Live Blog: Sharks vs. Penguins

This is probably the most anticipated game to date this season, with the defending Stanley Cup Champions are in town. The Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks do battle, even despite the absence of Evgeni Malkin for the Penguins, this game does NOT lack any buzz as the Pavilion is expected to be packed tonight. Let’s not waste time with the pregame stuff, on to the game we go!

First Period

-Evgeni Nabokov and Marc-Andre Fleury in goal tonight, battle between the young and old between the pipes.

-One more note, Joe Pavelski back in the lineup tonight. Everyone glad to see him back.

-Sidney Crosby gets an early two-minute hooking penalty…SHAAAARKS on the power play. Didn’t really see where the hook was on the replay however.

-GOAL!!! Jamie McGinn gets the loose puck in after the first power play goes kaput, and a big start for the Sharks as they strike first.

-Matchup to watch early on, let’s see if Manny Malhotra will shadow Crosby to negate his impact on the offensive end.

-Nearly a mental error by Fleury, and credit the Sharks for being alert. Nearly converted a turnover into a 2-0 lead.

- Another penalty on the Penguins, so the Sharks get a second chance on the power play. Good back and forth action so far, I’m all for exciting hockey.

-Craig Adams called for an elbowing penalty. Hardly anything good comes from using your elbows like that, perhaps the chap will learn eventually.

-First two power plays have not looked very good, Penguins penalty kill unit has taken control with one fewer skater. Something is wrong with this picture.

-Speaking of, Ryane Clowe gets whistled for tripping, and now the Penguins get a chance at the power play. Let’s see if the Sharks penalty kill unit can assert the same dominance.

-First penalty kill for the Sharks a success, and Fleury has avoided a couple misadventures handling the puck. Guy sure likes to live on the edge when he plays.

-Something to think about, when the draft lottery took place before Crosby’s rookie year the two teams with the best chance of landing him were Pittsburgh and Anaheim. Think if it had gone the other way that year.

-Back to the game, Dany Heatley let a sweet shot rip off a one-timer. Too bad it didn’t got into the back of the net. As a whole, the Sharks look a step quicker tonight. Home cookin’ always helps a little bit.

-So far, Sharks have a 10-2 shot advantage in this game. Even may have a physical advantage, as Douglas Murray is surely asserting himself as the enforcer on the blue line. Speaking of blue line, Rob Blake still out as he had a sling on his arm the other night in Detroit.

-While there is a break, a friendly shout-out to Dave Tobener who is being a brave soul sporting his Penguins gear tonight. He has a blog of his own on this network covering the San Francisco Giants, check it out at www.goldengategiants.com. Good stuff on there, even in the off-season.

-Matt Cooke just got a raw deal, as he is called for a roughing penalty after being on the receiving end of a vicious Murray check.

-GOAL!!! Welcome back Joe Pavelski, his first goal of the season and a big one on the power play. Early 2-0 Sharks lead, great start against a great team.

-Now our first bout of fisticuffs between Mike Rupp and Brad Staubitz, wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be and a bit disappointing for entertainment purposes. Pittsburgh just trying to get anything going right now.

-Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda talking about the possibility of Fluery starting for Team Canada in Vancouver in a few months. He’s made some great saves tonight, so there’s something there to give credence to the argument.

-Close call, as there was a loose puck and Crosby in too close of a vicinity to each other. Heads up play by Nabokov early tonight.

-First period ends, and honestly very little to complain about with the first 20 minutes. Controlled the overall tempo and the physical aspect of the game, very good start that needs to happen more often.

Second Period

-First intermission over, time to get back to business. Pavelski and Cooke getting the ever-so-strange double penalty, and Cooke definitely embellished by holding the stick and then falling as if he got hit. ACTING FAIL.

-GOAL!!! Dan Boyle puts one past Fleury after a sweet inside-out move, he is quite the weapon. Now Fleury is done, and Brent Johnson is in the game now. Won’t help Fleury’s chances of starting for Team Canada.

-GOAL!!! Dany Heatley with a quick strike goal off the initial shot by Pavelski. That was all created by a turnover by Crosby trying to get too fancy. He IS human after all.

-The crowd now chanting PIZZA after that fourth goal, a long-standing free pizza promotion for offensive displays like this one. Get those ovens fired up guys.

-Have to give the Sharks credit right now, as they could just easily sit back and milk the clock as much as possible. They keep attacking, forcing Pittsburgh to play a different style than they’re used to.

-Still 4-0 Sharks halfway through the second period, Nabokov playing a gem of a game tonight and he isn’t even facing all that many shots.

-A little statistical nugget, these are two of the more physical teams in the league with the Penguins (2nd) and the Sharks (5th) among the leaders in hits.

-Final five minutes, Sharks maintaining their 4-0 lead and continuing their physical play. Murray nicely shook off a forecheck and ended up sending Ruslan Fedotenko to the ice.

-Focusing on Cooke of the Penguins, and he has had a rough night. Both times he’s gone to the penalty box, the Sharks have scored on the power play. Talk about lettin your guys down.

-Something that just escaped me until now, Bill Guerin back in San Jose after his brief stint. Since that time was pretty forgettable, wonder if any of the fans remember it.

-Second period over, and the fans show their appreciation tonight. This is definitely up there with the “complete” efforts of this season, no better opponent to do it against too.

Third Period

-Early period observation, I continue to be amazed at Sharks fans. Each and every game, they are with the team through every shift until the last buzzer sounds.

-15 minutes left in the game, Sharks still hold an advantage in shots 25-19, but it seems like they are choosing to sit on the lead and see what happens. Playing with three men back to stop Pittsburgh’s transition game.

-Something brought up in the pregame, Todd McLellan is coaching his 100th game in the NHL tonight, and his record so far is pretty darn good. To his credit though, he inherited a pretty good team already.

-Finally, a fight worth watching. Jay McKee roughed up Logan Couture initially, then tried to go after Jody Shelley. Bad idea as he not only lost the fight, but also got a collection of penalties to end his night. He crossed the line between physical play and stupid play, he is now sent to his room for the rest of the night.

-Sharks now have a four-minute power play to add insult to the injury, not that anyone was hurt during that fight. One more chance for the Sharks to put icing on this cake.

-GOAL!!! And there it is, Malhotra tallies his third of the season. That shot was an absolute blur, nice to see the role players get into the act with the scoring.

-Heatley goes into the box, Sharks still had 14 seconds left on that long power play but chances are they wont shed many tears over that infraction.

-Penalty kill was successful, and nearly a 6-0 lead after a 3-on-1 opportunity as Heatley left the box.

-Reaching the final five minutes of the game, and it’s all but a foregone conclusion. They’re previewing the Penguins new arena, and it looks like a beauty. The next time the Sharks are in Pittsburgh, they will be there and it will be quite a sight. In fact, it’s the arena that kept hockey in Pittsburgh.

-Surprise surprise, another fight for Shelley. This time between him and Eric Godard, Shelley looks to be victorious from that as he leaves the ice for the night. The crowd has now started to chant Shelley’s name, amazing how the tough guys are always the fan favorites through thick and thin.

-As the clock hits 00.0 seconds, the Sharks have quite a bit to take away from this game. This could very feasibly be a possible Stanley Cup preview. Nabokov collects his 260th win and 49th shutout of his career, and that was just one of the many highlights tonight.

Thanks for reading and following along tonight, we’ll be sure to do this again very soon. Good night!

Tags: Game Log, Opinion