Jussi Jokinen makes third period game-winner as Carolina Hurricanes edge San Jose Sharks 3-2 -NHL
San Jose was hoping to recover from a disappointing, 6-5, loss to Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime but failed to gain that extra edge in the final minutes as Carolina Hurricanes edged the Sharks, 3-2, on Friday night, February 17, 2012, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
It seems that the Hurricanes have powered up at the right time as they grabbed their second straight victory after sliding past the Montreal Canadiens earlier on Monday. They still sit at number 14 in the Eastern Conference with 55 points, but have the time to change that, which is if they are working towards that or not.
"We need to find a way to win close to all games in this home stretch," Carolina’s, Jussi Jokinen, said. "It's a great start, but we can't think too far ahead."
Jeff Skinner kicked off the scoring with his 16th goal of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season while Justin Faulk took advantage of their first power play opportunity with San Jose’s Jamie McGinn being called for roughing.
After a scoreless second period, San Jose Sharks replied as Dan Boyle and Brent Burns added two straight a few minutes apart, levelling the game and giving the visiting team hope to overcome a distracting previous loss, but Jussi Jokinen’s eighth of the year at 11:55 capped of the match in favour of Carolina.
"I thought we lacked a lot of energy and jump and determination in the first two periods," San Jose coach, Todd McLellan, said. "We didn't win a lot of races to pucks. We didn't establish body position around them. They were bigger and stronger than we were, quite frankly, and all of a sudden in the third period, we found it. ... That desperation has to be there earlier."
Carolina still has a lot of ground to cover if they do not want to see another playoff-less year and will have the chance to grab another two points when they face the New York Islanders on Saturday.
San Jose is comfortable in third but will have a tough match when they travel to Detroit and face-off with Red Wings on Sunday.
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