Phoenix surprised the Sharks 3-2 Thursday to give Phoenix its
14th win of the season.
San Jose – Phoenix surprised the Sharks 3-2 Thursday to give Phoenix its 14th win of the season.
Yanic Perreault scored on a wrap-around move with 40.l9 seconds left to snap the tie. The game was tied at 2-2 after two periods.
The loss left San Jose with 50 points in second place in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Dallas Stars.
The Coyotes converted their first two power play chances to shock the sold-out HP Pavilion crowd. Phoenix had entered play with the third-worst road power play unit, a 9.9 per cent clip. The Sharks had the second-best home penalty kill statistics with a 92.2 rate.
Form went out the window in the game’s first 23 minutes. When Shark Jonathan Cheechoo was called for tripping at 11:42 of the first period, the Coyotes needed 70 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. Defenseman Zbynek Michalek, the older brother of Shark Milan Michalek, stroked a pass to Oleg Saprykin at the left goalpost for the easy stuff shot past goalie Vesa Toskala.
The Coyotes made it 2-0 at 2:48 of the second period. Mike Grier earned a hooking penalty at 2:20. Phoenix converted when Saprykin’s hard shot from the left dot was kicked back by Toskala. Saprykin’s right skate kept the puck in the slot and teammate Shane Doan positioned and rifled a 10-footer past Toskala.
The Sharks cut the deficit in half when Joe Thornton scored off a feed from behind the Coyote net by Joe Pavelski. Curtis Brown also assisted on the tally at the 10:31 mark of the second period.
Zbynek Michalek was whistled for high-sticking his brother at 12:10 of the second period, but the Sharks could not convert the opportunity.
San Jose turned a power play chance into a tying goal with just 12 seconds left in the extra-man opportunity in the closing seconds of the second period. A Thornton pass to Mark Smith in front of the Coyote crease turned into a Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal from point- blank range when the defenseman’s shot helped the puck scoot past goalie Curtis Joseph.
Thursday’s contest was the 42nd game in which Joseph faced San Jose, The 39-year-old netminder had a 32-7-0-1 mark against the Sharks.
The Sharks complete the 2006 portion of the schedule with games at Phoenix Saturday and Dallas Sunday. The next home date for San Jose is Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings to begin a three-game homestand.
