SAN JOSE
– Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice in the second period Thursday
to lift the San Jose Sharks past the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 in the
season opener for both teams at sold-out HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice in the second period Thursday to lift the San Jose Sharks past the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 in the season opener for both teams at sold-out HP Pavilion.
The Sharks peppered Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 21 shots in the second period, turning two scoring opportunities into scores to give new coach Todd McLellan the two points in his debut.
‘There were a lot of good signs,” said McLellan. “We competed hard, and that’s the most important thing.”
Rob Blake earned two assists in his first game as a Shark. The veteran defenseman drilled seven shots on net in the first two periods.
“(The Ducks) have to play tight on Danny (Boyle, Blake’s defensive partner on the power play), and play up on Joe Thornton. When I get an opportunity, I’ve got to get the shot through to the net,” said Blake.
McLellan was not surprised at Blake’s shots total against the Ducks.
“First of all, Rob wants to shoot the puck. Plus, he can move laterally very well.”
Milan Michalek set up linemate Cheechoo’s first goal at the 2:32 mark.
Michalek skated with the puck into the left Ducks circle before skimming a pass to defenseman Dan Boyle in the high slot. The blueliner’s hard shot on net was turned back by Giguere, but Cheechoo, with inside position, collected the puck and deposited it past Giguere for the 1-0 Sharks edge.
Cheechoo “was rewarded” by getting to the net to be in position to both screen the goalie’s vision and then be prepared to collect any rebound, according to McLellan. “There’s a real clear message there. It’s not easy playing Anaheim. They command a lot of ice in front of their net and you have to have some courage to go there.”
San Jose earned five power plays in the second period, converting one extra-man situation into a 2-0 margin at the 6:44 mark.
Ducks captain Scott Niedermeyer went to the box for high-sticking Joe Pavelski at 6:19. San Jose needed 25 seconds to take a 2-0 lead. Blake had two consecutive shots from the blueline at Giguere, the second leaving a rebound in the right corner. Thornton gained control, then sent a set-up pass to Cheechoo inside the right circle for the one-timer into the top left corner of the net.
“It seems like (the Sharks) got another gear going and we stood around and watched and started to play the game from our own back end,” said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle. “Then they started coming at us in waves and we started taking penalties.”
San Jose extended its lead to 3-0 by converting its first power play opportunity of the third period.
Duck Steve Montador was given his second minor penalty of the game 1:14 into the third. Late in the extra-man effort, Michalek skimmed a pass to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff along the blueline. Ehrhoff’s solid shot from 50 feet out found its way inside the right post at the 2:52 mark.
Anaheim was able to solve Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov for a goal 14:35 into the third when Montador’s shot from the point was redirected by Rob Niedermeyer into the net.
San Jose regained the three-goal lead at the 15:57 mark. Patrick Marleau and Devin Setoguchi turned a 2-on-1 rush into a 4-1 San Jose edge when Setoguchi regained control of a loose puck in the low slot and backhanded the puck by Giguere from 10 feet out.
NOTES – San Jose’s healthy scratches were Marcel Goc and Alexei Semenov…The Sharks went 3-4 in the pre-season, the Ducks 6-2…San Jose begins a home-and-home series with the Los Angeles Kings Saturday at 7pm at HP Pavilion, playing at Staple
Center Sunday at 6pm.
