SAN JOSE, California -- The San Jose Sharks scored three goals in a 1:19 span in the first period Thursday night, putting the Detroit Red Wings in a hole that they couldn't dig out of.
Joe Pavelski opened the game's scoring with a power play goal at 9:05 of the first. Pavelski was left alone in the slot to take a pass from Dan Boyle and whip a shot past Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard.
Dany Heatley scored his first of the playoffs 56 seconds later. After the Sharks controlled a faceoff in the Detroit end, Joe Thornton took the puck behind the net and sent a pass out to Heatley at the top of the crease. Heatley banged it past Howard to give San Jose a 2-0 lead.
Just 23 seconds later, Devin Setoguchi made it 3-0 on another goal from the slot, snapping a shot into the net with Howard caught slow coming across.
The Red Wings got on the board 1:16 later, when Danny Cleary scored his first goal of the postseason. Cleary was all alone in front of San Jose netminder Evgeni Nabokov and redirected a Jonathan Ericsson pass into the net.
Johan Franzen pulled Detroit to within a goal at 4:45 of the second period, snapping a shot from the slot into the top of the net.
Pavelski restored San Jose's two goal lead 50 seconds into the third, swinging a shot from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle between Howard's pads while the Sharks skated on a five-on-three.
Brian Rafalski responded 2:07 later, pinching in to snap a shot from the right faceoff circle past Nabokov.
The Red Wings failed to even the game up despite pulling Howard for the extra attacker in the game's final minutes, with the Sharks holding on for the 4-3 win.
San Jose scored on two of their six power play chances, including 57 seconds of five-on-three time. The Red Wings were scoreless on five power play tries.
Howard finished the night with 23 saves on 27 shots. Nabokov stopped 20 of 23 Detroit chances.
The two teams will meet in Game Two on Sunday night.
Notes: The Sharks were without forward Patrick Marleau, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms.
The Red Wings and Sharks kick off their second-round matchup tonight and I'm not entirely sure what to think.
The quick turnaround from Phoenix to San Jose should be good for Detroit, as they were dominant on Tuesday and will want to carry that forward. The Sharks are rested, though, having finished off the Colorado Avalanche last Friday.
San Jose always annoys me. I know too many Sharks fans that demand respect for their team despite not having won anything yet (much like modern Blackhawks fans). I'm also just shocked at how many teams trade their star players to San Jose for next to nothing. Kyle McLaren (back in the day), Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle and Dany Heatley all came to the Sharks in deals that should have gotten their former teams' GM fired.
It's pretty easy to guess that this series will come down to goaltending. We don't know how Jimmy Howard will hold up to more playoff pressure and we don't know if this is the year that Evgeni Nabokov doesn't collapse.
If the Wings' offense runs like it did on Tuesday, there's nothing to worry about here. The problem is that offense wasn't there for the first six games so we can't count on it now.
This one's a 9:00 start time exclusively on Versus.
just wanted to note the scheduling. Bettman p*ssed wings knocked off his yotes, so lets schedule wings two days later and have vancouver/chicago start game 1 on saturday...
just wanted to note the scheduling. Bettman p*ssed wings knocked off his yotes, so lets schedule wings two days later and have vancouver/chicago start game 1 on saturday...
Sorry, no conspiracy this time. The HP Pavilion in San Jose is booked for concerts Friday and Saturday so the series had to start tonight.
Whether that shows a sign that the arena managers didn't think they'd have hockey to schedule at this time of year is up for you to decide.
I'll save my thoughts till the end of the game. I have heard all of the hype and I am not sure how all of it is going to pan out.
just wanted to note the scheduling. Bettman p*ssed wings knocked off his yotes, so lets schedule wings two days later and have vancouver/chicago start game 1 on saturday...
Sorry, no conspiracy this time. The HP Pavilion in San Jose is booked for concerts Friday and Saturday so the series had to start tonight.Whether that shows a sign that the arena managers didn't think they'd have hockey to schedule at this time of year is up for you to decide.
Agreed, especially since game two is not until Sunday. Conspiracy or San Jose's faith in their team?
Early chance, that could have been big.
Surprise. Weak call leads to PPG.
Anyone want to cover the slot?
You are f*cking kidding me.
Third one is on Howard. Way out of position.
There we go! On the f*cking board.
Bad call on the Sharks. Wings had damned well better take advantage.
Ridiculously, I don't think the Wings played a bad period. Three bad plays, San Jose takes advantage on all. Wings can bounce back. We'll see if they do.
Still alive. Great to see Franzen with a big goal.
Wings look much better this period
Can't lose Cleary tonight, he's been all over
Franzen cut on the face and SJ gets the power play. Jesus.
I wasn't going to complain about the officiating at intermission but that last minute was just awful.
If the Wings can kill this, they're in damned good position. San Jose is clogging up the neutral zone well but I think the Wings are getting their chances.
No PPGs for Detroit really hurts.
Well f*ck.
That's motherf*cking right, still in it. Way to go Raffi.
Highly important power play here.
I just want to say that I hate Versus (and the Sharks, but that goes without saying)....The Wings can beat these guys...they're just big.
You took the words out of my mouth! The wings did squander their chances...the power play is just not cutting it. They looked good, but the breaks were not there. PLUS it doesn't help getting bogus calls from the "in the pocket" refs! Can we hold a hearing of some type? Last year it was obvious that the NHL sat the refs down to ensure a Pittsburg victory. Apparently they think it was good for the sport - what is with all these Sindy Crosby lovers? I swear they give him "on-air felacio" every time they talk about him. Anywho, I digress.
So - take away the bogus call in the 2nd...the score is tied. I was pleased with the effort of the wings - you can tell that the Sharks are weary of the wings - the fans too! They know they can be taken out by a NOW healthy Detroit team. Here's to landing the sharks!
...just another comment. Where the hell did Bertuzzi get into the bad habit of the one handed stick handling? I have seen only one time where it worked, the rest it hasn't sooooo...1 out of 100 - give that crap up Bert and use both hands on the stick! And damn it, start hitting people! They didn't pick you up to skate around with one hand on the stick...USE that big ass body of yours!
...just another comment. Where the hell did Bertuzzi get into the bad habit of the one handed stick handling? I have seen only one time where it worked, the rest it hasn't sooooo...1 out of 100 - give that crap up Bert and use both hands on the stick! And damn it, start hitting people! They didn't pick you up to skate around with one hand on the stick...USE that big ass body of yours!
apparently if you hit the refresh button, this site REPOSTS your previous submission. Sorry
apparently if you hit the refresh button, this site REPOSTS your previous submission. Sorry
Something on my to-do list to fix. Don't worry about it, I took care of the double-post.
I have a question concerning the penalty against Franzen for tripping. Someone needs to explain why that call would have ended up with a four minute penalty for a high stick during any game during the regular season and during the playoffs it's not. This is why there are so many complaints about the officiating.
Someone needs to explain why that call would have ended up with a four minute penalty for a high stick during any game during the regular season and during the playoffs it's not.
Agreed, someone does. Not gonna happen, though.
I hear you on that one! I just think its garbage that there is a regular season rule book and a completely different one for the playoffs. Who has heard of "intent to blow the whistle" before this season?
I hear you on that one! I just think its garbage that there is a regular season rule book and a completely different one for the playoffs. Who has heard of "intent to blow the whistle" before this season?
Short memory, that happened to the Wings in the Anaheim series last year, too, if not earlier.
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