Quick Bite: Sharks snap skid over Canadiens

Martin Jones held down the fort early and late while the Sharks took advantage of some very shaky goaltending to pick up a 3-1 win over Montreal.

San Jose was a bit lucky to exit the first frame with a 1-0 lead, but took advantage of a rough night by Dustin Tokarsky in the first half of the game to go up 3-0. Tokarsky was then pulled for Condon, who didn’t allow another goal the rest of the way.

Jones made 26 saves for the Sharks, who were soundly out-possessed by a very skilled Montreal team. Still, given the current injury status of the team (including Tomas Hertl, who was held out with a lower body injury), the Sharks need to chalk up wins wherever they can find them.

First Period

The Sharks survived an onslaught of shots from the Canadiens but managed to get on the board first. Their third shot of the game came off the stick of Patrick Marleau after receiving a nice pass from Joel Ward.

Second Period

It became quickly evident that Dustin Tokarski wasn’t long for this game. Goals from Joe Pavelski and first-liner Dainius Zubrus chased him from the game in favor of Mike Condon. Zubrus’ tally in particular was a beauty, as he dangled by the crease and increased the Sharks’ lead to three goals.

Montreal got one back late in the second period from Dale Weise, beating Jones on the Canadiens’ 17th try.

Third Period

The Canadiens put on a big push, as expected, to start the frame which was helped on by a great power play that saw Montreal miss the net numerous times. San Jose played smart defensively, and while shelling a little bit still looked for opportunities to go forward and pad its lead. Joel Ward in particular was marvelous, setting up a couple of chances for Patrick Marleau.

Martin Jones made some great saves late to keep the Canadiens off the board, pulling down impressive back to back games.

Sharks Goals (Assists): Patrick Marleau (Joel Ward, Justin Braun), Joe Pavelski (Justin Braun), Dainius Zubrus (Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton)

[Fancy Stats] – [Canadiens Reaction] – [Event Summary] – [PBP Log] – [TOI Log] – [Faceoff Report]

Fear the Fin Three Stars

1. Martin Jones

2. Joe Pavelski

3. Joel Ward