SAN
JOSE – Brent Burns followed his assist on a third-period goal with
the clinching goal in the shootout Tuesday as San Jose rallied past
the Calgary Flames 2-1 at sold-out HP Pavilion.
The victory gave
San Jose 57 points, good for third-overall in the Western
Conference. St. Louis and Vancouver each have 60 points.
The Sharks
appeared to record the overtime winner at 3:55 when Justin Braun’s
slapshot from the high slot flew over goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff
and into the netting. The goal was disallowed because Shark Tommy
Wingels was called from interfering with Kiprusoff’s play leading
up to the shot.
The Sharks took
the shootout 2-0. Michal Handzus scored on the second round. After
Antti Niemi denied two Flames shooters, Burns ended the suspense
with a backhander inside the left post. Burns is 2-for-2 lifetime
in shootouts against Kiprusoff.
The Sharks play
host to the Ottawa Senators Thursday at 7:30pm before embarking on
a three-game roadtrip through Western Canada. San Jose plays in
Vancouver Saturday, Edmonton Monday and Calgary Tuesday.
The Los Angeles
Kings, second to San Jose in the Pacific Division, defeated the
Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shootout to reach 55 points. Dallas lost
in a shootout and is third in the division with 50
points.
After a scoreless
first period that netted a combined 10 shots on net, the Flames
broke the tie with one goal in the second period.
Chris Butler
handled the honors for the visitors, whipping a one-timer from the
top of the left circle high over Niemi and under the crossbar at
the 12:07 mark.
Jarome Iginla,
the Flames captain, garnered his 20th assist of the
season when he collected the puck in the right corner of the San
Jose zone before sending the cross-ice feed to Butler. The goal was
Butler’s second of the season and 7th in 202 career NHL
games.
Iginla nearly
added to his statistics with 1:26 left in the second period. Iginla
powered to the front of the crease as Niemi moved to the left post.
The centering pass from the left flank offered an open net for
Iginla, but the puck bounded off the winger’s skate and outside the
left post to leave it a 1-0 game.
Iginla’s assist
left him with 1,043 points in 65th place in the all-time
NHL scoring chart. San Jose captain Joe Thornton is at 66 with
1,037 points after 1,038 career games.
Burns earned his
200th career point when he set up the tying goal 10:44
into the third period.
Burns handled the
puck on the right boards of the Calgary zone before sending it
forward to Torrey Mitchell behind the goal line. Michal Handzus
advanced through the slot, accepted Mitchell’s pass and jammed a
shot on net that left a rebound at the right post. Mitchell
backhanded the puck inside the right post for his fifth goal of the
season.
San
Jose finished with a 31-28 edge in shots on net.
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