Sharks general manager Doug Wilson says his team has been trying to "repair its game, constantly," this season. Coach Todd McLellan labeled it "looking for their game."
Fixed or found, it was there Thursday against the Predators. And it still almost didn't matter.
San Jose beat Nashville 2-1 in a shootout at the Tank, looking every bit the Western Conference contender against a team that very clearly is.
The Sharks had more shots, scoring chances, face-off wins, hits, takeaways, power plays and got a great game from goalie Antti Niemi, who made 32 saves through overtime, then three more in a shootout. Joe Thornton scored in regulation, and Ryane Clowe had the only goal in the tiebreaker.
It was an important two points in the standings for San Jose, which snapped a three-game home skid and moved into a tie with Calgary for ninth in the West with 80 points, one behind Phoenix and Colorado.
"We're not in the playoffs, and we need points, so that alone is a step in the right direction," McLellan said.
Wilson said, "We've put ourselves in a bad position. But we're capable of getting out of it, capable of playing really good hockey."
Even if the Sharks do that the rest of the way, they're in for a tough, stressful home stretch - unfamiliar territory for a team that has made the playoffs by an average of 16 points over the past seven seasons. Thursday's game was the second in a season-ending 14-game stretch in which all but two games are against teams that came into Thursday with as many points as, or more than, San Jose.
Against teams that good, it won't always matter who plays the better game. It almost didn't Thursday. Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne almost stole a win, stopping 34 shots through overtime, all but one that came off an odd deflection of a Dan Boyle shot that found its way to Thornton's stick on the back door.
The Sharks had a bounty of other chances, including two good ones by Patrick Marleau and a breakaway by Boyle in overtime, but Rinne was always there.
Havlat returns: San Jose winger Martin Havlat returned from a partially torn hamstring that required surgery and had kept him out since Dec. 19 (39 games). Though he has only two goals and 13 assists, the Sharks are 17-7-3 when he's in the lineup, 18-17-7 when he's not. He didn't have any points in his return, but did have two very good scoring opportunities in 18:47 of ice time.
Jake Leonard is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. jleonard@sfchronicle.com
This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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17/12/2007 - 0 Comments
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