Fights, Hits, Power Play, Saves, Penalty Kills = Sharks Win

Video Highlights from Last Game

Fights, Hits, Power Play, Saves, Penalty Kills = Sharks Win

With the Anaheim Ducks coming to the Shark Tank, one is almost always guaranteed a hard-fought game. Whether it's a fight between Jody Shelley and George Parros, a scrap in the crease started by Corey Perry, or a big bone-jarring hit by Douglas Murray, games between these two squads are always physical. Well, tonight wasn't any different as Team Teal took on their division foes for the 5th time this season.

Though the first period didn't see any scoring, the first 20 minutes were filled with some exciting hockey. More specifically, the first period saw two good fights and some noteworthy hits. At 3:53, Ryane Clowe squared off against Parros and much to my surprise, Number 29 really took it to the heavy weight. Granted, Clowe didn't bloody him up or anything like that, but Ryane did get in a few clean shots and that is as good as a result that one can ask for when dropping the gloves against Parros.

Then, three minutes later, Brad Staubitz took his turn and dropped the gloves with Nick Boynton. This bout was relatively quick as Boynton landed a few early and Staubitz landed a few late...a pretty even scrap.

In the middle period, the scoring finally got going with the Sharks putting two pucks by Jonas Hiller. The first was scored on the powerplay by Marc-Edouard Vlasic from the top of the faceoff circle. The play was started when Patrick Marleau won the faceoff cleanly, using his stick and feet...a la NHL Hitz style. With the puck sliding toward him, Number 44 simply picked it up and wristed it past the screened Anaheim goaltender.

Later in the period, San Jose scored again when captain Rob Blake pinched in on a rush and redirected a beautiful pass from Jumbo Joe Thornton right at the top of the slot. After 40 minutes, the Sharks found themselves up by two.

In the third, Anaheim quickly cut the Sharks' lead in half 1:15 in. That made for a pressure filled third as the Ducks didn't give up and kept coming at Evgeni Nabokov the rest of the period. Fortunately, Nabby was on top of his game and didn't let any more pucks get past him. In fact, late in the game, Number 20 showed so much confidence and aggression that he made a glove save on a slapper from the blueline, roughly 10 feet away from his crease. Even though Anaheim had two powerplays in the third, the San Jose PK held up strong and didn't let their SoCal rivals convert while on the man advantage.

Overall, it was a solid game and a nice win.

Game Notes:

With the fight against Parros and the recent goals scored, it looks like Clowe is getting back to his old, gritty self which is awesome.
Though Devin Setoguchi didn't score in the last two games which includes tonight, Number 16 is still playing hard and making big hits...like the one in the first period that saw an Anaheim Duck end up on his ass.
With Dan Boyle out of the lineup, the powerplay definitely had a difficult time entering the zone on the rush. However, San Jose was still able to chip in a goal with the man advantage.
Vlasic's goal in the second period was his first in the last 36 games, but his 3rd of the season. I had forgotten that Pickles picked up two quick ones early in the season.
Blake's goal was the 237th of his career which tied him with general manager Doug Wilson for 10th on the all-time list for goals scored by a defensemen.
Late in the game, Marleau scored his 35th of the season on an empty net which keeps him two ahead of Sidney Crosby for the league lead.
As of right now, the Sharks have the best penalty kill in the league at over 88%.

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