SAN JOSE
– Dustin Byfuglien scored the deciding goal with 6:45 left in
the third period Sunday as the Chicago Blackhawks claimed the first
game of the Western Conference Stanley Cup Finals, 2-1 over the
host San Jose Sharks.
SAN JOSE – Dustin Byfuglien scored the deciding goal with 6:45 left in the third period Sunday as the Chicago Blackhawks claimed the first game of the Western Conference Stanley Cup Finals, 2-1 over the host San Jose Sharks.
San Jose has fallen behind in a series this season, trailing Colorado both 1-0 and 2-1 before putting together a six-game winning streak. The Sharks topped Colorado 4-2, then dispatched the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 to reach the conference finals.
The second game is set for 7pm Tuesday before games in Chicago on Friday and Sunday.
Despite not playing for eight days, San Jose was able to fire 45 shots on net against Blackhawk goaltender Antti Niemi. Rookie defenseman Jason Demers scored a power-play goal 11:19 into the first period for a 1-0 Sharks lead.
Chicago, called for five minor penalties while the Sharks avoided the penalty box, had Byfuglien in the box on an interference call at 10:36 of the first period.
The first power play unit needed 43 seconds to generate the first goal of the series. Patrick Marleau hustled to the blueline to keep the puck in the offensive zone, lofting a pass to Demers in the high slot. Demers took two strides to his right and whipped a shot on net that glanced off the shaft of defenseman Duncan Keith’s stick and into the top left corner of the net for the blueliner’s first post-season goal.
Niemi, pacing the post-season in shut-outs with two, finished with 44 saves.
The Blackhawks drew even 7:44 into the second period.
Chicago rushed up-ice on a 3-on-2 break before Keith, on the left wing, dropped the puck back to a trailing Patrick Sharp inside the blueline. As defenseman Douglas Murray moved to cover Troy Brouwer in the low slot, Sharp’s hard shot flew past screened goalie Evgeni Nabokov for the equalizer.
“The second period wasn’t kind to us, especially the first eight, ten, twelve minutes,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan.
“We were a little hesitant, some passes went awry. We ended up spending a lot more time in their zone than we would like.”
After San Jose posted an 18-14 edge in shots on net in the second period, Chicago returned the favor with an 18-14 effort in the third period.
Nabokov made a glove save at 13:11, setting up an offensive zone face-off for the visitors. Although Joe Thornton won the face-off, Chicago center Patrick Kane battled for the puck on the right boards before finding Byfuglien in the slot. As Rob Blake moved forward to cover the shooter, Byfuglien was able to get off a low shot inside the left post for the game-winner.
The Sharks generated a power play for the game’s final 55 seconds when Devin Setoguchi was tripped. After a San Jose time-out and Nabokov pulled for a sixth skater, the Sharks put two shots on net and missed wide with two other shots before time ran out.
Joe Pavelski’s line put 17 shots on net, including six each from Setoguchi and Ryane Clowe.
“We’re on our heels a little bit, but we’ve got to respond,” Pavelski, the team’s leading scorer in post-season, said.
“They did a good job denying the top quality chances,” Chicago coach Joel Quennville said of the Hawk defensive pressure. “Antti made some big saves to complement the PK.
“Only down one in the first period, we probably felt fortunate. I still thought we really got our feet going in that second period and it really represented how we have to play going forward.”
