Columbus 5, San Jose 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees:
Dave Jackson, Tom Kowal
Linesmen:
John Grandt, Shane Heyer
Attendance:
15491
By The Sports Xchange
SAN JOSE -- At this rate, the Columbus Blue Jackets might petition the league to play the remainder of their games on the road.
Columbus beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 Wednesday at SAP Center to win for the third time in five games as visitors under the direction of new head coach John Tortorella. The Blue Jackets remain 0-5 at home.
"We talked about it, playing a full 60 (minutes)," Blue Jackets left winger Brandon Saad said. "We saw it right off the bat. We knew they come out flying in this building, and we wanted to match that intensity, so we did a good job tonight."
The loss was San Jose's sixth in the past eight games. What was more of a concern was how the Sharks (6-6-0) came out flat to start a four-game homestand against a team that is considerably lower in the standings.
"I thought the first 10 minutes of the game we were standing and watching," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "I don't know the reason for that. Once we got into the game, our desperation level was as good or better than theirs. But we can't play a 40-minute game."
Columbus scored twice within a 29-second span of the late second period to break a 2-2 tie and chase San Jose starting goalie Martin Jones in the process. Backup goalie Alex Stalock took over to start the third period, but he had long vacated the goal for an extra attacker when Columbus left winger Matt Calvert scored into an empty net at 18:21.
"Not good enough, obviously," Jones said when asked to access his play. He faced 21 shots and allowed four goals. "Fragile team, we give up an early goal and a couple soft ones in the second. We need to be better, everyone needs to be better. I thought we got outworked tonight. At the end of the day, everyone has to be a little bit better."
Stalock stopped both shots that he faced.
Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky turned away 41 shots, including all 18 he faced in the third period, for the victory.
"We found a way," Tortorella said. "The most important thing, I thought Bob was outstanding."
On the key late-second period tiebreaking sequence, center Boone Jenner scored his second of the night with a shot between the legs of Jones, who was late to the front of his net at 18:32. Jones stopped a Columbus dump-in, but left winger Scott Hartnell deflected San Jose defenseman Brent Burns' clearing attempt out front to Jenner.
Then, with just 58.9 seconds remaining, defenseman Ryan Murray scored his second goal of the season with a screen shot from the high slot that sailed over Jones' shoulder.
"We did all the right things," Murray said. "The bounces came in our direction. The play was in our favor a lot."
Columbus broke a 1-1 tie earlier in the second period, when Hartnell scored on a spectacular shot at 8:54. He skated behind the net toward the left circle, and with San Jose right winger Mike Brown draped on him, Hartnell whirled to his left and roofed his fifth goal over the right shoulder of a surprised Jones.
San Jose tied the game 2-2 at 11:56 when rookie left winger Joonas Donskoi stripped Columbus left winger Nick Foligno on the boards and fed Joe Pavelski for a mini-breakaway that the right winger turned into his team-leading eighth goal and second of the night.
Three failed power plays followed but gave the Sharks sustained momentum for the first time in the game until the final two minutes of the period, when everything fell apart.
"A couple bad bounces, rolling pucks, whatever," Pavelski said. "You fight through that, it happens. Sometimes they go your way. We just have to work to have them on our side a little more."
The Sharks tied the game late in the first period on a Pavelski tip during a period otherwise dominated by the Blue Jackets.
Columbus enjoyed back-to-back power plays during the first five minutes, and it converted with San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon in the box for holding Foligno. Saad pounced on a rebound of center Brandon Dubinsky's shot and muscled his fifth goal of the season past Jones at 6:11.
Late in the opening period, Pavelski extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-high five games by fending off Murray to tip defenseman Justin Braun's point drive past Bobrovsky at 18:56 to tie the game at one.
NOTES: Injured Sharks C Logan Couture told CSN Bay Area he's "definitely making progress" following surgery to repair a broken right fibula sustained Oct. 15 during a practice in New Jersey. Couture has progressed to wearing a walking boot after spending two weeks on crutches. He is not expected to return before Dec. 1, though. San Jose was 3-5 without Couture before Tuesday. ... The Blue Jackets cap an all-California trip with games Thursday in Los Angeles and Friday in Anaheim. ... San Jose promoted D Karl Stollery from their AHL affiliate in San Jose and assigned D Dylan DeMelo to the Barracuda. ... C Ben Smith is day-to-day with a head injury after suffering a relapse Saturday in Dallas. ... Columbus C Alexander Wennberg is out with a lower-body injury. RW Rene Bourque and D Dalton Prout were healthy scratches for the Blue Jackets.
Top Game Performances
Columbus |
|
San Jose |
Scott Hartnell 2 |
Points |
Joe Pavelski 2 |
Scott Hartnell 1 |
Goals |
Joe Pavelski 2 |
Ryan Johansen 2 |
Assists |
Justin Braun 1 |
Brandon Saad 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Sergei Bobrovsky .953 |
Save Percentage |
Alex Stalock 1.000 |
Sergei Bobrovsky 41 |
Saves |
Martin Jones 17 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Columbus
|
24 |
5 |
1-2 |
4-4 |
13 |
22 |
San Jose
|
43 |
2 |
0-4 |
1-2 |
9 |
46 |
Upcoming Games
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against Florida. The Sharks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Columbus will play their next game on the road against Los Angeles. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .200 after a loss.