Game Day Report: Blues @ Sharks
By Ryan Bayer
March 19, 2011; San Jose, CA, USA; NHL linesman Lonnie Cameron (74) drops the puck on a face off to San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) and St. Louis Blues center Patrik Berglund (21) during the first period at HP Pavilion. San Jose defeated St. Louis 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports
Today the San Jose Sharks play hosts to the St. Louis Blues for an early matinee affair. This is the second meeting of their three game series on the season. The last time these two teams faced off against one another was back on February 19th in which the Sharks defeated the Blues by a final score of 2-1. In that contest, both Joe Thornton and Tim Kennedy were the Sharks only goal scorers, while goaltender Antti Niemi turned away 25 of 26 he faced.
San Jose is returns to HP Pavilion after earning a split on their Western Canada two game road trip. They defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the shootout by a 3-2 final. Against the Canucks it was a night a first’s for the Sharks as newcomers Scott Gomez and Adam Burish recorded their first goals of the season and with the organization. In the shootout, the hero’s for San Jose were Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski. However, their luck did not go their way against the Flames as they were defeated by the final score of 4-1. The only Shark to score against Kiprusoff was Joe Thornton who ended up recording his fifth goal of the season.
In their last ten games, the Sharks are 4-4-2, while the Blues are 5-4-1. As of today, San Jose is 11-7-4 with 26 points to their credit. In addition, they are currently in 3rd place in the Pacific Division and a 6th overall standing in the Western Conference. For St. Louis, they are 12-9-2 with 26 points, including a 3rd place Central Division spot and 8th overall in the West.
Tale of The Tape:
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.14 (29th)
Goals-against per game: 2.14 (3rd)
Power play: 16.7 percent (17th)
Penalty kill: 88.0 percent (3rd)
Blues
Goals per game: 2.96 (9th)
Goals-against per game: 3.00 (24th)
Power play: 26.7 percent (2nd)
Penalty kill: 81.0 percent (17th)
Injury Report:
Sharks: Brent Burns (left leg) and Marty Havlat (lower body) are out. Thomas Greiss (sore neck) is doubtful.
Blues: Jamie Langenbrunner (hip), Vladimir Tarasenko (concussion), Andy McDonald (left knee) and Alex Steen (upper body) are out.
***Injury Report courtesy of Kevin Kurz.***
Official Link: http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/kevin-kurz/sharks-blues-glance-0
Who’s Hot: Berglund notched a pair of goals in his last outing and has 14 points in 23 games this season.
***Who’s Hot Report courtesy of the San Jose Sharks.***
Official Link: http://sharks.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2012020358&navid=DL|SJS|home
Worcester Sharks goaltender #32 Alex Stalock. Mandatory credit: Worcester Sharks media department.
Recall Front:
San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the club has recalled goaltender Alex Stalock and forward Matt Pelech from the Worcester Sharks, the team’s top development affiliate in the American Hockey League.
In 31 games for Worcester this season, Stalock has posted a 15-12-3 record with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage with one shutout.
Pelech has played in 43 games with Worcester, picking up five points (one goal, four assists) and 186 penalty minutes, 6th most in the AHL this season. He also appeared in two games with San Jose this season, picking up seven penalty minutes.
In addition, the Sharks have re-assigned goaltender Thomas Heemskerk to the Worcester Sharks, activated forward Tommy Wingles.
***Recall Report courtesy of the San Jose Sharks.***
Official Link: http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=659287&navid=DL|SJS|home
Today’s contest has a 1:00p PST puck drop and can be seen on CSNCA HD and can be heard on 98.5/102.1 KFOX. In addition, the contest can be seen on the NHL Network nationwide in the United States.
LET’S GO SHARKS!!!!!!!!
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