SJ Sharks vs. NY Rangers - 11/2/06

Shawnna and I went to the game after feasting at the Sonoma Chicken Coop - good food, big portions, decent prices - Inexpensive Excellence :) It was a rainy, drab night which was an indicator of things to come.

The Sharks were home after a 5 game road trip and the Rangers were playing for the 2nd consecutive night after beating the Ducks in overtime on Wednesday. Needless to say, both teams looked tired and sluggish during the game. The Sharks seemed to dominate the first period, finishing with a 9-4 shot advantage. However, the Rangers final shot of the period was a breakaway goal by Matt Cullen with .7 seconds left on the clock. Not a good way to end the period.

The second period was more of the same. The Sharks dominated in every way except where it counts. Despite a 12-9 shot advantage, the Rangers got the only goal of the period as Martin Straka knocked in a rebound to put the Rangers up 2-0. By the third period, the crowd seemed to literally be asleep and the players weren't far behind. Nothing happened of note until 2.5 minutes left in the game when Kyle McLaren fired a long shot that made its way past Kevin Weekes for the Sharks only goal of the game. After the goal went in, there was a delay of about 5 seconds before the crowd started to cheer - very strange. After that, the Sharks finally seemed to have a fire in their belly and had a couple of great chances to tie it up, but Weekes was too strong in net. The game ended after Brendan Shanahan threw the puck down the ice to clear the zone and it went in the Sharks empty net with 3.6 seconds left giving the Rangers a 3-1 victory.

Overall, it was a pretty boring game and the Sharks power play (the best in the NHL) looked horrible as they went 0 for 5 with the man advantage. It was good to see Jaromir Jagr who, despite not getting on the scoreboard, is a threat anytime he touches the puck and had 3 good shots that were stopped by Nabokov. Next up are the Penguins where the Sharks will have their hands full with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin who are on their way to being the next superstars. The Sharks better wake up or it's going to be another long season.

Score: L 3-1
1st Period
Rangers - Matt Cullen (Petr Prucha, Brendan Shanahan)
2nd Period
Rangers - Martin Straka (Michael Nylander, Fedor Tyutin)
3rd Period
SJ - Kyle McLaren (Mike Grier)
Rangers - Brendan Shanahan(EN) (unassisted)

SJ SOG: 30
Rangers SOG: 19
Winning Goalie: Kevin Weekes
Losing Goalie: Evgeni Nabokov

Tickets: Section 219 Row 5