Cheechoo's power-play goal lifts Sharks past Red Wings
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Detroit Red Wings seemed plenty
comfortable at the hostile Shark Tank in the first 30 minutes,
skating faster and checking harder than their hosts.
The Sharks finally figured out how to escape their midgame
malaise when coach Ron Wilson shuffled all four of his lines, while
Jonathan Cheechoo redoubled his efforts on his aching knee.
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Thornton • Read more Elias Says. |
And Joe Thornton kept doing exactly what he's done all spring:
patiently make life miserable for San Jose's opponents.
Cheechoo scored a power-play goal with 6:21 to play, and the
Sharks came from behind for a 2-1 victory Monday night in Game 3 of
their second-round series.
"Sometimes it takes half a game to figure out how you're going
to crack the other team," Wilson said.
Though Thornton added only one assist to his team-high 10 points
in the postseason, his fingerprints -- and fist prints, occasionally
-- were all over a gutsy victory by the Sharks, who took a 2-1 lead
in the second-round series.
"Joe sets the tone out there, and we follow him and what he
does," said Cheechoo, who scored in his second straight game after
failing to find the net in the Sharks' first six postseason
contests. "He's physical, he's the hardest worker, and he's a
great passer. We kept working hard, and we got it turned around in
the second part of the game."
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night, with Game
5 back in Joe Louis Arena on Saturday.
Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves in another standout effort for the
Sharks, who jumped ahead in the best-of-seven series in yet another
tight, well-played game between tested playoff foes.
Ryane Clowe scored the tying goal and added an assist on the
winner by Cheechoo, who was injured by a knee-on-knee hit in San
Jose's first playoff game against Nashville. Thornton thought the
game turned when Wilson changed his line combinations, reminding
everybody of the game's importance.
"We play with so many different lines during the regular season
that it doesn't matter who we play with," said Thornton, whose
lengthy shifts left him puffing when he finally got to the bench.
"We had just a couple of good shifts, and when you get two or
three good shifts in a row, it boosts your bench."
Captain Nicklas Lidstrom scored a power-play goal and Dominik
Hasek stopped 25 shots for the top-seeded Red Wings, who
acknowledged they lost the second half of the game by a narrow
margin.
"They got a lot of pressure, and we were almost standing
around," said Lidstrom, who hadn't found the net since the first
two games of the Red Wings' first-round series against Calgary.
"When they get momentum like they did, we have to play stronger
defense. I thought we were guilty of taking penalties. It's tough
to keep our lines going when we're taking a lot of penalties."
The Sharks finally tied it with a rare bit of sustained pressure
with 7½ minutes left in the second period. Thornton cycled the puck
until it got to Matt Carle for a shot, and Clowe then flicked the
rebound into a small space between Hasek's glove and pads for his
fourth goal of a breakout postseason.
"Once they scored, they were better than us at that point,"
Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "They flipped it in and beat us
to the puck, and we turned it over more. It was a flip of the first
30 minutes. That's how I expect this series to go. It's going to
continue to be a battle."
And Thornton just kept wearing away on the Wings. His relentless
pressure forced a Detroit penalty in the third period, and
Kyle McLaren's slap shot rebounded directly to Cheechoo, who held the
puck before he flipped it past a sprawled Hasek.
Nabokov shut out the Red Wings in the series opener, but Detroit
rallied back with two third-period goals in a 3-2 victory in Game 2
on Saturday, snapping San Jose's four-game postseason winning
streak.
Chris Chelios, who played another outstanding defensive game for
the Red Wings, participated in his 237th playoff game, passing
Mark Messier for second place in NHL history. Patrick Roy played in 247
postseason contests.
Game notes
San Jose's power play dropped to 4-for-42 in the postseason
and got booed in the second period. The Sharks led the NHL in the
category for much of the regular season. ... Detroit LW Tomas
Holmstrom didn't make the flight to San Jose while recovering from
a left eye injury that kept him out of the series' first two games.
He could appear in Game 4 if he passes an exam. ... San Jose
replaced LW Mark Bell with rookie C Joe Pavelski, who had appeared
in the Sharks' last four victories. Bell was active in the last two
losses.