The San Jose Sharks matched their season-opening winning streak with their seventh straight victory Friday night. It did not come easy, as the Calgary Flames held the lead despite losing three of their top players at the NHL trade deadline.
The Sharks came out with more push, getting multiple rushes in a first period that saw 17 shots on goal in 36 attempts. But the Flames got one of their 10 shots (16 attempts) to go, as Mikael Backlund finished a Mike Cammalleri feed six seconds into their first power play.
One has to forgive the penalty kill for being rusty. After taking just one more penalty all game, San Jose has only been shorthanded for 3:15 in the last four games and not been called upon for even 12 minutes during the entire winning streak.
The Sharks let the game get away from them in the second period, and coach Todd McLellan addressed that at length.
A lot of sort-cuts, a lot of looping, nowhere near the goaltender in his eyes, no net intensity. So we tried to cheat the game a little, and it's not going to work that way. So we talked about it, and I was happy the way they responded.
That response came to the tune of out-dueling the Flames in shots 16-6 and attempts 28-12 despite losing the battle in the circle 9-12 after holding a 32-18 edge at the second intermission. That pressure resulted in a penalty 20 seconds in and was maintained thanks to the resulting power play. The Sharks did not score in those two minutes, but right after it expired, Matt Tennyson advanced the puck to Logan Couture who took it into the attack zone with speed and found Dan Boyle in the high slot to tie the score.
Rather than get careful to make sure they earned at least a point, San Jose kept the pressure on. In the final three minutes, Galiardi tried to put back a rebound of a Brad Stuart shot and the puck came to Brent Burns. His shot squirted out to Joe Pavelski coming around from behind the net, and he shot it in before Miikka Kiprusoff could get move to stop it.
From there, the Sharks had to stave off a late push with Kiprusoff pulled that included two big stops by Antti Niemi he said "came really quick." McLellan stated the importance of his goalie, now having appeared in 15 straight games:
He made some tremendous saves down the stretch. The last two shots on goal were very dangerous...without him we don't get the opportunity to win. We're riding him hard right now and he seems to be responding very well.
With the victory, San Jose takes sole possession of the fourth spot in the Western Conference and move into second in the Pacific Division, four games behind the Anaheim Ducks. That would be good enough for home ice advantage in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, something not lost on Pavelski:
We like playing here, so...that's good for us, obviously, but there is a lot of work to be done. ...It would be big, it's always big, throughout the playoffs, whether it's the travel, the crowd...
Players were hesitant to consider the tough game against a depleted team out of the Stanley Cup playoff picture a let-down. The two toughest games this far have been against teams lower in the Western Conference standings, but asked if he thinks there is a tendency to let up a little, Joe Thornton recoiled a bit:
We carried the play for most of the game, and eventually we just wore them down...we just didn't fell like were were getting bodies in front of (Miikka Kiprusoff). After they (were) shellacked last game, they probably (had) something to prove...we're happy to get the two points.
Dan Boyle was a little more detailed about the game's struggles:
It looked like the puck bounced all over the place, just spinning off guys' sticks...kinda one of those nights, where it just kinda made you scratch your head with some of the stuff going on out there. It's a dangerous game, and it's one that everybody's going to expect you to win. Sometimes those are harder, and again I thought we had a lot of chances, and if we put a few of those away, it's a different score. That's the difference—we didn't put them away and kept it close all night.
Logan Couture said the team never lost faith.
(We are) very confident. We feel like we can win every night, so that's something that is good for this team. Going into the third period tonight we still felt like we'd find a way to come back and win the game. You're not going to have your best every single night and you still (have to) find ways to win.
Thanks to dominant first and third periods, the Sharks did hold an edge in the most important categories. They had a 41-25 edge in shots and 79-45 edge in attempts, winning 41 of 71 draws and still matching the Flames in takeaways (nine). With the extra time defending, the guests had nine more blocks and just six more hits while falling just one giveaway short (14-15) of their hosts.
That and five wins against teams they are chasing in the standings has McLellan feeling the newest streak is more sustainable than the one that started the season, which he described as part fantasy. More players are contributing now as the Sharks have to battle harder:
I think we're playing a better brand of game right now. ...The third and fourth lines have really stepped up and been able to play valuable minutes. For (T.J. Galiardi), it's really good to see he's transformed his game. He's got an opportunity, he's taking advantage of it, he keeps moving up lines, he's doing some of the dirty work we expect of him.
The last step is incorporating new players, particularly Raffi Torres (scratched due to illness) who has a checkered past with San Jose. Asked about worries that will affect the chemistry this team has developed, McLellan admitted its importance:
This group, right now has earned the right to play together and keep working. We've got to integrate new players in. In Scotty Hannan's case, he injured. He won't be playing the next game. It will be a little while before we get him back on the ice, so it will take some time for him. Raffi, I'd like to get him in next game, there's no doubt about it. He shouldn't be punished because of our winning streak. We've traded to play him and we'll have to find a way to get him in. He can be a huge factor, but the group that's playing right now is doing a good job.
There is a chance this was Kiprusoff's last game against the team that drafted him. In declining a new team at the NHL trade deadline, he hinted at retirement. The rebuilding Flames will likely look to pass the torch next season even if he plays on. If this was to be his swan song, the previously struggling goalie made it a great one. He was their only star, and two Sharks join him for the three stars of the game:
- Pavelski was rewarded for the smart, attacking style (four shots, eight attempts on offense, two hits and a takeaway on defense) he had all night by being in the right place at the right time and burying the game-winner.
- Kiprusoff turned away 39 shots (.951 save percentage) and was hung out to dry on the only two he let by him.
- Niemi was impressive, with more than just the last two shots taking huge saves. He cannot be blamed for the goal he gave up, and he turned away 23 overall for a .958 save percentage.
The Sharks have a chance to finish the home stand a perfect 7-0-0 against the Dallas Stars Monday night. This is another team with nothing to lose going on without major players dealt at the NHL trade deadline that just beat the Pacific Division leaders in Anaheim, 3-1.
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