GAME #2: San Jose Sharks @ Columbus Blue Jackets (10/15/2016)
Following their impressive 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the 2016-2017 Season Opener, the San Jose Sharks flew eastward to Ohio, in preparation for a five-game road-stint, beginning at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
In their opening contest, the Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to watch multiple two-goal leads dissipate, eventually falling to the always-scrappy Boston Bruins by the disappointing final of 6-3.
Though certainly looking for more positive results on Saturday evening, the Blue Jackets night would not exactly open "according to plan". In the opening stages of the game, Sharks' defenseman Brent Burns took a high-stick directly underneath his visor, which would lead to a double-minor power-play for the typically-ferocious Sharks' "man-advantage" squad.
After managing to squander four minutes of power-play time, however, it seemed almost certain that the pendulum of momentum would swing from the Sharks bench, in favor of the newly-enthused home side.
Indeed, this seemed to be the narrative, until Logan Couture flung one towards the net, leaving a point-blank rebound opportunity for one of the newest members of Team Teal: Mikkel Boedker.
Boedker made no mistake with this puck, launching one directly past Blue Jackets' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and propelling the Sharks to an early 1-0 advantage.
Later in the period, San Jose would strike once more, as a beautiful cross-ice pass from Brent Burns found San Jose forward Joel Ward perfectly in front of the net for the second Shark tally of the evening.
Knowing that their work wasn't yet finished, Team Teal emerged "like gangbusters" once more in the middle frame, killing a rather questionable "Goaltender Interference" penalty (assessed to Joonas Donskoi), and attacking the Columbus net-minder in numerous waves.
Unfortunately for San Jose, this stellar effort went largely unrewarded, and as the third period rolled around, the Sharks still clung to their long-standing 2-0 edge.
Perhaps as to be expected, Columbus was not prepared to "go quietly". With 16:26 remaining in the game, an overly-aggressive Brent Burns would go to the penalty box for "Interference" against Blue Jackets' forward Nick Foligno, and the home squad was quick to capitalize.
Merely ten seconds removed from the assessment of this penalty, it was a wrist shot from the point by rookie defenseman Zach Werenski that found its way past Sharks' goaltender Martin Jones, cutting Columbus's two-goal deficit in half.
What ensued would be a mad scramble to the finish line: an onslaught by the Blue Jackets' offensive unit, and a clinic by San Jose's defensive unit.
And a tripping penalty attributed to David Savard with 2:08 remaining in the third would ultimately lead to the "nail in the coffin" tally, with the Sharks finally converting on their first power-play goal of the night: an empty-netter by Patrick Marleau.
Although Josh Anderson of the Blue Jackets countered with a goal of his own almost immediately (eleven seconds later, to be precise), Marleau's empty-netter would eventually hold up as the game-winning score in this 3-2 victory for the Sharks.
Out-shooting their opponent once again (this time, by the final tally of 38-28), this relentless San Jose squad will now take their momentum to Madison Square Garden on Monday night, where they will face-off against the always-dangerous New York Rangers.
***SHARKS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2***
In their opening contest, the Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to watch multiple two-goal leads dissipate, eventually falling to the always-scrappy Boston Bruins by the disappointing final of 6-3.
Though certainly looking for more positive results on Saturday evening, the Blue Jackets night would not exactly open "according to plan". In the opening stages of the game, Sharks' defenseman Brent Burns took a high-stick directly underneath his visor, which would lead to a double-minor power-play for the typically-ferocious Sharks' "man-advantage" squad.
After managing to squander four minutes of power-play time, however, it seemed almost certain that the pendulum of momentum would swing from the Sharks bench, in favor of the newly-enthused home side.
Indeed, this seemed to be the narrative, until Logan Couture flung one towards the net, leaving a point-blank rebound opportunity for one of the newest members of Team Teal: Mikkel Boedker.
Boedker made no mistake with this puck, launching one directly past Blue Jackets' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and propelling the Sharks to an early 1-0 advantage.
Later in the period, San Jose would strike once more, as a beautiful cross-ice pass from Brent Burns found San Jose forward Joel Ward perfectly in front of the net for the second Shark tally of the evening.
Knowing that their work wasn't yet finished, Team Teal emerged "like gangbusters" once more in the middle frame, killing a rather questionable "Goaltender Interference" penalty (assessed to Joonas Donskoi), and attacking the Columbus net-minder in numerous waves.
Unfortunately for San Jose, this stellar effort went largely unrewarded, and as the third period rolled around, the Sharks still clung to their long-standing 2-0 edge.
Perhaps as to be expected, Columbus was not prepared to "go quietly". With 16:26 remaining in the game, an overly-aggressive Brent Burns would go to the penalty box for "Interference" against Blue Jackets' forward Nick Foligno, and the home squad was quick to capitalize.
Merely ten seconds removed from the assessment of this penalty, it was a wrist shot from the point by rookie defenseman Zach Werenski that found its way past Sharks' goaltender Martin Jones, cutting Columbus's two-goal deficit in half.
What ensued would be a mad scramble to the finish line: an onslaught by the Blue Jackets' offensive unit, and a clinic by San Jose's defensive unit.
And a tripping penalty attributed to David Savard with 2:08 remaining in the third would ultimately lead to the "nail in the coffin" tally, with the Sharks finally converting on their first power-play goal of the night: an empty-netter by Patrick Marleau.
Although Josh Anderson of the Blue Jackets countered with a goal of his own almost immediately (eleven seconds later, to be precise), Marleau's empty-netter would eventually hold up as the game-winning score in this 3-2 victory for the Sharks.
Out-shooting their opponent once again (this time, by the final tally of 38-28), this relentless San Jose squad will now take their momentum to Madison Square Garden on Monday night, where they will face-off against the always-dangerous New York Rangers.
***SHARKS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2***
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