Sharks Defeat Ducks 1-0

After a shootout win the night before against the Kings, the San Jose Sharks had to hop on the next flight down to southern California to face their other interstate rival: the Anaheim Ducks.  The back to back schedule had no effect on the outcome, however, as the Sharks scored the only goal of the game and Evgeni Nabokov stopped all 34 shots for his sixth shutout of the season and second win in two games since coming back from injury.

The game had wide open action throughout, as both teams registered 30 shots on goal.  There was no scoring in the first period, but everyone expected Jody Shelley and George Parros to drop the gloves, and the two fighters did just that.  Parros won the match decisively, but both teams drew energy from the fight and began skating.  Anaheim was controlling most of the offensive flow, however, and outshot the Sharks 12 to 7 in the first.
In the second period, there were several quality chances on both sides of the ice, including two near misses by San Jose that could have scored the game's first goal.  But finally, with a little over a minute left in the period, Travis Moen deflected a Jamie McGinn shot over the shoulder of Jonas Hiller and into the back of the net to give the Sharks the 1-0 lead and eventual win.  San Jose had put together several good offensive shifts beforehand, and eventually the Sharks were able to capitalize.
The third period was a much more open hockey game, as both teams had multiple chances and odd-man rushes, and were constantly skating up and down the ice.  The Ducks pulled Hiller for the extra skater with a minute left in the game, but the Ducks did not register a shot on goal.  Teemu Selanne, the former Shark, had the best chance to tie the game in the third period, as he rang a shot off the crossbar during a power play opportunity.

Travis Moen's second period goal came after 17,000 fans gave him a standing ovation as the Anaheim Ducks gave him a tribute video on the big screen for his services to the franchise that traded him to the Sharks at the deadline.  Nabokov and Hiller took the first and second star awards respectively, as they combined for a total of 63 saves on 64 shots.  The referees were liberal with their calls, but each team had 4 power play opportunities, all of which were killed off.  In the last 3 games, the Sharks have gone 1-19 with the man advantage.  With the win, San Jose moved ahead of Boston in the overall NHL standings, but still remained in second place in the West and the league as Detroit also got a shutout win against Columbus.  St. Louis defeated Minnesota, so the Ducks dropped to 12th place in the Western Conference standings, 3 points out of the 8th seed.  San Jose's next game is Tuesday night against the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona.