SAN JOSE
– The Presidents’ Trophy acknowledgement out of the way, the San
Jose Sharks proceeded to outlast the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3
Thursday night to square their record at 2-2 in the 2009-10 home
opener.
SAN JOSE – The Presidents’ Trophy acknowledgement out of the way, the San Jose Sharks proceeded to outlast the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 Thursday night to square their record at 2-2 in the 2009-10 home opener.
Less than one month ago, Dany Heatley was preparing to begin training camp with the Ottawa Senators. Thursday night, Heatley celebrated his first home game as a Shark by producing a hat trick.
Not to be outdone, linemate Joe Thornton recorded four assists and linemate Devin Setoguchi added one goal and an assist.
“That’s a very dangerous line,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “It got better as the night went on. The fact that they played fast and were at the right areas of the rink is what impressed me most.”
Heatley scored two goals in a decisive second period as the Sharks rebounded from a 1-0 deficit after 20 minutes to go into the third period up 4-2.
The Sharks organization doubled the banners high inside HP Pavilion with three new ones Thursday. Along with a “Presidents’ Trophy” were banners for “2008-9 Regular Season Western Conference Champions:” and another for “2008-9 Pacific Division Champions.”
The Sharks’ play in the opening 20 minutes gave little indication of any further banners being earned soon for the building.
Columbus, 2-0 coming into play, posted an 11-8 edge in shots on net while garnering the 1-0 advantage.
Jacket captain Rick Nash scored his first goal of the season 12:08 into play. Linemate Kristian Huselius threatened to score from the left edge of the Sharks’ net, drawing two defensemen toward the puck-handler. Huselius’ quick shot from a bad angle dropped in front of the crease to an unmarked Nash for the point-blank stuff.
“As the game continued, we took it over, especially in the second period,” McLellan said.
San Jose enjoyed a 4-1 edge in goals in the second period.
Dan Boyle found the back of the net for his first goal of the campaign 2:35 into the period off assists from Thornton and defenseman Douglas Murray
Heatley, acquired by the Sharks on Sept. 12, gave the home team its first lead of the night when he turned Setoguchi’s pass behind the Columbus net into a crisp backhander over goalie Steve Mason’s shoulder at the 5:40 mark.
Columbus rebounded for a 2-2 tie on Jason Chimera’s 30-foot slap shot from the top of the left circle at 11:14.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic boomed a 25-footer from the left circle at the 18:05 mark to give the Sharks a 3-2 edge. The margin moved to two when Heatley beat Mason from the right flank off a Boyle assist with 11.5 seconds left in the period.
San Jose made it 5-2 with 1:34 gone in the third when Setoguchi turned a Thornton pass from behind the net into a 15-foot liner inside the right circle to end Mason’s night behind the pipes.
Columbus needed only six seconds of power play to make it 5-3 on Raffi Torres’ 15-footer from the slot.
Heatley thrilled the sold-out HP Pavilion when he turned a penalty shot into a 6-3 final at the 7:08 mark, giving him three goals on the night and four this season. Heatley’s eighth career hat trick came at the expense of goalie Mathieu Garon.
“We wanted to get the puck down low and use our size and speed,” Heatley said. “Once we’re down there, we have a lot of skill, a lot of size.”
San Jose continues the three-game homestand Saturday against Minnesota, then Monday opposite the Phoenix Coyotes.
