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By Barbara Mason
AP photo: Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard makes a second period stick save against the San Jose Sharks at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Saturday night
Coming off a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Penquins on Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks were looking to get back on track as they traveled to Detroit to take on the Red Wings Saturday evening. They faced a hot handed Detroit goaltender in Jimmy Howard who shutout the Sharks 3-0.
There were no goals scored in the first period of the game as a real defensive battle ensued. That drought would come to an end in the second period for Detroit when Gustav Nyquist scored at 4:14 assisted by Jonathan Ericsson for the 1-0 lead. The Red Wings would score again at 15:10, when Nyquist struck again to extend their lead 2-0. This time Nykquist was assisted by Ryan Sproul. Both goals were scored with five men on the ice. Detroit has extremely fast forwards and San Jose had to figure out a way to slow them down if they were going to have any a success in this game
San Jose came painfully close to narrowing the score to one goal when Brent Burns scored with less than a second on the clock. Unfortuantely for the Sharks it was too little too late as the referees waved the goal off. The team knew the goal was too late as they immediately headed off to the locker room to re-group for the third period.
At 6:05 in the third period Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou scored assisted by Thomas Vanek giving the Red Wings an insurmountable lead 3-0. San Jose was on their heels for most of the game unable to defend against the speed of Detroit. There was a constant parade to the penalty box for the Sharks although the Red Wings scored all of their goals at full strength. One thing that can be said is that the Sharks defended the power play to perfection. There were few second chances for San Jose throughout the game and all in all it was a very disappointing evening for the black and teal.
Road games are extremely difficult although the Sharks had the most road wins in the league last year and they made it look easy. Losing games on the road is more of the norm. What San Jose needs most is to get home, get a few practices under their belt to get back on track. They will be back at SAP tuesday night to take on the rival Anaheim Ducks. The puck drops at 7:00.
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