Sharks Lose Fourth Straight to Coyotes In Shootout
February 09, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Thorton (19) skates with the puck while be defended by Phoenix Coyotes right wing David Moss (18) during the first period at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks (7-2-2) lost their fourth straight, this time to the Phoenix Coyotes (5-5-2) by the score of 1-0.
No goals were had during regulation nor overtime and it took a shootout to decide the game. On the plus side San Jose does get out of the game with a point.
The first period was pretty uneventful as neither team was able to score and did not take any penalties. The Coyotes seemed to get the better of the scoring chances but Antti Niemi stood strong once again to help the Sharks take a 0-0 tie into the locker room at intermission.
Once again San Jose had too many giveaways and it definitely hampered their chances on offense.
Throughout the second period the Sharks held much more of the possession but were still outshot seven to six. Ryane Clowe looked very good and was seen countless times in front of the net trying to make things happen on offense.
Perhaps the best scoring chance of the period was for Phoenix had a two-on-one break that was played perfectly by Brad Stuart and was able to allow Niemi to make an easy save. San Jose also killed two more penalities to keep the score at 0-0 once again.
The Sharks started the period with half a power play left over from the end of the second period, and then proceeded to earn two more, but were unable to capitalize. San Jose seemed to get stronger throughout the period and had tons of scoring chances, but Mike Smith matched every great chance with an even better save and looked unbeatable, stopping 15 Sharks’ shots in that final period. By the end of the period we still did not have a goal, and it went to overtime.
In overtime it was back and forth and with 20 seconds left the Coytes earned a power play that they did get a couple of chances off of. Fortunately for San Jose, however, they were unable to score.
In the shootout Niemi was unable to stop either of the two shot his way by Mikkel Boedker and Radim Vrbata while the Smith stopped the two against him for the Coyotes, giving Phoenix the 1-0 win, and 4th shutout in his last six games against the Sharks.
Immediately after the game the Sharks headed out for Columbus for a game on Monday against the Blue Jackets and the start of a six-game midwest roadtrip.
My 3 Stars
1. Mike Smith (33 saves)
2. Antti Niemi (21 saves)
3. Ryane Clowe (7 shots, 19:30 ice time )