Ryan Clowe scores two third-period goals to lead Sharks past St.
Louis 5-4 in shootout on Thursday night
SAN JOSE
Ryane Clowe followed up his two tying goals in the third period with the winning shootout goal, and the NHL-leading San Jose Sharks remained unbeaten at home with a wild 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.
Evgeni Nabokov made 25 saves and stopped three consecutive Blues to end the shootout for San Jose, which improved to 8-0 at the Shark Tank with a remarkable rally led by Clowe. The gritty left wing twice answered go-ahead goals by the Blues in the final period, sending it to overtime on an exceptional give-and-go score with defenseman Brad Lukowich during 4-on-4 play with 1:39 left.
Lee Stempniak had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who lost for the sixth time in seven games despite never trailing in regulation. Keith Tkachuk got his ninth goal of the season early on, but Clowe countered goals by Andy McDonald and David Backes, who adroitly batted a puck out of mid-air for just his second goal of the season.
Rob Blake scored his first goal of the season for San Jose, and Joe Thornton also scored before Clowe took over with his exceptional third-period effort, giving him eight goals in the Sharks’ last eight games. Clowe then followed up Dan Boyle’s third-round shootout goal with the clincher.
Ben Bishop, the Blues’ 6-foot-7 backup goalie, made 38 saves as the Blues came agonizingly close to winning without leading scorer Paul Kariya, sidelined by a lower-body injury. The NHL’s sixth-leading scorer left St. Louis’ 5-2 loss at Anaheim on Wednesday night during the second period after apparently getting hit by a puck.
Thanks to some curious scheduling, St. Louis must return to Southern California after two days in the Bay Area to meet the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night in the third stop of their five-game road trip.
The Sharks were the NHL’s third-least penalized team entering the game, but they were surprisingly undisciplined at times. San Jose’s occasional lapses in defensive intensity also hurt, with St. Louis getting two quick early scores and two more rapid goals in the third.
After McDonald and Clowe scored early in the third, Backes batted home an airborne puck off Nabokov’s pads for his second goal of the season with 9:22 left. But Clowe scored on a fine setup by Lukowich, receiving a pass down low and putting the puck in an unguarded net while Devin Setoguchi set up a screen in front of Bishop.
Notes:
LW David Koci, claimed by the Blues on waivers from Tampa Bay last month, made his St. Louis debut after sitting out the club’s last six games. … Kariya led the Blues with 15 points in their first 11 games. … G Manny Legace, who has an injured hip, might be ready to return to the Blues’ lineup in Los Angeles.
