Arizona 3, San Jose 2
When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 4, 2017
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees:
Trevor Hanson, Garrett Rank
Linesmen:
Ryan Gibbons, Kiel Murchison
Attendance:
17562
By The Sports Xchange
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Arizona may be at the opposite end of the Pacific Division from first-place San Jose, but the Coyotes sure seem to have the Sharks' number.
Forwards Brendan Perlini and Radim Vrbata converted while goalie Mike Smith stopped two of three shots as Arizona improved to 3-0-1 against San Jose with a 3-2 win in a shootout at SAP Center on Saturday night.
"On any given night there's teams out there who can win," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "We had some chances early to score, but puck just found a way to stay out. When you let a team like that hang around, give them some special teams, sometimes that happens."
The rookie Perlini beat San Jose netminder Martin Jones with a move to backhand and the veteran Vrbata roofed one on the forehand in close. Only Logan Couture was able to solve Smith, who denied Patrick Marleau and Pavelski in the shootout.
"Mike Smith plays well against them," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "He's really played well. I think that the biggest key but it's a rivalry game and they're fun games to be involved in."
The Sharks produced all five of their shots in overtime on a power play courtesy of Arizona captain Shane Doan, who tripped Tomas Hertl at 2:09.
San Jose outshot Arizona 35-26 through regulation on the strength of a 14-6 advantage in the third period.
"To come in here it's hard to win," said Doan as Arizona snapped a seven-game winless streak on the road. "For us to find a way to win was huge for us."
The Sharks briefly took their first lead at 2:18 of the third period when Couture scored his 18th goal of the season.
Marleau got a piece of Alexander Burmistrov's attempted clear to create a turnover. After getting the puck back from former Coyote Mikkel Boedker, Marleau fed Couture in the mid-slot for a wrist shot that sailed over the right blocker of Smith.
The visitors struck back 26 seconds later, however, as Ryan White got credit for his fifth goal of the season when the Arizona center's wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle ramped up the stick of Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon and over the left glove of Jones at 2:44.
"You don't play hard against this team, it's going to be a tough night," White said. "If you don't take away their time and space away they're going to embarrass you."
The game was tied 1-1 after a chippy opening 40 minutes.
The Coyotes broke a scoreless tie on the power play at 12:23 when Doan scored his first goal since Dec. 23. The Sharks were within 10 seconds of killing off a too-many-men minor.
Doan's wrister from the high slot eluded Jones as neither penalty-killing defensemen Paul Martin nor Brent Burns could close fast enough to prevent Arizona's captain from shooting.
Doan's fifth of the season snapped a 16-game goal-scoring drought and was his first since notching his 400th career goal against Toronto. The strike came while Couture and Arizona's Max Domi were exchanging shoves in the neutral zone for a good 10-to-15 seconds without anything called.
The hosts struck back late in the period when Dillon scored his first goal of the season. Dillon was denied in close by Smith, but squeezed his stick between the goalie's legs to backhand the loose puck over the goal line at 17:15.
Marleau extended his points streak to a season-high six straight games by providing the primary assist.
The Sharks had a golden opportunity to score first, but failed to take advantage of a full 5-on-3 after Smith attacked Sharks rookie Timo Meier following a whistle late in the first period. Arizona defenseman Luke Schenn compounded the problem with a roughing penalty, but the Coyotes allowed only one shot while down two players.
"Not the way you draw it up," Smith said. "We took too many penalties tonight and I was part of that. But our killers did an unbelievable job out there, putting their bodies on the line and blocking shots."
The Sharks' struggling power play had enjoyed a recent resurgence by converting three of its last five chances over two games, but went 0-for-4 on Saturday.
"You've got to make it count," Pavelski said of the two-man advantage. "It's on us, regardless of the ice, regardless of the situation."
NOTES: Sharks F Micheal Haley returned for the first time since Jan. 18 after a stint on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Haley joined the fourth line alongside LW Melker Karlsson and RW Kevin Labanc. Haley leads San Jose with 61 penalty minutes. ... Arizona continues to play without injured C Brad Richardson (broken leg). D Kevin Connauton, C Peter Holland and RW Josh Jooris were healthy scratches. ... San Jose next plays at Buffalo on Tuesday to open a four-game road trip. ... Arizona next hosts Montreal on Thursday. ... Arizona C Martin Hanzal appeared in his 600th career game Saturday. ... San Jose continues to play without injured LW Joonas Donskoi (upper body) and D Dylan DeMelo (broken wrist). C Ryan Carpenter and D Tim Heed did not dress. ... Coyotes G Mike Smith was outspoken in regard to the league mandating goalies wear the new slimmed down pants by Saturday. "I think the timing is just horrendous," he told the Arizona Republic. "To change any equipment in the middle of the season is just absurd to me. It just doesn't make any sense. Why not wait two more months and make a change at the start of a season instead of the middle of a season."
Top Game Performances
Arizona |
|
San Jose |
Shane Doan 1 |
Points |
Logan Couture 2 |
Shane Doan 1 |
Goals |
Logan Couture 1 |
Alex Goligoski 1 |
Assists |
Patrick Marleau 2 |
Shane Doan 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Mike Smith .950 |
Save Percentage |
Martin Jones .929 |
Mike Smith 38 |
Saves |
Martin Jones 26 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Arizona
|
28 |
3 |
1-4 |
4-4 |
15 |
33 |
San Jose
|
40 |
2 |
0-4 |
3-4 |
15 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
San Jose will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Sharks have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .550 after a loss.
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .412 after a win and .294 after a loss.