Sharks Get Back in the Win Column With Shootout Victory Over Avs
Feb 26, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Scott Gomez (23) takes a shot during the second period of the game against the Colorado Avalanche at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks defeated the Colorado Avalanche by the score of 3-2 in a game that went to a shootout. Both goaltenders played well in a game that ended up being very fast-paced and went from end-to-end.
To me it was one of Scott Gomez‘s strongest game as a Shark as he got stronger as the game progressed. He was very strong both on and off the puck as he took a few shots on net and was great at setting up his linemates all night long.
A few alarming stats were that the Sharks were outhit 36-18 and you saw it throughout the game. Even more unsettling however was the fact that the Sharks had 18 giveaways throughout the game. That is just downright awful. By no means is Colorado an unskilled team, but if that happens against a top-tier opponent like Chicago I can guarantee there would have been more than two goals against.
Game Summary
The Sharks got off the the best start they could have hoped for when Logan Couture scored his seventh goal of the season on a beautiful snipe to the top-shelf just 25 seconds into the game. The assists were credited to Martin Havlat and Joe Thornton.
The Avalanche ended up tying the game when Chuck Kobasew scored at the 12:13 mark of the first. The period ended with the Sharks looking decent on the power play although they went 0-2. They also outshot the Avalanche 16-11 in a very fast-paced period that had both goalies looking strong to keep the game even.
The San Jose Sharks got back on top to make it 2-1 with the first goal of the season by T.J. Galiardi on a great assist from James Sheppard. Galiardi just had to direct the puck on net after Sheppard put the puck right on his stick. Adam Burish also picked up the secondary assist on the play making that his first point of the season.
As the period waned San Jose got stronger and their play showed it. They dominated the latter half of the period and finished with a 14-6 shots advantage. The line of Sheppard-Galiardi-Burish looked very strong and even after the goal had many more scoring chances. The power play once again looked good with five shots on goal, but Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov was great considering he had already faced 30 shots in two periods.
In the third period the shots died down significantly but the frantic play did not. Both teams still got their fair of chances back and forth. At one point San Jose rang a shot off the crossbar.
With 3:16 left in the game Colorado scored on a scrum in front of the net that ended up being batted out of the air into the net by Kobasew. The goal was originally waived off by officials, but after review it was called a goal, which made is Kobasew’s second goal of the game and more importantly for them tying the game 2-2.
With one minute left the Sharks got a chance to win the game when defenseman Brad Stuart drew a penalty. Todd McClellan then called his timeout to get the troops organized. On the insuing power play San Jose was unable to score, thus taking the game into overtime.
San Jose started off overtime with the remaining minute of power play time from regulation, but this time on a four-on-three man-advantage. Joe Thornton had a golden opportunity on great passing by Varlamov flashed the leather and robbed the Sharks’ captain of the game winner. After that the game was undecided and it went to a shootout.
Even the shootout went to extras and ended in the fourth round. Handzus and Marleau scored for the Sharks while Parenteau scored the lone goal for the Avalanche, giving San Jose the victory.
My 3 Stars
1. Line of T.J. Galiardi, James Sheppard, Adam Burish (combined 1 goal and 2 assists)
2. Semyon Varlamov (39 saves on 41 shots)
3. Chuck Kobasew (2 goals)