A San Jose Sharks Blog

As I mentioned before, the Sharks scored two goals in the first period. The first goal came less than a minute into the game thanks to a quick shot by Milan Michalek. Taking a pass from Brian Campbell, Number 9 broke into the Wild zone and released a snapper between the Minnesota defensemen. On its way to the net, the puck seemed to skip and bounce...eventually ending up in the net. This is the second time I've seen Michalek score a goal like this...I wonder if he's skipping it along the ice on purpose. Well, even if he's not, it was a great way to start the game.

The other Sharks goal came off of the stick of rookie Tomas Plihal. After blocking a shot in the Sharks zone, the young winger streaked down the ice on a breakaway. After being hooked on the play, Number 39 was awarded a penalty shot. On the play, Plihal skated in on Niklas Backstrom, made a quick deke, then put it over the Minnesota goalie's shoulder for the two goal lead; it was his 2nd career goal.

In the second period, the Wild got on the board when Kurtis Foster scored his 7th goal of the season with a slapper from the blueline. However, that goal was just the beginning. For the majority of the period, Minnesota dominated. It felt as if San Jose was chasing the puck and simply a step behind the entire time. The Sharks had one good scoring chance in the middle 20 when Marleau tried to put in a rebound on an empty net. However, Backstrom was able to get to the puck and keep the game close. At the end of the second, San Jose still held the lead, but only by a single goal.

In the third period, there were a few chances on net going both ways; however, during the last seven minutes or so, San Jose appeared to be in "defense mode". Backing in to their own zone and not pushing the puck up the ice, the Sharks gave the Wild an opportunity to tie the game...which they did.

With an empty net, Torrey Mitchell tried to put the nail in the coffin by scoring a goal from behind center ice. Unfortunately, it ended up as icing. On the very next faceoff, the Wild tied the game with less than 29 seconds left. The shot came from the blueline and rattled off of a number of players before finally ending up in the San Jose goal...it must have taken at least three unlucky bounces. The late goal was pretty annoying, but given the amount of pressure that Minnesota was applying, the goal wasn't very surprising.

In OT, both teams only generated a total of two shots on net. However, Minnesota's shot on net almost went in. At the top of the crease, the Minnesota shot was semi-blocked by a San Jose stick. This sent the puck into the air, past Evgeni Nabokov, on its way into the net. However, a backchecking Marleau was able to get to the goal line just in time to knock the puck out of mid-air and keep the game tied. The play was an amazing example of Number 12's hand-eye coordination; more importantly, it allowed San Jose the opportunity to win it in the shootout.

In the shootout, Nabby was solid; able to stop two of the three shots, Number 20 gave San Jose an excellent chance of winning. On the Sharks' first attempt, Joe Pavelski (Mr. Automatic) put one by Backstrom and got things going. On the Sharks' second shot, Jonathan Cheechoo made a great move to fool Backstrom; however, with the net empty, Cheech shot the backhander wide. This missed attempt kept the shootout going. Then, with a chance to win the game, the Sharks captain skated to center ice. On a shot that was very similar to Plihal's, Marleau beat the Wild goalie up high and his team skated away with the two points.

Notes:

• In the first period, Nabby appeared hurt after making a relatively simple save. Fortunately, I assume it wasn't serious as he stayed in nets to earn the win.
• Again, Douglas Murray put a big hit on an opposing player...let's hope that Number 3 continues his consistent physical play.
• The only penalty shot to beat Nabby was a spin-o-rama by Pierre-Marc Bouchard. For some reason, it just looked illegal to me. Nevertheless, it was a pretty cool shot.