Sharks fall to Detroit in shootout

How many times have we heard about the Sharks loosing to Detroit in Detroit? Too many, I think. The only consolation is the stat they showed about fewest wins in Detroit and we weren't on top! The Ducks were.

Detroit carried the play for extended sequences, but the shot totals were fairly even throughout. The second period even seemed to some run-and-gun to it, but the shots were limited to just 8 for the Sharks and 7 for the Wings. The scoring was opened in the second period by rookie Logan Couture. Ryan Callahan, in his first game as a Shark, carried the puck up the center of the ice. Somehow, Jonathan Ericsson playing right defense fell down. Maybe he hit a rut, maybe it was a snow snake*. That fall took him out of the play. Brett Lebda came over from his left side, leaving Couture along on the wing. Callahan fed him, and Couture took a quick shot before Chris Osgood could square up into position.


The Sharks led until 5:38 of the third when Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Patrick Eaves fed the puck back to Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom takes the shot with Darren Helm in front screening Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov seemed to have the puck frozen, then Zetterberg swatted at it, knocking it in the net.



If you look at the replay, behind the net you see the referee. Right before Zetterberg knocks the puck in, you can see him bringing his whistle up to his mouth. It's like he's thinking of killing the play. You can definitely make the argument that Nabokov had the puck frozen long enough, and that the puck wasn't visible. I'm sure the referees have taken criticism for killing the play too early, so perhaps that factored in. Unfortunately for the Sharks, it's a break they didn't get.

No more goals in regulation as the Sharks continued to turn the puck over in places they didn't want to, resulting in scoring chances against. They can thank Nabokov for keeping them in this game. Towards the end of regulation, Dany Heatley went into the boards hard at center ice, and went straight off. He might be sore, but he did come back for the the overtime, joining Patrick Marleau on the second forward pair.

No goals in the overtime, but some chances both ways as Osgood and Nabokov kept everything thrown at them out. The Wings led off the shootout with Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk scored after selling the backhand and bringing the puck to his forehand. Dan Boyle and Ryane Clowe were unable to score, and Zetterberg converted his attempt to salt away the victory. Datsyuk was credited with the shootout winning goal, but I've always wondered about that in a 2-0 shootout win. Zetterberg kept Heatley from attempting his by scoring that second goal. Had they allowed Heatley to take his shot, and he converted, then Zetterberg's would be the winner. But, because the best Heatley can do is close the gap, they don't let him shoot. You can make an argument for the second goal being the real winner.

The Sharks went into this game without Rob Blake, with an undisclosed injury. He has said that he's had a similar injury before, and is scheduled for an MRI after returning to the Bay Area. In Blake's place on the blue line, Derek Joslin and Callahan were called up. There were reports that Douglas Murray might not play tonight, and be a game time decision. With Murray playing 30 shifts for just under 21 minutes of ice time, it doesn't look like he was ailing that much. Callahan took 12 shifts for 9.5 minutes, and Joslin 14 shifts for 12 minutes. Patrick Marleau was given an 'A' to take the place of Blake's 'C'.

The good news is that the Sharks took 5 out of a possible 6 on the three game road trip. They played pretty well, but not quite what they wanted in the second half of a back-to-back. Also, players like Setoguchi, Pavelski, and Vesce are getting close to coming back into the lineup. Next game is hosting the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to open a 3 game home stand.

* Snow Snake: Snow snakes are white, blending in to the ice and like to wrap themselves around your ankles to trip you up. They like to do then when everyone is watching to embarrass you the most.