Dan and I went to the game and were ready to see what the hype surrounding Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin was all about. The arena was packed and there was a huge line outside waiting to see if any extra tickets went on sale. The buzz was electric as the game began.
The first period began on a sour note as Jonathan Cheechoo was ejected 1 minute in when he ran Mark Eaton into the boards and was called for boarding and a game misconduct. That set the tone for the entire period as the teams rarely played 5 on 5 while 10 penalties were called. Even with all of the power plays, nobody scored and the period ended with each team totaling 8 shots on goal.
The second period started much better when Kyle McLaren scored on a Joe Thornton rebound to put the Sharks up 1-0. Six minutes later, Pittsburgh tied it up on Michel Oullet's breakaway goal and the game was on. Just two minutes later, Matt Carle scored on the power play and the period ended with the Sharks up 2-1.
The Sharks started the third period with a bang as Mike Grier scored 33 second in, but Dominic Moore answered for the Penguins 1 minute later to keep it a 1 goal game. The rest of the game was a nail biter as the Penguins kept Crosby and Malkin on the ice as much as possible to try to tie it up. With 1 minute left, they pulled their goalie for an extra attacker to put the pressure on the Sharks. Toskala held strong in net and didn't allow anything get by during the final push and the Sharks won 3-2.
In the end, the Sharks held Crosby shotless and Malkin, while taking 3 shots on goal, was held scoreless for the first time in his 7 game career (he was trying to set a record for the most consecutive games with a goal to start a career). Joe Thornton had three assists and the Sharks looked much better than they did against the Rangers on Thursday. All in all, it was a fun game to attend, the crowd had a ton of energy and it was nice to see the Sharks back on track.
Score: W 3-2
1st Period
None
2nd Period
SJ - Kyle McLaren (Joe Thornton, Patrick Rissmiller)
Penguins - Michel Ouellet (Josef Melichar)
SJ - Matt Carle(PP) (Milan Michalek, Joe Thornton)
3rd Period
SJ - Mike Grier (Joe Thornton, Kyle McLaren)
Penguins - Dominic Moore (John LeClair, Michel Ouellet)
SJ SOG: 34
Penguins SOG: 27
Winning Goalie: Vesa Toskala
Losing Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury
Tickets: Section 223 Row 3
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