Sharks Win Rematch, Defeat Ducks 3-2

Less than 24 hours after a humiliating 2-5 home loss, the San Jose Sharks had a rematch against the Anaheim Ducks in Southern California.  The game was tight throughout in the final regular season meeting of the two division rivals, and a late power play goal made the difference as the Sharks evened the home and home series with a 3-2 win in Anaheim.

Similar to their previous matchup, Anaheim scored first early and took control of most of the offensive flow in the game.  On a San Jose power play 5 minutes into the game, Petteri Nokelainen took advantage of an intercepted pass between the Sharks's defensemen, and shot the puck hard on a shorthanded breakaway against Brian Boucher.  Boucher had to sprawl to make the save, but his momentum carried his body and the puck into his own net, and the Ducks took the 1-0 lead.
But early in the second period, the Sharks fought back.  Joe Thorton took the puck off the wall and centered it to the slot for Jeremy Roenick, who one-timed it through Jonas Hiller's legs to tie the game 1-1.  But after Jody Shelley took a retaliation penalty, the Ducks struck quickly on their second power play opportunity, as Corey Perry drove hard to the net and jammed the puck under Boucher's leg to give Anaheim the lead again.  But on San Jose's third power play, Dan Boyle faked a shot and instead threw the puck directly to Joe Pavelski's stick.  Pavelski, who was positioned right in front of Hiller, spun in a circle and threw the puck between Hiller's leg before Hiller could react and the game was once again tied at 2-2.
Late in the third period, San Jose was the beneficiary of the referee calls, as several penalties were called against the Ducks but none against the Sharks.  After Chris Pronger shot the puck over the glass a minute into a penalty, San Jose had a 5 on 3 opportunity.  They did not capitalize before the first penalty expired, but while Pronger was still in the box, Christian Ehrhoff took a quick shot from the point, which Jonathan Cheechoo deflected while he was stationed in front of Hiller, and San Jose took a 3-2 lead.  Anaheim pulled Hiller with a minute and a half left for the man advantage, and San Jose never cleared the puck out after that, but things got really ugly late.  As the final whistle blew, Perry jumped on Boucher and began throwing punches, before finally bringing Boucher down on the ice and kicking him several times with his skates.  Several scrums ensued but no serious injuries occured, and the NHL will undoubtedly review the incident.

With the win, the San Jose Sharks took a 6 point lead over Detroit in the Western Conference standings, but have 1 less game remaining in the season.  With the loss, the Anaheim Ducks remain in 7th place in the conference standings, with 2 points seperating themselves from Nashville and St. Louis, but the Ducks also have 1 less game than both of those teams remaining in the season.  The Sharks extended their franchise record of consecutive games with a power play goal scored to 11.  Dan Boyle picked up his 40th assist of the season on Pavelski's power play goal.  The Sharks had 7 power play opportunities compared to the Ducks's 2.  Brian Boucher started in net in place of Evgeni Nabokov, who wanted to take the day off for some extra rest before the playoffs.  The Anaheim Ducks honored Kent Huskins, who was traded from Anaheim to San Jose at the deadline this year.  Huskins was not dressed for the game, as he was recovering from a broken foot.  San Jose's next game is Tuesday night, as they begin their final homestand against the Colorado Avalanche.