The first hat trick of Devin Setoguchi’s career gave coach Todd
McLellan exactly what he had been hoping for in recent weeks: A
victory that didn’t go down to the wire. With two goals in the
first period and one with 1:22 left in the game, Setoguchi led the
Sharks to a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday
night. Ryane Clowe provided the other tally and goalie Antti Niemi
made 24 saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season.
SAN JOSE
The first hat trick of Devin Setoguchi’s career gave coach Todd McLellan exactly what he had been hoping for in recent weeks: A victory that didn’t go down to the wire.
With two goals in the first period and one with 1:22 left in the game, Setoguchi led the Sharks to a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. Ryane Clowe provided the other tally and goalie Antti Niemi made 24 saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season.
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The victory, which moved the Sharks into sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference, marked the first time since Dec. 2 that San Jose won a game by more than two goals.
And it came in defenseman Ian White’s debut as a Shark. Acquired Friday from the Carolina Hurricane, White earned an assist on Setoguchi’s second goal and played 18:08 paired with Niclas Wallin most of the night.
The Sharks were facing a struggling Avalanche team that had only one point to show for its last nine games. That prompted two major trades Friday and two new faces in the Colorado lineup as well, defenseman Erik Johnson and forward Jay McClement.
Johnson was one of two Avalanche defensemen that Setoguchi turned inside out en route to his first goal, a backhand shot that beat goalie Peter Budaj on the stick side at 6:29 of the first period.
At 14:54 and with the Sharks on a power play, Setoguchi netted his second when a shot by newcomer White missed on the short side, then caromed off the backboards right to Setoguchi on the far side, and the right wing did not miss the open net in front of him.
The lead grew to 3-0 less than two minutes later with another power-play goal. With the Sharks on an odd-man rush, Colorado defenseman Ryan O’Byrne broke up Clowe’s attempted pass to Logan Couture only to have the puck go right back to Clowe, who easily beat Budaj.
Neither team scored in the second period with Niemi coming up with his most acrobatic save of the night at 9:38 when Colorado center Ryan Stoa diagonally cut in all alone across the goal mouth and the Sharks goalie fully extended his left pad to block a backhand shot.
It appeared the Sharks had scored again with 2:51 left in the middle period, but referee Justin St. Pierre said he had blown the whistle before Couture poked a rebound into the Avalanche net.
Although the Sharks were outshot 11-4 in the second period, they regained control in the third as Niemi held onto his shutout, aided by the crossbar on center Paul Stastny’s shot at 14:24.
For White, who is playing on his fourth team in two seasons, a cross-country flight followed by a game that same night with a new franchise has almost become standard procedure.
“Last year I think I had four hours to pack up,” said White, who arrived in San Jose about five hours before the opening faceoff. “At least I had an evening this time.”
McLellan stressed before the game that White is seen as a piece of the puzzle — nothing more — and that was fine with the 26-year-old defenseman.
“It’d be a lot tougher if you were counted on to turn things around,” White said. “It is definitely a little bit less pressure of a situation and something I’m really looking forward to.”
The Sharks picked up all four available points on their brief two-game homestand and hit the road again this week to face the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames.
— Story by David Pollak, San Jose Mercury News
