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The official game summary San Jose Sharks vs Colorado Avalanche.
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
27/02/2013 - 08:30
Sharks edge Avalanche in shootout
The official game summary San Jose Sharks vs Colorado Avalanche.The Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday night at HP Pavilion. Michal Handzus opened the shootout with a goal, and Patrick Marleau scored the clincher against Semyon Varlamov in the fourth round after PA Parenteau snuck the puck past Anti Niemi in the Round 3.
Logan Couture and former Avalanche forward TJ Galiardi scored for the Sharks in regulation, and Niemi made 25 saves as San Jose won for just the second time in the past 11 games.
Chuck Kobasew and Mark Olver scored for the Avalanche, who had 39 saves from Varlamov, but lost their third straight game.
Galiardi scored just 2:55 into the second period, snapping a 1-1 tie.
But Olver tied it 2-2 with just 3:19 left in regulation, banging in a rebound from just left of the crease. After a review, the goal was ruled to be good. Cody McLeod and Jan Hejda earned the assists.
San Jose captain Joe Thornton nearly ended it a minute into overtime, but Varlamov made a glove save of his shot from the right circle. Defenseman Justin Braun had a good scoring chance with under a minute left in OT, but Varlamov stopped his blast.
The Sharks’ offensive struggles -- particularly on the power play -- continued Tuesday. They went 0-for-6 with the man advantage and have scored just three times in the past 59 chances.
The Sharks needed just 25 seconds to take a 1-0 lead on Couture's one-timer from the slot. Thornton got the puck below the right circle near the boards and zipped a pass to a hard-charging, wide-open Couture, who beat Varlamov. The goal was Couture's seventh of the season and snapped his eight-game stretch without a goal.
Colorado pulled even on Kobasew's second goal of the season at 12:13. Niemi stopped Milan Hejduk's long blast from above the left circle but couldn't corral the puck, and Kobasew poked the rebound into the net from just right of the crease. Patrick Bordeleau earned the other assist for his first NHL point.
Galiardi gave San Jose a 2-1 lead at 2:55 of the second with his first goal of the season and a rare goal from the fourth line. The goal was just his second in 29 games, including three in the postseason, since coming to the Sharks from Colorado on Feb. 27 last year with forward Daniel Winnik in a trade for Jamie McGinn and two prospects.
James Sheppard, just minutes after dropping from the third to the fourth line in a swap with Andrew Desjardins, made it all possible. He moved the puck behind the net to below the right circle and made a backhand, cross-crease pass to Galiardi, who scored from point-blank range.
Adam Burish also earned an assist, notching his first point as a Shark.
Sheppard nearly scored again later in the period during a delayed penalty after drawing a hold against Colorado defenseman Ryan O'Byrne. Sheppard's shot from close range went just wide.
When the two teams met at HP on Jan. 26, San Jose beat Colorado 4-0 in a game remembered most for Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart's big hit on Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog in the first period. Landeskog missed the next 11 games with a concussion.
Stuart's hit ignited a scrap with O'Byrne, and the question entering Tuesday night's game was whether Colorado would seek further retribution. It soon became clear that Landeskog and his teammates were more interested in trying to get a victory than settling a score.
Colorado played without top-line center Matt Duchene, who missed the game with a groin injury. He leads the team with 17 points.
The Sharks played without three regulars Tuesday night -- forwards Ryane Clowe and Tommy Wingels and defenseman Brent Burns. The Sharks placed Burns on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and recalled defenseman Matt Irwin from Worcester of the American Hockey League.
Clowe served the second game of his two-game suspension, stemming from an altercation Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks, and Wingels was out after slamming head-first into the boards late in San Jose's game Saturday against the Dallas Stars.
-- by Eric Gilmore for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
27/02/2013 - 08:30
