Pevelski, Sharks Rally Past Woeful Leafs
Posted January 13, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Joe Pavelski deflected home the go-ahead goal with 9:39 to play, and the San Jose Sharks rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period for their seventh win in eight games, 3-2 over the miserable Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Craig Rivet tied it for San Jose with a goal during a two-man advantage with 11:29 left as the Sharks scored three times in less than 10 minutes against Vesa Toskala, their longtime teammate.
Joe Thornton had two assists, Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves and captain Patrick Marleau also scored on a power play for the first-place Sharks, who have the NHL’s third-highest point total behind Detroit and Ottawa.
Nik Antropov and Pavel Kubina scored for the Maple Leafs, who wasted two outstanding periods against an elite team, instead sinking further into their nightmare season with their fifth consecutive loss.
Toronto has won just two of its 13 games over the last four weeks, and its ravenous fan base all but expects the imminent departures of coach Paul Maurice or general manager John Ferguson – perhaps both. Even the thousands of Leafs fans at the Shark Tank couldn’t stop their much-loved losers’ third-period collapse.
Nabokov and Toskala, who made 32 saves, rose through the Sharks’ farm system together and shared the starting job in San Jose for much of the last three seasons until the club shipped Toskala to Toronto last summer. Though Toskala was sad to leave California, he wanted to be a full-time starter – as did Nabokov, who has started every game for the Sharks this season.
Toskala played in all three losses on the Leafs’ California road trip despite aggravating his injured groin. He made several stunning saves against the Sharks, but Nabokov picked up his NHL-leading 25th victory to match his win total from last season, when he alternated starts with Toskala.
Despite winning three straight games in San Jose, the Sharks still have one of the NHL’s worst home records at 9-9-4. San Jose’s next two games are on the road, where the Sharks are the league’s best team with 10 consecutive victories.
Wins at Anaheim and Phoenix over the next three days would tie Detroit’s NHL record of 12 straight on the road.
The NHL’s board of governors recently changed its scheduling format to allow all teams to play each other at least once a year, and the logic behind that move was in abundance at the Shark Tank.
Thousands of transplanted Canadians packed the building in blue-and-white jerseys for just the Maple Leafs’ second visit to Silicon Valley since 1998. Mats Sundin’s No. 13 jersey competed with Joe Thornton’s No. 19 teal shirt as the most popular outfit on the concourse.
After the Toronto fans loudly cheered “O Canada,” their team scored in the opening minutes when Nabokov got caught behind his net. Sundin collected the puck and fed Antropov in the slot for his 17th goal. Kubina added a power-play goal early in the second period.
San Jose had little offensive life until Marleau scored on a slap shot that deflected off Toronto defenseman Hal Gill’s stick in the slot early in the third period. Marleau has disappointed coach Ron Wilson this season, scoring just eight goals – including none in the Sharks’ previous seven games.
Rivet’s tying goal went through several players in front, giving the defenseman three goals during a four-game scoring streak. Less than two minutes later, Pavelski adroitly deflected Jonathan Cheechoo’s shot in front with All-Star defenseman Tomas Kaberle hanging on him.
