SAN JOSE
– After taking a 2-0 lead before losing the game for two
consecutive starts, the San Jose Sharks made sure that the early
2-0 lead gained Thursday night would not be squandered against the
visiting Calgary Flames at sold-out HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – After taking a 2-0 lead before losing the game for two consecutive starts, the San Jose Sharks made sure that the early 2-0 lead gained Thursday night would not be squandered against the visiting Calgary Flames at sold-out HP Pavilion.
They doubled it by the end of the first period, bringing a 4-0 lead into the first intermission and easing past the Flames 6-1 to improve to 14-3-1 (worth 29 points) atop the entire NHL.
Joe Pavelski scored one goal and assisted on another within 27 seconds to lift the Sharks to the 2-0 cushion. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton added power play goals in the period, chasing Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff from the nets for the start of the second period.
Christian Ehrhoff picked up his third assist of the game on Milan Michalek’s goal 1:18 into the second period. Ehrhoff is tied for the scoring lead for defensemen with 15 points (2 goals, 13 assists).
San Jose takes a 10-point edge over second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division on a two-game roadtrip. The Sharks test Chicago Sunday and Nashville Monday before returning to HP Pavilion on Saturday Nov. 22 against Washington.
San Jose posted 20 shots on net in the frantic first period, the third period in the past four in which the Sharks have collected at least 20 shots.
Rob Blake’s booming slapshot from the right circle produced a short rebound that Pavelski cleaned up for the 1-0 San Jose edge at 8:04 while on the power play.
Pavelski dished a pass to Michalek on the following San Jose attack. Michalek’s cruise through the left circle ended with a hard shot past Kiprusoff at 8:31.
Another Blake power play shot resulted in a five-foot stuff shot from Marleau at 15:02.
The goal left Marleau tied with Owen Nolan for the San Jose franchise record of 75 power play goals.
San Jose completed a 3-for-3 performance on the power play for the period when Thornton found a rebound of a Devin Setoguchi shot at the edge of the crease for the put-back goal and a 4-0 margin at 17:42.
Michalek’s second goal of the night came at the left post when the winger collected a rebound of an Ehrhoff shot and deposited the puck in the net behind back-up goalie Curtis McElhinney.
The Sharks set a franchise record for assists in one game by defensemen on the team’s goal 3:35 into the third period. Boyle and Blake each earned an assist on Pavelski’s 5-on-3 power-play goal. The total of nine by the blueliners snapped a prior record of eight, reached most recently on Dec. 19, 1995 at Anaheim.
“The D-men got pucks through to the net, there were some second chances,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “That was the most satisfying thing.”
Michael Cammalleri spoiled Brian Boucher’s bid for a third shut-out this season when the Flame snapped a short shot inside the left post at 10:13 of the third on a Calgary power play.
One game after establishing a franchise mark for shots on net with 57 against Nashville, San Jose posted 46 against the Flames. San Jose has established franchise marks of at least 40 shots nine times, at least 45 shots six times.
