The San Jose Sharks silenced the Canucks crowd by scoring three unanswered goals to claim game one in the best of seven series.
The Sharks showed patience and a ton of poise by going into Vancouver as the number six seed and winning game one by the score of 3-1 against a team that many people have picked to be a dark horse to win the Cup.
“I thought the power play early for us really gave us some momentum” were Coach Todd McLellan’s remarks in the post-game press conference.
“It was sharp, it got us going and into the series.”
The Sharks and Canucks traded off the first two periods with each team dominating one of them. The first period saw the Sharks throw fifteen shots at Roberto Luongo with some prime scoring chances and some stellar saves by the Canucks veteran goalie. The Sharks had two power play opportunities and while they looked good with the man advantage they weren’t able to solve Luongo in the opening frame.
“We felt we were the better team in the first, they were the better team in the second” said the third star of the game Dan Boyle afterwards.
“We kept our composure all night and turned our cheek on some of those plays. We kept our heads down and worked and played a good road playoff game.”
The second period belonged to Vancouver as they outshot San Jose 13-6 and it was Antti Niemi’s turn to shine. The Canucks were able to solve Niemi on a scramble play in front of the net when Kevin Bieksa jammed in a loose puck.
The Shark’s Logan Couture scored with the man advantage with three and half minutes remaining in the middle frame and were fortunate to even up the score after the quality chances went to Vancouver.
The third period wasn’t dominated by either team as far as carrying the play went, but the Sharks were able to score the go ahead and insurance goals, and shut down the Canucks offense that pulled Roberto Luongo for the extra attacker with 1:43 remaining in the third period.
The game was a physical one and it had its casualties. Martin Havlat was lost to the Sharks in the first period which meant the lines were changed; this always has an effect on the game plan and the Sharks handled it well.
Both teams were throwing their weight around with some big hits and former Canuck Raffi Torres led the brigade for San Jose. Torres’ snot loosening body checks on the Canucks star players set the pace for the Sharks in the opening period.
At the end of the day the difference in this game was the Shark’s best players were better than the Canuck’s best players. Pavelski, Boyle, and Couture all recorded two points apiece and Patrick Marleau got off the schnied after drying up down the stretch of the regular season and going pointless in last year’s playoffs.
The turning point in game one of the Conference finals was Logan Couture’s goal. When San Jose finally lit the lamp they gained a bunch of confidence and finally figured out how to beat Roberto Luongo.
He is still a world class goalie who has been known to take games over and after the first period it looked as though he may just do that. Tying things up before the second period ended was a boost for the Sharks.
Contenders & Pretenders
Contenders
Logan Couture – was his usual self and made being great look easy which gets you a spot on the Contender’s list. Couture sniped a beautiful power play goal to get the team on the board and momentum back on their side.
Dan Boyle – was great tonight and played the part of an offensive defenseman without forgoing his defensive responsibilities. He scored the game winner and added a helper while quarterbacking the power play.
Joe Pavelski – makes the list Wednesday night for keeping the puck in at the blue line on the game winning goal. The Big Pavelski also got an assist on the play as well as another helper on the Shark’s first goal.
Roberto Luongo – kept his team alive in the first period. The Sharks had two power play opportunities in the first and moved the puck well creating some great chances to light the lamp. Lou was the reason the game was still tied after one.
Raffi Torres – makes the list for big hits on anybody in a blue jersey. He didn’t shy away from pounding the Canuck’s stars and showed how tough he is by taking a few shots in the face from sticks and pucks without missing a shift.
Pretenders
Zack Kassian – can take a seat on the Pretender’s list for taking the minor 200 feet from his own net for roughing that led to the Shark’s first goal of the game. San Jose’s power play were very close to scoring on previous chances and to give them another shot at it on a selfish penalty is an element that adds up to a loss.
The Sedins – were nowhere to be found Wednesday night and did little to create a scoring threat especially in the final minutes with the goalie pulled.
The Sharks will have to figure some things out before the puck drops on Friday night personnel wise. The status of Marty Havlat is unknown at this point and if he can’t play it will make Scott Gomez’s availability that much more important. Havlat is known as an injury prone player, therefore it would not be surprising if he is out for a while.
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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