Sharks Break Losing Streak On Panther’s Ice
Jan 16, 2014; Sunrise, FL, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Jason Demers (5) and Florida Panthers right wing Brad Boyes (24) battle for the puck in the first period at BB
The San Jose Sharks finally won a game at BB&T, ending a winless drought on Florida Panther ice that lasted for about 6 years. Sharks’ goal scorers tonight were Captain Joe Thornton, Matt Nieto, and Joe Pavelski.
A Scoreless Beginning
The first period was scoreless throughout, but there certain were no shortage of shots by the Sharks who faced a well-prepared Panthers goalie in Tim Thomas. Alex Stalock was tested early as the Panthers put four shots on goal at the start. San Jose out shot Florida by a wide margin of 21-8 by the end of the period.
Jumbo Strikes First
Although the Sharks were taking trip after trip to the penalty box with a less-than-stellar start to the second, with just 50.2 seconds remaining in the second Thornton (Assists: Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski) sped up on a break away after taking the puck on a nice indirect pass and chipped it past Thomas beautifully to give the Sharks the 1-0 lead.
Nieto & Pavelski Get Two More
Alex Stalock continued to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard in the third, and after making a tremendous stop to rob the Panthers of the tying goal, Tyler Kennedy hustled his way to the puck and powered towards the Panthers net minder before he lost the puck, but Nieto (Assists: Kennedy and Patrick Marleau) put it home to make it to 2-0. Later in the third, Pavs (Burns and Brad Stuart) would score on a rebound to make it 3-0.
Sta-Locked In Net
Alex Stalock was tremendous in net, making all the routine saves he needed to make and coming up huge in dynamite opportunities from the Panthers. He notched his first career NHL shutout in a 34-save effort, so congratulations to him!
Next Game Vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Sharks face Olympian Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday as they will be looking to collect their third straight win at Tampa Bay Forum. It will be an early start at 11 AM, so as Randy Hahn (@sharkvoice) would say, “schedule your life accordingly”. Tune into the game at CSN-CA, and as always, you can always listen to the game on the Sharks Radio Network, KFOX (FM 98.5/FM102.1).
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