San Jose Sharks Chalk Up Eighth Straight Win
“There wasn’t a lot of emotion in it.”--- Head Coach Todd McLellan

By Barbara Mason 01/02/2010
Bay Area Sports Drive/Raiderdrive.com

Going into the New Year, the Edmonton Oilers were hoping to change the course that they are currently on.  Losing all but one game in their last eight starts, December was truly dismal for the team as they took up residence in the basement of the Western Conference.  The San Jose Sharks on the other hand were looking for their eighth win in a row as they took on the struggling Oilers Saturday night at HP Pavilion.  The Sharks digs differ starkly from Edmonton’s as they currently occupy the penthouse suite atop the Western Conference.  Losing streaks come and go as the Sharks know all too well, but for now everything is going San Jose’s way. 

San Jose took control of the game in the first period scoring two goals for a 2-0 lead.  The Oilers squandered a few scoring chances however it was the Sharks who seemed to gain more and more momentum as the period progressed.  The first score for the Black and Teal was off the stick of #64 Jamie McGinn, his 7^th of the season.  He was assisted by #40 Huskins (12^th assist) and #17 Mitchell (1^st assist).  Goal number two was scored by #30 Doug Murray (2^nd goal of the season), assisted by #21 Nichols (5^th assist) and #59 Staubitz (2^nd assist)) for the 2-0 lead.  It was that first goal that seemed to usher in their second as the Sharks took charge of the game. 

The second period started exactly where the first left off when less than a minute into play #15 Dany Heatley scored his 24th goal of the season assisted by l#19 Joe Thonrton and #12 Patrick Marleau for a 3-0 lead.  At 14:06 Edmonton got on the board with a score by #12 Robert Nilsson (6^th goal of the season) This was followed by an exchange between the Sharks Ryane Clowe  and the Oilers Jason Strudwick that resulted in a five minute penalty for fighting.  It was minutes later that Jody Shelley joined Clowe in the penalty box for hooking.  At 13:32, San Jose’s Patrick Marleau scored his 26^th goal of the season on a 4 on 4 as teammate Joe Pavelski watched from the penalty box.  Marleau was assisted by #19 Joe Thornton (46^th assist) and #3 Doug Murray (7^th assist) for a 4-1 lead. As the period began to wrap up, a bullet by Edmonton was scooped up by San Jose goalie Nabokov. What could have been Edmonton’s second goal of the game was denied.  Nabokov simply shrugged it off, adjusting his gear as he came up with yet another great stop.  Just another day at the office for this guy who is currently being touted as one of the best if not the best goalie in the NHL right now. 

The first half of the third period was a defensive battle with neither team able to put anything on the board. The intensity and emotion that the Sharks usually exhibit was strangely absent. It was a sluggish finish for both teams.  The final score was 4-1 giving San Jose their eighth win in a row. 

“We did a good job in getting that lead,” said Dany Heatley after the game.  “We all are happy with the streak,” he said of their string of wins.  “Every game, we are worried about our game and we know what we are capable of in here and we want to be better each and every night.  It’s nice to get on a streak and keep it going.” 

Rob Blake felt that the team capitalized early on their shots and put Edmonton back on their heels.  “That gave us a little bit of a lead to play with and then they turned it on in the second,” he said.  “Patty’s goal seemed to take us over the edge.  We can still get better.”  The feeling in the locker room these days is of a team that simply wants to get better. 

“Our team was prepared to play early in the game and then the way the night went it probably wasn’t a very fun game to watch,” said Coach Todd McLellan.  “I didn’t think that we were real sharp.  We have to keep our intensity up.  I think the game against Los Angeles on Monday is going to be a little bit different.  We’ll have to be better,” he said.  “It was a strange game.  There wasn’t a lot of emotion in it.  We haven’t played many games like that so it was odd for us.”