SAN JOSE
– Dany Heatley’s second hat trick of the season lifted the San
Jose Sharks by the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 at HP Pavilion.
Moving into the NHL lead with 17 goals, Heatley garnered an
even-strength goal, a short-hander and a power play goal as San
Jose remained atop the league with 34 points.
SAN JOSE – Dany Heatley’s second hat trick of the season lifted the San Jose Sharks by the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 at HP Pavilion.
Moving into the NHL lead with 17 goals, Heatley garnered an even-strength goal, a short-hander and a power play goal as San Jose remained atop the league with 34 points.
Joe Thornton recorded four assists to reach 601 helpers for his career.
San Jose plays in Anaheim against the Ducks Saturday night before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night.
While many of the goals Friday night came off lucky bounces off of defenders’ bodies or sticks, Heatley stroked each of his three goals from the edge of the crease.
The Sharks took a 3-2 lead into the third period against the streaking Flyers. The visitors were 7-1 in their past eight games.
Heatley’s short-handed 8:41 into the third pushed the San Jose lead to 4-2. Heatley began the 2-on-1 rush by stealing the puck in the Shark zone and working up ice with Thornton against defenseman Braydon Coburn. Thornton took Heatley’s pass and circled near the right dot before sending a soft pass to the left post for Heatley to deposit into the net.
Philadelphia bounced back with Claude Giroux’s second goal of the game at 9:32. After Flyer Ian Laperriere was whistled for high-sticking at 12:36, all five Shack skaters touched in an eight-second sequence that resulted in Heatley’s third goal. Matrick Marleau won the face-off and pulled the puck to Dan Boyle. Kent Huskins took a Boyle pass and sent the puck to Thornton for a shot on net. Heatley turned the point-blank rebound into the goal between goaltender Ray Emery’s legs at 12:44.
Ryane Clowe completed the scoring by converting a short rebound of a Manny Malhotra shot at 15:22.
Matt Carle, a second-round draft pick of the Sharks in 2003 who was traded away on July 4, 2008, assisted on the game’s first goal for Philadelphia.
The clubs were skating four aside in the first period when Carle collected the puck in the San Jose zone, then took the puck behind the net. Carle passed to Danny Briere near the bottom of the left circle. Briere’s quick shot went into the goal crease and bounded off the back of goaltender Evgeni Nabokov before settling in the net at the 9:16 mark.
San Jose had several strong scoring chances before Malhotra scored at 15:11.
Malhotra, who scored twice in the Sharks’ 4-1 win in Philadelphia on Oct. 25, lined a hard shot from the high slot that glanced off two Flyers and past Emery for Malhotra’s fourth goal of the season.
The Sharks did not need a lucky bounce off a defender to take a 2-1 lead 50 seconds into the second period.
Flyer defenseman Chris Pronger lost control of the puck when he slipped inside the Philadelphia zone. Heatley moved to the puck and sent a pass across the slot to Thornton. Heatley moved to the left post and waited as Thornton sent an accurate pass onto his stick for the stuff shot behind Emery.
More unfortunate bounces left the Sharks in a 2-2 deadlock 11:29 into the second. Giroux cracked a shot from the left circle dot that dropped behind Nabokov before a Shark stick inadvertently poked the puck into the goal.
San Jose took a 3-2 lead with 4.9 seconds left in the second period. Thornton began the scoring play when he controlled the puck along the left boards in the Philadelphia zone. His drop pass to Boyle led to a pass to Marleau at the right circle. Marleau’s one-timer hit Emery’s left glove before dropping onto his left leg pad and then across the goalline.
