jose overcame a shorthanded goal against by Jamie Benn inside of 1:20 in the first period, then built a 2-1 lead on goals by Kyle Wellwood and Patrick Marleau. Football and rugby analogies were more appropriate then hockey ones for the first two periods, but in the third period there was a lull for San Jose and the Stars pounced. Sniper Loui Eriksson connected for his 28th goal of the season, and center Justin Williams used his “magic gloves” to score the game winner at 12:38. The Sharks 8 game win streak was over.

“I think we are getting into a different phase, more divisional and more conference play starting tonight with Dallas,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said before the game on Saturday night. “We play Dallas and Phoenix 6 of our last 17 games, over one third of our remaining games will be against these two (teams). Throw in another four against Anaheim and LA and a lot of your schedule is concentrated. I don’t know if it changes our approach, but we better be prepared.” There are no free games in the Pacific Division, and the stretch run may very well boil down to a war of attrition come April 8th or 9th.

Dallas earned a critical two points against a divisional foe. Any margin for error the Stars had built up early in the season was gone after a stretch where they lost 9 of 10. Still hurting after giving up a late lead to Anaheim in a 4-3 OT loss on Friday night, Jamie Benn took advantage of a puck that hopped over the stick of Patrick Marleau and split the Sharks defense at center ice. Benn used a quick forehand to backhand move before tucking the first goal of the game by Antti Niemi five-hole. The Sharks had been on an 8 game winning streak, but a lot of the wins were of the tight, grind it out variety. The few victories that came with any breathing room occured when San Jose took an early lead, then wore down opponents to build on it.

They would have to battle back against Dallas, a team they had taken to overtime on three previous occasions. Dallas registered two impressive victories and earned 5 of 6 possible points (2-0-1). The Stars and Sharks combined for 80 total shots November 18th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Recently traded James Neal and Mike Ribeiro scored in the final 3 minutes of regulation, and Riberio added the game winner in OT to provoke significant soul searching for San Jose. It was the second straight late lead the Sharks had given up, and a subsequent shutout loss to Columbus only heightened the problems and initiated a measure of sould searching at the time for San Jose.

Fast forward to January and February, and the post-losing streak Sharks had reeled off a 17-3-1 record behind a strengthed team defense and the spectacular goaltending of Antti Niemi. The Sharks started to build momentum against Dallas on the back of their third line with Joe Pavelski centering Kyle Wellwood and Torrey Mitchell. Pavelski is the catalyst on the line, creating turnovers and using his playmaking ability to spark production from two speedy converted centerman. A Pavelski shot off the end boards deflected to Mitchell, who used a hard backhand to get the puck to Wellwood on the doorstep. “That shift we were throwing things at the net,” Wellwood said. “It went off the end boards and Mitchy found me hiding in the crease and I was able to get a stick on it.” It was the only the 4th goal in a season-shortended 19 games for Wellwood, and only the first point in 9 games for Mitchell. Both players have been working hard in the offensive and defensive zones. Mitchell has been firing the puck hard from all over the ice, getting 11 shots on goal in his last 4 games, but production from both wingers is lacking. Creating a bonafide third scoring line is a must heading into the post season, and right now the Sharks are not quite there yet.

The first period devolved into staccato and physical play on the ice. Linesman repeatedly tossed centers from the faceoff circle for seemingly illusory reasons, but then they proceeded to direct traffic on the blueline and on the wings as well. The in-house mic system was muffled for the referees, who in turn tried to yell penalty calls to the audience, and later yelled directly at the benches. The Sharks and Stars did not help matters. With Brad Richards sitting for the 9th game with concussion like symptoms, Dallas regressed to its old smashmouth hockey tactics and the Sharks obliged them. Ben Eager checked defenseman Trevor Daley hard against the end boards, a hit which stacked up and took out Patrick Marleau as well. Douglas Murray also hammered Mike Ribeiro up against the Sharks bench, and the Stars came back at him with fists and sticks swinging in retaliation. A Justin Braun point shot ricocheted off the post so quickly, most of the fans in the stands started celebrating. Several of the Stars took umbrage with the number of Sharks near the crease, and an extended rugby scrum ensued.

Two more notes from the first period. There was an interesting on-ice battle that emerged between Joe Thornton and newly acquired offensive defenseman Alex “Goose” Goligoski. Pressuring Goligoski deep on the forecheck, the new Stars defenseman reversed direction several times until Thornton went behind the net to chase him out. “Goose” then quickly skated up ice with Thornton trailing, and wristed a hard shot on goal from the point. Goligoski created space for himself, and got a second shot on goal all sparked by his play in the defensive zone. Earlier in the period Thornton had yelled hard at a ref as Goligoski crossed the blueline offsides. Gogo chirped at Thornton and stared daggers in the back of the linesman who made the call. Both players would battle the rest of the game. Also of note with 4 minutes left in the first, goaltender Antti Niemi covered most of the net down low for an extended sequence on his knees. Niemi moved laterally hard left to right, then posted up several times for shooters up high. Still on his knees, he slid fluidly right to left, then back left to right to cover a wraparound opportunity. There was little to no room beneath his pads the entire time, and his glove was positioned well throughout. Textbook play, and it is a facet of his game repeatedly mentioned by hockey scouts.

In the second period the game started to get out of hand on the ice. Patrick Marleau combined for a slick give-and-go that resulted in the Sharks goahead goal at 1:22. Heatley hit Marleau with the high sauce (saucer pass) in stride, and the Sharks alternate captain sticked it high above oustretched Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Antti Niemi came up big on the other end of the ice with a highlight reel glovesave on center Tom Waddell, and a sprawling, flopping save on a spinned shot by Loui Eriksson. The Stars had a legitimate beef with San Jose when a Joe Pavelski shot deflected off traffic and Jamal Mayers and Torrey Mitchell crashed the net for a rebound. Both Mayers and Mitchell had inside position on three Stars, and Mayers was knocked on top of Lehtonen with a hard check from behind. Mayers made full use of the play, using Lehtonen as a chaise lounge, and the entire Dallas Stars team on the ice came at him. From that point on, a usually mild mannered Lehtonen was swinging his stick at any player getting too close to him in net, and even punching Joe Thornton off the left post.

The referees or linesman could have let off steam from the game like a pressure valve, but they did not. Instead they were too busy trying to bark orders on faceoffs that they missed a wrestling takedown on Joe Pavelski at the side of the net. Pavelski laid flat on his back with his arms out asking the referee how he could miss the call. Twitter warning from this blog aside, the game was almost lost completely when Steve Ott hit Jason Demers with a borderline check late in the second. With three seconds remaining, Demers tried to drop the gloves with Ott but a linesman and a referee stepped between them. Demers tried one unsuccessful punch, but a second one missed completely and struck linesman Brian Mach square in the face. Demers apologized immediately, then it looked as if he apologized again as he was lead off the ice, and he relayed his apology to the media after the game. More on that incident in a subsequent post. Steve Ott was also given 2 minutes for charging, and an extra 2 for roughing, but it was not enough. If the game had devolved to this point, players should have been headed to the locker room, and it should have happened much earlier.

The Sharks power play could not connect early in the third period, and it has been a problem that has persisted. San Jose has 2 power play goals in its last 16 man advantage opportunities. “When things are going well (on the power play), we are moving and there is a lot of pace on the passes. Lots of shots and retreiving pucks,” Patrick Marleau noted. “I think we were a little methodical tonight, not moving as quick as we could.”

The Sharks were playing without their powerplay quarterback Dan Boyle, who would miss his 4th consecutive game Saturday night. San Jose head coach Todd McLellan noted that his squad has the firepower to get the job done, with or without Boyle. “The fact is we have people back there who can do it. It is not just the back end, it is the front end,” McLellan said. “We are pressing a little bit trying to make plays that aren’t there instead of making the obvious one. We are having a little trouble getting our shots through. Give Dallas some credit, they blocked a ton of shots. At times they had 5 goalies, they did a tremendous job.”

Dallas was able to reverse its fortunes from a night earlier in Anaheim. Loui Eriksson tied the game with his 23rd goal of the season at 7:37. Fresh off of skating to the rink entrance and getting a dry pair of gloves, Stars center Jason Williams scored his first goal of the season on his next shift at 12:46. Williams carried the puck behind the net, and slid a shot that deflected off the stick of Dany Heatley and passed Niemi. The Sharks were unsuccessful on a late power play, and for the last 7+ minutes they took repeated runs at the Dallas zone. Several times the puck traveled just wide of the net, or sat tantalizingly in front before it was cleared. In the waning seconds a loose puck sat to the right of Lehtonen, but no Shark could get a stick on it as the fans in attendance collectively lost their minds. The Stars held on for a very impressive road win in a game against two hostile teams, the San Jose Sharks and the officiating crew.

Game Notes:

GAME NOTES: San Jose Sharks goaltender Antero Niittymaki was activated after missing an extended period with an undisclosed lower body injury. Reserve goaltender Carter Hutton was re-assigned to Worcester of the AHL. Dan Boyle, Kent Huskins and Scott Nichol were also out for San Jose. The Dallas Stars played without injured center Brad Richards, defenseman Nicklas Grossman or vetern right wing Jamie Langenbrunner. Several dozen local high school hockey players were in attendance Saturday night at HP Pavilion. Along with newly created leagues in Northern and Southern California, there is also a league covering central California encompassing nearby high schools. It is another step outside of tier and recreational youth hockey to help develop talent and create interest in the sport in California. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi was called for a rare “game smothering” delay of game penalty in the second period. The Sharks and Stars were a combined 0-5 on the power play. In its 20-in-20 series detailing the top 20 San Jose Sharks players in the franchise’s 20 year history, Comcast tabbed Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Evgeni Nabokov as the top three players in the team’s history. In a fan poll, Sharks faithful sided with this blog’s offseason ruminations that Marleau, Thornton and Nabokov were 1-2-3 in franchise history. Comcast noted Thornton as being the first Hart and Art Ross trophy winner in franchise history, and said that he was a “game changer” for the Sharks. This blog noted Marleau’s playoff game winning goals (tied for the most with Johan Franzen since 2001), numerous franchise-best offensive marks, and off-ice charity initiatives pushing Marleau over the top.

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Stars get it done in San Jose – Mark Stepneski for ESPN Dallas.

[Update2] Stars find their way past Pacific-leading San Jose, 3-2 – Mike Heika for the Dallas Morning News.

“It’s playoff hockey, let’s be honest here,” said forward Steve Ott, who assisted on the winning goal and then stayed out for much of the final five minutes trying to make it stand up. “It’s the end of the season, and the standings are ridiculously tight. It makes it extremely tough, and extremely competitive, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Dallas had blown two-goal leads in its two previous games. It rallied to take a win against Phoenix, but then lost in overtime to Anaheim. That makes the Stars 2-0-1 so far on a four-game road trip that ends Monday in Los Angeles.

[Update3] Dany Heatley: ‘I was trying to just take that lane away and obviously put it in. I owe Nemo one for that’ – David Pollak for the Working the Corners blog.

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