San Jose drops to 1-4-1-0 for last place in Pacific Division
with 2-0 home loss to Anaheim
SAN JOSE – The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim snapped a five-game winless streak to start the 2003-4 season by blanking the fading San Jose Sharks 2-0 before an audience of 14,362 diehards at HP Pavilion.
The loss left the 1-4-1-0 Sharks with three points and a share of the basement in the Western Conference. San Jose finishes a five-game homestand against Chicago Thursday and Phoenix Saturday before embarking on a seven-game road trip.
“We can’t say it’s bad luck, we have one goal in the last three games,” said San Jose captain Mike Ricci. “You have to make your own breaks.”
Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov posted 25 saves but could not stop shots by Sandis Ozolinsh and Petr Sykora in the first period.
“You’re trying so hard to score, you let your guard down when you don’t have the puck,” said coach Ron Wilson of the second scoreless effort in the past three games. “We did that, and that’s a fatal mistake against a team like Anaheim.”
“We got over thirty shots, so we’re shooting the puck but it’s not going in right now,” added Vincent Damphousse. “Give them credit, they played a pretty solid game. We’re not as sharp as we want to be. In every aspect of the game, we have to improve.”
Anaheim goalie Martin Gerber posted his second shut-out in 24 NHL appearances.
Ozolinsh, the former Shark, opened the scoring at the 14:32 mark of the first period when he collected the centering pass of Sergei Fedorov and slipped the puck inside the left post. Sharks defenseman Tom Preissing was in a battle with Fedorov, who was able to steer the puck into the slot as Ozolinsh beat defenseman Kyle McLaren to the arriving puck.
McLaren was also on the ice for the second Ducks goal. Anaheim center Andy McDonald controlled the puck in the right corner of the offensive zone, then whipped a pass to Sykora. The Ducks winger had inside position on McLaren and one-timed a shot past Nabokov.
Scott Thornton led the San Jose offense with five shots on net. Brad Stuart, making his first appearance because of a shoulder injury, logged a team-high 24:06.
