| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Scott Thornton is an unlikely
record-setter for the San Jose Sharks.
|  | | Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov filled in yet again for injured starter Steve Shields, who could not return Sunday. |
Thornton set a San Jose record for scoring when he netted two
goals in a 22-second span and keyed the Sharks' 2-2 tie with the
Vancouver Canucks Sunday night.
Thornton speedy scores eclipsed the previous record of two goals
in 29 seconds by one player, established by Tony Granato on Oct. 6,
1966 in Los Angeles.
"I was surprised. I never, ever thought my role was scoring,"
Thornton said. "Normally, I forecheck hard and battle in the
corners to get the puck out my linemates, but right now those guys
seem to be finding me, and I seem to be in the right spots."
Thornton's second-period goals helped San Jose extend its
unbeaten streak to eight games.
Thornton converted a 2-on-1 pass from Mike Ricci at 6:55 with a
quick wrist shot that beat a diving Felix Potvin high on the stick
side. He added his second at 7:17 after a Vancouver turnover left
Niklas Sundstrom alone behind the net. Thornton converted
Sundstrom's soft pass by one-timing a shot over Potvin's right
shoulder for his sixth goal of the season.
"I kind of had a bad angle on the second goal," said Thornton.
"Sundstrom just made a great play behind the net. He took two guys
with him and feathered a perfect pass to me. I just buried my head
and shot it."
The Sharks, playing their second game in as many nights, looked
content to earn a point. They didn't record a shot in the third
period until 7:12 and finished the period with three shots.
"It is tough playing back-to-back games, but our third period
was our best period," Ron Sutter said. "I thought we did a good
job. We played very well for getting in here at two in the
morning."
Vancouver captain Markus Naslund saw the tie as a missed
opportunity against the tired Sharks.
"The game was there for us to win and it was disappointing to
only come away from this with one point," said Naslund, who opened
the scoring 1:27 into the second period with his ninth goal of the
year.
After Thornton scored twice, Ed Jovanovski tied it at 2 at 8:42
of the second. He pounced on a loose puck just inside the Sharks
zone and beat Nabokov on the glove side with a low wrist shot.
Neither goaltender was very busy. Nabokov stopped 22 of 24 shots
to extend his unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2).
"We had enough chances to get two points, but they played a
pretty solid defensive game," said Marc Crawford. "They looked
like a team that was playing very cautiously and biding their time
to get their chances, especially in the latter half of the game."
Potvin stopped 17 of 19 shots, including a breakaway by Vincent
Damphousse with 40 seconds left in the game.
The Canucks squandered plenty of early opportunities. They
failed to record a shot during three straight power plays in the
first period. Vancouver finished 0-for-4 with the man advantage,
and is now 0-for-9 over the last two games.
"You are going to go through those slumps and I guess we're in
one right now," Jovanovski said. "If you aren't getting shots on
net, you're not going to get any goals, and we've got to get back
to putting the puck on the net."
San Jose, which entered the game tied for 29th in power-play
scoring, finished the night 0-for-2.
Patrick Marleau had a five-game goal scoring streak halted.
Game notes
Vancouver forward Steve Kariya was a healthy scratch for
the third time in five games. The Canucks dressed seven defensemen
and 11 forwards. ...Sharks center Mark Smith, a rookie, is out at
least a week after sustaining a concussion when he was hit from
behind by Carolina s Bates Battaglia during Saturday's game. ...San
Jose defenseman Bobby Dollas played his first game after signing as
a free agent Saturday. Dollas, 35, had a goal and two assists this
season with the Manitoba Moose of the IHL.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Vancouver Clubhouse
Sharks' Smith released from hospital, out at least a week
|
