The San Jose Sharks stretched a winning streak to six games
Friday night as Joe Thornton paced the home club past the
Washington Capitals 4-1 in front of 16,459 fans at HP Pavilion at
San Jose.
San Jose – The San Jose Sharks stretched a winning streak to six games Friday night as Joe Thornton paced the home club past the Washington Capitals 4-1 in front of 16,459 fans at HP Pavilion at San Jose.
Thornton fashioned his sixth consecutive multiple-point effort by assisting on one goal and burying another as the Sharks posted a 2-0 lead after one period.
San Jose will visit the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Sunday, then host the Ducks Tuesday. The busy six-day schedule finishes with a Thursday road game against the Phoenix Coyotes and Friday home tilt against the St. Louis Blues.
The Sharks opened the scoring with a Jonathan Cheechoo goal at the 12:06 mark.
Linemate Scott Thornton began the scoring play when he collected a loose puck inside the Capitals zone and whipped the puck around the board to a waiting Joe Thornton. The center patiently controlled the puck behind the net before sliding the puck between the legs of defenseman Steve Eminger and onto the stick of an attacking Cheechoo for the wrister from 10 feet out.
Joe Thornton made it 2-0 with a highlight move along the left boards to avoid defenseman Ivan Majesky before slanting across the slot to beat goalie Olaf Kolzig inside the right post at 16:27.
“We were sharp right from the get-go,” said San Jose coach RonWilson.
“We talked about being ready and keeping it simple. Obviously, it helps having a guy like Joe Thornton making those plays in the first period.”
Milan Michalek scored 2:13 into the second period to provide the Sharks with a 3-0 cushion.
Strong passes from Marcel Goc and Josh Langfeld allowed a streaking Michalek to jet behind Washington defenseman Jamie Heward. The Capital tugged at Michalek, causing a delayed penalty. Michalek was able to keep hit balance and deliver the puck between Kolzig’s pads from point-blank range.
San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov delivered 47 minutes of shut-out netminding before Caps winger Ben Clymer wrested a 40-footer from the left point and deflected inside the left post at 7:48 of the third period.
“We were able to get the two-goal lead early,” said Nabokov, who moved to 7-7-4 for the season. “We played a solid 60 minutes, except for a little in the third period. The defensemen were solid, no penalties.”
San Jose responded with a fourth goal 15:44 into the third. Patrick Marleau set a career high with an assist for the sixth consecutive game. Grant Stevenson set the scoring play in motion with a lofted pass from the Sharks zone to an advancing Marleau. Alyn McCauley joined the 2-on-1 rush on the left flank, taking Marleau’s feed and drilling the puck inside the high left corner away from a sliding Kolzig.
San Jose is still 11th among the Western Conference playoff race, although the Sharks are within three points of the eighth spot and just two points behind both Phoenix and Anaheim.
