Jonathan Cheechoo completed a hat trick with two goals in a
30-second span of the third period as the San Jose Sharks defeated
the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-2 in front of 16,172 fans at HP
Pavilion at San Jose Tuesday night.
San Jose – Jonathan Cheechoo completed a hat trick with two goals in a 30-second span of the third period as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-2 in front of 16,172 fans at HP Pavilion at San Jose Tuesday night.
The Sharks have won five straight home games and are 7-1 since the Joe Thornton Trade. The win enabled the Sharks to pull even with the Phoenix Coyotes at 34 points in fourth place in the bunched Pacific Division. San Jose faces the Coyotes Thursday night in Arizona before a Friday home date against the co-division leading Los Angeles Kings.
Cheechoo broke open a tight 2-1 contest with his second and third goals of the night early in the third period.
Cheechoo was on the penalty-killing unit when Scott Parker was in the box for a high-stick at 3:01 of the final period. Defenseman Scott Hannan was able to chip the puck down the ice and Cheechoo bounded between two defensemen for an apparent breakaway. When Keith Carney pulled Cheechoo down in the low slot, Cheechoo was given a penalty shot at 4:46. The winger threaded a shot inside the right post past goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the short-handed goal.
“I got into shooting position and waited for the goalie to make the first move,” Cheechoo said of the penalty shot. “He dropped pretty early and I went up top.”
Cheechoo finished a breakaway 30 seconds later, picking off an errant Mighty Ducks pass at the visitor’s blueline before sweeping down the slot to find the net over Giguere’s glove at 5:16 for his team-leading 16th goal. The building staff spent the next several minutes picking up the several dozen hats dropped onto the ice in celebration of Cheechoo’s first career hat trick.
“I knew he would throw it off the boards,” Cheechoo said of the Mighty Ducks turnover. “I was going pretty fast. I knew (a defenseman) was coming up on me so I counter-checked him and kept my balance. (The goal) was almost the same shot as the penalty shot.”
The Mighty Ducks made it 4-2 when Teemu Selanne netted his 17th goal of the season on a power play at 13:18 of the third period.
Both teams scored on a 5-on-3 power play in the first period. The difference in the 20 minutes was Parker’s first goal of the season.
San Jose earned a 5-on-3 power play 1:25 into play when Chris Kunitz was whistled for interference and the Mighty Ducks were called for delay of game on the ensuing face-off.
Cheechoo, the Sharks leader in shots on net, made the Mighty Ducks pay 52 seconds later.Tom Preissing rifled a shot from the left point that bounded off goaltender Giguere and five feet off to the right of the crease. Cheechoo corralled the puck and whipped it inside the post at the 2:17 mark.
Joe Thornton was awarded the secondary assist on the goal, leaving the center with 49 points for the season. Only Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers, with 51 points, sits in front of Thornton in the scoring race.
The power play was two seconds over when Parker solved Giguere at the left post for a 2-0 cushion. Center Mark Smith swept into the left corner of the Ducks zone before offering a soft pass to a streaking Parker for the tap-in behind Giguere at 3:27.
(Smith’s) a heads-up player,” said Parker of the the assist on the go-ahead goal. “He knows where everybody’s at on the ice. I gave him a little yell and he put it on my stick. Fortunately, it went in.”
Anaheim responded with a 5-on-3 tally at the 18-minute mark.
Preissing went to the penalty box at 16:33 of the first on a high-stick infraction. Scott Hannan joined Preissing at 17:08 with a cross-check. The Mighty Ducks needed 52 seconds to hit the scoreboard, Petr Sykora delivering his seventh goal of the season on a shot from the top of the left circle that skimmed off Sharks defenseman Doug Murray.
The Mighty Ducks put up a 12-5 edge in shots on net in the second period. The Sharks wasted one opportunity with 1:50 left in the period when defenseman Christian Ehrhoff whiffed at a loose puck in front of an open net before kicking the puck in, cause for referee Kelly Sutherland to waive off the goal.
