2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series – San Jose Sharks win 3-2 against Columbus Blue Jackets
The 6th game of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series took place in the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Ericsson Globe Arena, this Friday. The match took place between the home team, Columbus Blue Jackets and the San Jose Sharks. One
of the most awaited matches in the regular season that saw an attendance of 11,000 charismatic NHL fans.
1st Period
Both teams were looking to take the lead early on, resulting in strong attacking plays during the early stages of the match. Neither of the team was as contend on the defence as on scoring.
The home team was cheered when they got possession early on. With the support of the fans and the determination, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired shot at the opposing goal keeper. The San Jose Sharks didn’t have much possession but with their first goal attempt
in the 3rd minute, they were able to net the puck with relative ease. The goal came as a result of Torrey Mitchell 6 feet backhand.
The San Jose Sharks dominated the game from then on and came up with goal attempts frequently. The San Jose Sharks converted another one of the chances into a goal in the 11th minute when Captain Joe Thornton scored from a splendid 54 feet slap
off. The San Jose Sharks were sitting comfortable with 2 goals to their advantage.
There was more to come as the San Jose Shark’s lapse of concentration in defence resulted in their lead cut down to 1 goal in the 17th minute. The San Jose Sharks defence was caught by surprise when Kristian Huselius 22 feet shot went through
the legs of the defender and into the net. What really initiated this was a poor pass in the middle that started the entire move. With the score on 2-1 the Columbus Blue Jackets pushed for another goal before the break and due to their hard work scored once
again in the 18th minute to level the match. The goal scorer was R.J Umberger from 11 feet.
Both teams went into the break with the scores tied at 2-2 and both the team coming up with 10 goal attempts.
2nd Period
The 2nd period saw another 20 minutes of fast and exciting play. Both teams wanted to score but didn’t want to take any chances in doing so. They came up with attacks slowly with no urgency with the backline in their respective halves.
It was more of a battle between the play makers and the defence that saw the defence come up with the occasional slip-ups. The Columbus Blue Jackets could have scored in the 10th minute through Captain Rick Nash but his shot just went wide.
There were many scoring opportunities for both teams but they couldn’t convert these chances. The 2nd period ended with the score all level at 2-2. The Columbus Blue Jacket made 12 goal attempts during the period but couldn’t score. The San Jose
Sharks also managed 14 shots but none found the back of the net.
3rd Period
Before the 3rd period began, with the players on the pitch the crowd went wild and urged their team to score. The Columbus Blue Jackets responded to this with early goal attempts but no goals. As the period reached its 5th minute, Captain
Rick Nash got another scoring chance but when he passed the puck, it was too late for Nikata Filatov to hit the puck.
The San Jose Sharks from this point onwards dominated the proceedings. Not taking any risks, they moved the puck around and check open space. The San Jose Sharks scored in the 11th minute to take the lead through a spectacular Logan Couture shot.
The period and match ended with the score 3-2 in favour of the San Jose Sharks.
"We needed one on the power play," Couture said. "We had a lot of pucks to the net and Mason made some nice saves. It was just a matter of time tonight before we got one. Seto was right in front of him so I don't think he saw it."
The Head Coach of the San Jose Sharks Todd McLellan taking about their goal keeper Anti Niemi said:
"He was a big man in the net," said McLellan, who wouldn't name a starter for Saturday night's rematch.
"There's no doubt about it -- they had a fair number of chances. He fills up a lot of the net and did what he had to do."
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