A San Jose Sharks Blog

There was no shortage of offense last night. San Jose scored five goals coming from five different players. This is the second game in a row where point production came from all over the place, and not from just one line.

In the first period, Milan Michalek used his speed to get the Sharks on the board. At the Sharks' blueline, Joe Thornton spotted a streaking Michalek at center ice and hit him in stride. The rest of the play was all Number 9; he skated in so quickly that he got behind the defense and was able to skate across the top of the crease before he snapped it upstairs for the 1-0 lead. Later in the period, San Jose's speed was display once again, but this time it was captain Patrick Marleau who put on the show. Again, in the Sharks' own zone, Marcel Goc banked a pass off of the boards into the neutral zone. with spead, Marleau caught up to the puck and skated in on Vancouver goaltender Curtis Sanford. Like Michalek, Number 12 skated past the defense and across the top of the crease before putting the puck upstairs; the only difference being that it was on the backhand. This goal gave the Sharks a two goal lead, but San Jose did not stop there.

At 12:42 of the second period, Joe Pavelski scored his 7th goal of the season thanks to quick passing and a bit of a screen by Jumbo Joe. With the puck at the blueline, Craig Rivet sent a quick pass to the halfboards. Without delay, Curtis Brown received the puck and sent it to Pavelski who was at the top of the faceoff circles, ready for the one-timer. With Thornton providing a screen, the shot went in and pushed the Sharks' lead to three goals.

Though down by three, Vancouver did not quit. In the third period, the Canucks started to really put on the pressure. Back to back goals scored by Henrik Sedin and Trevor Linden got Vancouver to within one. It seemed as if the Sharks were trying to protect the lead, and were a bit on their heels. In fact, the Canucks were really controlling the puck within the San Jose zone when both goals were scored. Fortunately, Thornton put an end to any potential comeback. At the Vancouver blueline, Devin Setoguchi tipped a Vancouver breakout pass which led to Jumbo Joe skating in all alone. From about eight feet out, the 235-pound centerman launched a wicked slapshot past backup goaltender Drew MacIntyre for his 13th goal of the season. Just for good measure, the Sharks added another goal coming off of the stick of Steve Bernier. Behind the Vancouver net, MacIntyre sent a short pass to his defenseman. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the puck was mishandled right in front of the crease where Bernier quickly pounced on it. A quick shot to the near post brought the Sharks' lead back up to three and basically ended the game.

Overall, it was a solid performance all around. Plenty of offense, backed up by stingy defense, helped San Jose improve their home record. Let's hope that the Sharks, at the very least, stay at .500 (if not better) from here on out.