by Jerry Feitelberg

Big Win for the Sharks in St.Louis

The San Jose Sharks skated to a big win in St.Louis Tuesday night. The Sharks have had a rough stretch so far in December having won just two of seven games this month. The Sharks controlled the first period but St. Louis came back and had the momentum on their side late in the second period.

The Sharks knew that St.Louis played tougher in the third period but they played well and were able to score a goal to put them ahead 4-2 and they shut the Blues down the rest of the way. Final score 4-2

in favor of San Jose. The scoring summary follows below.

The Sharks played the final game of the regular season against the St.Louis Blues. The Blues have lost just six times prior to the game today in St. Louis but two of those losses were to the Sharks.

Jaroslav Halal in goal for the Blues while Antti Niemi tended the nets for the Sharks.

Joe Pavelski started the scoring when he put the puck in the net on a rebound with 10:22 left to play in the period. For Pavelski it was his13th goal of the year. Martin Havlat got the only assist on the play. The Sharks took a 2-0 lead when Matt Irwin scored on a rebound with 7:26 left. It was Irwin’s first goal of the year. Braun and Marleau assisted on the play. Irwin drove the net and was in position to bang in the rebound. The Sharks out shot the Blues 10-4 in the period.

Thee Sharks took a 3-0 lead with just two minutes played in the second period. Brent Burns scored his ninth goal of the year. Joe Thornton got the primary assist on the play. It was Joe Thornton’s 700th point as a Shark. Tomas Hertl got the second assist on the play. The Blues scored with 4:29 left. The Sharks

turned the puck over in their end and Kevin Shattenkirk capitalized and scored his fourth goal of the year to make it a 3-1 game. The Blues scored again with just 24 seconds left in the period. Both teams had a man in the penalty box and it was four on four when the goal was scored. The second period belonged to the Blues. 3-2 in favor of the Sharks after two periods of play.

The Sharks came back in the third period to take a 4-2 lead. Martin Havlat scored his third goal of the year with help from Justin Braun and Patrick Marleau. The score came at the 8:19 mark of the period.

The Blues tried to come back but the Sharks would not let them score. The Blues had a man advantage

with 2:01 left. It was six on four but the Sharks held them off for the win.

Final score Sharks win 4-2.

Notes- The Sharks have won all three games played against the Blues this year. They will not play again unless they meet in the playoff. The win was the 21st of the year. Their record for the year is 21-7-6 for a total of 48 points. After the game, Coach Todd McLellan said “ a win’s a win. I haven’t seen anybody play a perfect game this year no matter how many we watch. We did let the momentum get away on us,but we needed to take advantage of a team that was tired and beat up. And we did that.”

The Sharks finish the three game road trip Thursday in Los Angeles.