Two softly delivered shots led to a 2-1 victory for the San Jose
Sharks over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.
San Jose – Two softly delivered shots led to a 2-1 victory for the San Jose Sharks over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.
Jonathan Cheechoo’s five-foot chip into an open net 13:19 into the third period snapped a 1-1 deadlock and lifted San Jose into a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal.
The Sharks host Wednesday’s game. Detroit has the fifth game on Saturday and San Jose the sixth, if needed, on Monday.
For the first time in the series, Detroit was able to score first.
San Jose served up two power plays to the Red Wings in the first period. The visitors capitalized on the second extra-man opportunity to take a 1-0 lead on a Nicklas Lidstrom goal 11:13 into play.
Detroit was able to gain control of the puck after a face-off in the right circle in the Sharks’ zone. Winger Dan Cleary pulled the puck back to point-man Mikael Samuelsson and then rushed to the left post. Samuelsson, the former Shark, whipped the puck across to Lidstrom for a slapshot from atop the left circle, hitting inside the far post as Cleary served to screen goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
Although both clubs managed just seven shots in a spirited second period, the Sharks emerged with the equalizer at the 12:43 mark.
Ryane Clowe tallied the goal with a well-timed soft backhander after Matt Carle’s point-blank shot from the slot was kicked back by goalie Dominik Hasek. Clowe, skating across the slot, deftly one-timed the puck just past Hasek’s glove and inside the post for his fourth goal of the post-season. Joe Thornton earned his ninth assist of the playoffs, one off the pace of New Jersey’s Scott Gomez (10).
“I don’t think I hit it hard enough to reach the back of the net,” said Clowe. “The third period was our best period of the playoffs.”
Cheechoo’s game-winner was only a slightly harder stroke than Clowe’s successful effort.
“Hasek slid way across (the crease), so I just wanted to get it around him,” Cheechoo said of the power-play goal.
Clowe turned some hard work along the sideboards by Marcel Goc into an open set-up pass to the blueline to Kyle McLaren. The defenseman’s hard shot bounded off Hasek and into the slot. Cheechoo was the first to arrive at the puck, although Detroit’s Danny Markov was chasing right behind the Shark forward. Cheechoo was able to ward off Markov and dip to the left post before slipping the puck behind Hasek for the game-winner.
“We gradually started to turn the game around,” said San Jose coach Ron Wilson. “We became more aggressive. After the first period, we talked to the defense about being too passive. We gave away too much room at our blueline. Then we started to play like our identity is, banging and crashing. We have to come up with the same effort (Wednesday) that we had the second half of this game.”
“It’s a tale of two games,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. “First half, we controlled the game and the second half they controlled.”
Wilson called Thornton “easily the best player on the ice. He was unbelievable tonight. Nabby gave us the great saves when we needed them.”
“He’s so into it that it pushes everybody,” Bill Guerin said of Thornton’s inspired play. “That’s what leaders do.”
