Sharks coach Todd McLellan got the start he wanted Thursday night and -- more importantly -- the finish.Two goals by Dany Heatley, an insurance tally by Patrick Marleau and netminder Antti Niemi's 26 saves gave San Jose a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at HP Pavilion in a crisply played game that matched the buildup that comes whenever the two teams have met in recent years.The victory extended the Sharks' season-high winning streak to eight games and pulled the Sharks within three points of the second-place Red Wings in the Western Conference standings with each team having 17 games to play. San Jose is 17-2-1 in its past 20 games.
Before the game, McLellan talked as if his biggest concern in preparing his team for the Red Wings was how the Sharks would come out of the gate.
"We'll go back to the last two Detroit games we played, both in their building. The first 10 to 14 minutes both nights we were spectators," McLellan said. "We may as well have bought tickets and watched the game."
The message got through because the Sharks dominated Detroit in the opening 10 minutes, outshooting the Red Wings 12-1 at one point and getting on the scoreboard first when Heatley knocked in a rebound of a shot by Ian White at 3:51 of the first period.
But the Red Wings found their legs as the period went on.
Detroit came close to tying the game at 18:07 while on the power play, but on a shot by Niklas Kronwall that appeared to beat Niemi, the goal was waived off because Johan Franzen made contact with the Sharks netminder.
Just 12 seconds later, however, Detroit did score when Nicklas Lidstrom kept clearing attempts by White and Joe Thornton in the zone, then got the second assist when Tomas Holmstrom deflected a shot by Mike Modano past Niemi.
San Jose regained the lead with a power-play goal of its own at 3:54 of the second period. Thornton won a faceoff, then sent the puck to the right sideboards where Joe Pavelski tracked it down and fired a centering pass that Heatley deftly deflected past MacDonald for goal No. 2.
Despite the 2-1 lead, the Sharks seemed to be on their heels for two-thirds of the middle period and needed Niemi to bail them out. He did just that on a 39-foot slap shot by Justin Abdelkader about six minutes into the second period, then again on a quick 27-foot wrister from the slot by Brad Stuart at 11:20.
But McLellan tinkered with his top two lines, moving Logan Couture between Ryane Clowe and Heatley while putting Patrick Marleau alongside Thornton and Devin Setoguchi.
The move seemed to work as the Sharks regained the edge in play, keeping the puck deep in the Detroit zone for extended periods of time, but failing to add to their lead.
The high pace continued in the third period, but it wasn't until 15:48 that the Sharks had a little breathing room.
The play began when Thornton sent the puck deep in the Detroit zone with Marleau in pursuit. Detroit's rookie goaltender came out to play the puck, but his clearing attempt glanced off Marleau's stick and headed directly into the back of the Red Wing net.
Detroit pulled its goalie with 1:41 left to play, but the Sharks defense held firm. The victory gave San Jose a 3-1 edge in the season series between the teams.
• The Shark who logs the most ice time missed his second consecutive game, as defenseman Dan Boyle was sidelined with an upper body injury suffered Feb. 28 in Pittsburgh.
Boyle, along with injured teammates Scott Nichol and Kent Huskins, did skate Thursday morning with conditioning coordinator Mike Potenza before the morning skate, but none of the three took part in the drills that followed.
The Red Wings were without one of their top defenseman as Brian Rafalski, who had missed the past four games with back spasms. Rafalski was close to returning to action against the Sharks, but went home to Detroit from Los Angeles instead when the problem persisted.
• Left wing Ben Eager returned to the Sharks lineup after missing one game with an upper body injury. That made Brandon Mashinter a healthy scratch.
"We'll go back to the last two Detroit games we played, both in their building. The first 10 to 14 minutes both nights we were spectators," McLellan said. "We may as well have bought tickets and watched the game."
The message got through because the Sharks dominated Detroit in the opening 10 minutes, outshooting the Red Wings 12-1 at one point and getting on the scoreboard first when Heatley knocked in a rebound of a shot by Ian White at 3:51 of the first period.
But the Red Wings found their legs as the period went on.
Detroit came close to tying the game at 18:07 while on the power play, but on a shot by Niklas Kronwall that appeared to beat Niemi, the goal was waived off because Johan Franzen made contact with the Sharks netminder.
Just 12 seconds later, however, Detroit did score when Nicklas Lidstrom kept clearing attempts by White and Joe Thornton in the zone, then got the second assist when Tomas Holmstrom deflected a shot by Mike Modano past Niemi.
San Jose regained the lead with a power-play goal of its own at 3:54 of the second period. Thornton won a faceoff, then sent the puck to the right sideboards where Joe Pavelski tracked it down and fired a centering pass that Heatley deftly deflected past MacDonald for goal No. 2.
Despite the 2-1 lead, the Sharks seemed to be on their heels for two-thirds of the middle period and needed Niemi to bail them out. He did just that on a 39-foot slap shot by Justin Abdelkader about six minutes into the second period, then again on a quick 27-foot wrister from the slot by Brad Stuart at 11:20.
But McLellan tinkered with his top two lines, moving Logan Couture between Ryane Clowe and Heatley while putting Patrick Marleau alongside Thornton and Devin Setoguchi.
The move seemed to work as the Sharks regained the edge in play, keeping the puck deep in the Detroit zone for extended periods of time, but failing to add to their lead.
The high pace continued in the third period, but it wasn't until 15:48 that the Sharks had a little breathing room.
The play began when Thornton sent the puck deep in the Detroit zone with Marleau in pursuit. Detroit's rookie goaltender came out to play the puck, but his clearing attempt glanced off Marleau's stick and headed directly into the back of the Red Wing net.
Detroit pulled its goalie with 1:41 left to play, but the Sharks defense held firm. The victory gave San Jose a 3-1 edge in the season series between the teams.
• The Shark who logs the most ice time missed his second consecutive game, as defenseman Dan Boyle was sidelined with an upper body injury suffered Feb. 28 in Pittsburgh.
Boyle, along with injured teammates Scott Nichol and Kent Huskins, did skate Thursday morning with conditioning coordinator Mike Potenza before the morning skate, but none of the three took part in the drills that followed.
The Red Wings were without one of their top defenseman as Brian Rafalski, who had missed the past four games with back spasms. Rafalski was close to returning to action against the Sharks, but went home to Detroit from Los Angeles instead when the problem persisted.
• Left wing Ben Eager returned to the Sharks lineup after missing one game with an upper body injury. That made Brandon Mashinter a healthy scratch.
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