Game Day Report: Red Wings @ Sharks

March 17, 2012; San Jose CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Martin Havlat (9) controls the puck against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight the San Jose Sharks face off against their arch rival’s the Detroit Red Wings for the first time this season.  This is meeting number one of three scheduled for the shortened season.  The last time San Jose and Detroit squared off against one another was back on May 17th, 2012 in which the Sharks defeated the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime.  The hero of night for San Jose was none other than Martin Havlat.  Havlat on the night, scored twice while Joe Pavelski also saw the score sheet with a tally of his own.  For Detroit, both Pavel Datsyuk and Valtteri Filppula were the Red Wings goal scorers.

San Jose is coming of a 3-2 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche this past Tuesday night.  In that contest TJ Galiardi recorded his first goal of season against his old club.  Logan Couture as saw the scoresheet as well as he tallied the games first goal within the first 30 seconds of opening period.  In the shootout, both Michal Handzus and Patrick were the Sharks hero’s.  Their victory is just what the Sharks after that miserable road trip.  Last night, the Detroit Red Wings were in action as the faced off against the LA Kings.  In that game all of us hockey fans saw perhaps the weirdest goal of the season by Detroit’s Kyle Quincey.  It is considered a weird one because the puck was misplayed in midair by Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier and bounced off the back of his helmet to give the Red Wings the early lead.  Later in the game Jeff Carter got the much needed equalizer on the power play for Los Angeles that made it 1-1 in the third.  Less than five minutes later Anze Kopitar undressed Detroit’s Jimmy Howard and sneaked the puck past his lead pad to put the Kings up 2-1.  The score would hold as the Red Wings were defeated by the Kings.  Thus ending the Red Wings two game winning streak.

Current Record:

Sharks: 9-6-3, 21 points, 4th Pacific Division, 8th Western Conference.
Red Wings: 9-8-3, 21 points, 4th Central Division, 10th Western Conference.

Tale of The Tape Report:

San Jose Sharks

GP: 18

W: 9

L: 6

OT: 3

P: 21

P%: 0.583

G/G: 2.28

GA/G: 2.17

PP%: 16.7

PK: 86.1

S/G: 30.3

SA/G: 29.1

F/O%: 52.6

Detroit Red Wings

GP: 20

W: 9

L: 8

OT: 3

P: 21

P%: 0.525

G/G: 2.85

GA/G: 2.80

PP%: 15.9

PK: 77.1

S/G: 29.2

SA/G: 28.6

F/O%: 53.2

Who’s Hot Report: Zetterberg has five points in Detroit’s past five games and leads the Red Wings with 25 in 20 contests.  Pavel Datsyuk has three multi-point games in that same span.  Sharks captain Joe Thornton has points in each of his past four games.

***Who’s Hot Report courtesy of the San Jose Sharks.***

Official Link: http://sharks.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2012020298&navid=DL|SJS|home

February 2, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Ryane Clowe (29) warms up before the game against the Nashville Predators at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Clowe’s Back:

The San Jose Sharks will have Ryane Clowe back in their lineup as he recently served his two game suspension.  Clowe was assessed with the suspension due to starting an altercation with Chicago Blackhawks Andrew Shaw back on their road trip from hell.  Ryane Clowe will be skating on the third line tonight for San Jose.  On the season Clowe has yet to score.

Injury Front:

Sharks: Brent Burns (left leg) and Tommy Wingels (undisclosed) are out. Marty Havlat (undisclosed) is probable.

Red Wings: Carlo Colaiacovo (shoulder), Darren Helm (back), Todd Bertuzzi (back) and Mikael Samuelsson (broken finger) are out. Valtteri Filppula (left shoulder) is doubtful.

***Injury Front Report courtesy of Kevin Kurz.***

Official Link: http://www.csncalifornia.com/blog/kevin-kurz/sharks-red-wings-glance

2011-2012 Season Series Statistics: San Jose Sharks defeated Detroit Red Wings 3-1

Franchise Record vs. Detroit: 25-46-4-4.

Recent Success:

Currently the Sharks are 6-2-0 against the Red Wings their last eight games.  In addition, prior to last season, the Sharks have knocked off the Red Wings the Stanley Cup Playoffs (2010 4-1, 2011 4-3) both times in the second round.

Feb 26, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart (7) takes a shot on goal during the second period of the game against the Colorado Avalanche at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Brad Stuart:

Tonight is going to be special night for current San Jose Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart as he faces his old club for the first time since the trade.  During the offseason, on June 10, 2012 Doug Wilson made history as he made his first trade with the Detroit Red Wings as General Manager on the Sharks.  In that trade, Doug Wilson dealt forward Andrew Murray and a 7th round conditional pick for the 2014 NHL draft for Stuart’s negotiating rights.  Eight days later on June 18th Stuart and the Sharks agreed to terms on the a three year deal worth $10.8 Million dollars.  Stuarts return to San Jose was for family reasons.

Tonight’s contest has a 7:30p PST puck drop and can be seen on CSNCA HD and can be heard on 98.5/102.1 KFOX.

LET’S GO SHARKS!!!!!!!!

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