San Jose returns from Olympic break with a 5-1 win over
Detroit
San Jose – The San Jose Sharks stretched a winning streak to four games Tuesday by celebrating the return from the Olympics break by edging the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 at sold-out HP Pavilion at San Jose.
Five power play goals, a franchise record, made the difference as the Sharks improved to 64 points with 25 games left in the regular season. San Jose trails eighth-place Edmonton by four points.
The Sharks embark on a three-game roadtrip this week, beginning with a test opposite Edmonton on Friday. Calgary provides the opposition Saturday, Anaheim Tuesday.
Joe Thornton, running away with the assists race in the league with 63 in 49 games, set up three extra-skater tallies for the winners.
“That was quite an impressive display for our power play, especially against a good penalty-killing team,” said Sharks coach Ron Wilson.
“We had a lot of energy, especially early. We took advantage of Detroit missing important people.”
San Jose converted its first power play opportunity, Nils Ekman lighting the lamp 3:34 into action.
Detroit was missing four players due to Sweden’s gold-medal showing in the Winter Olympics. Wingers Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Mikael Samuelsson, along with defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, were delayed returning to NHL play because they traveled from Italy to Sweden to take part in ceremonies in Stockholm.
The Red Wings called up just one player for Tuesday’s game, rookie Tomas Kopecky. Detroit played with just 17 skaters. Kopecky, on his first shift in his NHL debut, was whistled for tripping Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan at 2:23 of play.
The first power play unit for the Sharks needed 71 seconds to open the scoring. Thornton drew two defenders to the right sideboards before dishing the puck to Ekman on the goalline to the right of the Detroit net. Ekman moved within six feet of the crease before snapping a shot between the pads of goalie Manny Legace at 3:34.
Both teams scored once in the second period.
The Sharks went on a 5-on-3 power play at 6:26 after penalties to Chris Chelios and Kirk Maltby of the Wings. San Jose scored 28 seconds into a power play when Jonathan Cheechoo whipped home his 35th goal of the season at 6:54. Thornton keyed the play by handling the puck along the right goalline, dipping inside the play of Detroit’s Andreas Lilja before finding Cheechoo at the left post for the one-timer.
Ekman was awarded a penalty shot 7:06 into the third period. Ekman stepped out of the penalty box in time to steal the puck and rush behind Detroit’s Jason Williams at the Wings blueline. Williams hooked Ekman as the Shark began to shoot at point-blank range at Legace. Ekman’s penalty shot was turned back by Legace with a save low to the glove side.
Red Wings rookie Brett Lebda scored at 18:29 of the second to make it 2-1. The Sharks countered with three power-play goals in the third period to snap Detroit’s six-game winning streak.
San Jose went up 3-1 at 10:36 of the third when Patrick Marleau pushed the puck inside the left post for his 26th goal. Thornton set the power play in motion with a shot from the top of the right circle that skidded off Ekman at the edge of the crease and then off Legace. The puck settled on the goalline before Marleau moved in for the score.
The score blossomed to 4-1 when defenseman Christian Ehrhoff whistled a shot from the right point inside the right post past a screened Legace at 11:41 on a power play. Thornton made it 5-1 when he wristed a 15-footer between Legace’s pads on another power play at 13:48.
“I felt fine,” said Thornton of his first game back in the NHL after playing in six games for Canada in the Olympics. “The first couple of shifts was a little strange back on smaller ice.”
Vesa Toskala made 28 saves in net while recording at least one point in each of his last 11 starts (9-0-2) for the winners.
