SAN JOSE
– Ryane Clowe and Joe Thornton each scored on penalty shots as
the San Jose Sharks earned a sixth consecutive victory by
outlasting the Washington Capitals 5-2 Wednesday night at sold-out
HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – Ryane Clowe and Joe Thornton each scored on penalty shots as the San Jose Sharks earned a sixth consecutive victory by outlasting the Washington Capitals 5-2 Wednesday night at sold-out HP Pavilion.
Clowe was in the right place at the right time in the second period and the result was a successful penalty shot at the 16:37 mark.
Teammate Dan Boyle earned time in the penalty box at 14:24 for hooking, but the Sharks captain had an equipment problem, went to the lockerroom and Clowe was sent to the box in his place. When Clowe exited the box two minutes later, he was able to get behind the defense for a breakaway. Capital defenseman Mike Green tripped Clowe near the crease, earning Clowe the penalty shot. The Shark winger lifted a backhander over rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth to give the Sharks a 3-0 advantage.
San Jose joined the New Jersey Devils atop the NHL overall standings with 57 points apiece. The Sharks have a 16-9-1-1 record against the Capitals, including 12 wins in the past 13 meetings.
The Capitals are anchored by a past league MVP in Alex Ovechkin, Number 8. San Jose’s Number 8, Joe Pavelski, out-dueled Ovechkin two goals to one, including the game’s first tally 15:30 into the first period.
Dany Heatley, seventh in the league in scoring entering Wednesday’s competition, fed Pavelski at the bottom of the right circle and the centerman whipped a shot under Neuvirth’s right pad for his eighth goal of the season.
The lead blossomed to two goals 75 seconds later when Torrey Mitchell and Frazer McLaren combined for the goal at the 16:45 mark.
As Capital defenseman Karl Alzner controlled the puck and tried to move toward the Washington net to escape pressure, Mitchell sped around Alzner and pulled the puck back to a trailing McLaren. The resulting shot from the left dot by McLaren tipped off Mitchell and past Neuvirth. Mitchell’s goal was his first point in 14 games this season.
The Capitals failed to solve San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov until 4:54 of the third period when Mike Knuble shoved a loose puck under the netminder off an assist from new Cap Jason Chimera.
San Jose regained the three-goal cushion, 4-1, when Pavelski one-timed a shot past Neuvirth after a Jason Demers cross-ice feed at 7:12.
Thornton was pulled down by defenseman John Erskine at the 8:08 mark. Thornton’s snapshot into the top right corner of the net marked the first time two Shark penalty shots had been successful in one game. The last time an NHL team managed two successful penalty shots in a game was on Feb. 11, 1982 by Vancouver, Thomas Gradin and Ivan Hlinka scoring against Detroit.
Ovechkin capped the scoring at the 12:40 mark when he turned a Nicklas Backstrom face-off win into a slapshot inside the right post for his NHL-pacing 26th goal.
The Sharks had six 2010 Olympians on the ice at one time on several occasions. The top line of Heatley, Thornton and Patrick Marleau, along with Boyle, were tabbed for the Canadian team headed to Vancouver in February. Defenseman Douglas Murray will represent Sweden, Nabokov Russia.
The Sharks play on New Year’s Eve in Phoenix against the Coyotes before returning home Saturday to play the Oilers at 7pm.
