A San Jose Sharks Blog

In the first period, the Red Wings came out flying; fortunately, Evgeni Nabokov was able to stop 15 of the 16 shots on net. The lone goal came at 11:13 from Nicklas Lidstrom on the power play. With traffic in front of the net, the Red Wings captain was able to rip a slapper from the top of the near circle and beat Nabokov. The period ended with the Sharks down by a single goal; if not for Nabby's strong performance, the score could have easily been 3 - 0 after 20 minutes.

In the second period, San Jose was able to get some momentum back by going to the body and cycling the puck down low. After having a miserable Game Two, Patrick Marleau and Bill Guerin stepped it up. Both wingers were consistently going to the body, skating hard, and generating scoring chances on every shift. Though neither of them recorded a point in the game, they did contribute to the momentum swing in the second period.

At 12:43, Ryane Clowe scored his fourth goal of the playoffs to tie the game. On the play, the Sharks did well to hold the zone and maintain possession of the puck. A shot from Matt Carle resulted in a rebound that Clowe was able to tip in past Dominik Hasek. The little dribbler scooted by the Detroit goalie who was in a full stretch. Lucky for the Sharks, there was just enough space for the puck to go in and Clowe was able to find it.

In the third period, San Jose kept the momentum by dumping the puck and hitting a Red Wing at every opportunity. This led to turnovers and 13 shots on goal. More importantly, it kept Detroit from putting any consistent pressure on Nabokov at the other end of the ice. At 13:19, Team Teal took the lead on the power play. With Kris Draper in the box, Jonathan Cheechoo was able to chip in a backhander past Hasek. In front of the net, Cheechoo picked up the rebound off of Kyle McLaren's shot and showed a lot of patience. Rather than slamming the loose puck back into Hasek's pads, the winger from Moosefactory used a slick toe-drag to give himself an opening before putting it home. With less than seven minutes remaining in the game, the Sharks shut things down and limited all of Detroit's chances, even after they pulled Hasek for an extra attacker.

Overall, it was a solid effort from San Jose. The games between these two squads continue to be very tight; a bounce here or there could have easily changed the outcome. However, the Sharks did a lot of good things to make sure that luck was on their side. As they've shown all season, solid defense and consistent puck possession down low almost always results in good fortune.