San Jose Prevents Late Game Effort

Rallying behind the San Jose crowd, the Sharks were able to jump out to a 3-0 lead after the first period. It was a start the Sharks desperately needed after being down 2-0 in the series going into Game Three. Head coach Todd McLellan wanted his team to treat Game 3 like it was a game 7, and that they did. The Sharks opened up the game by out shooting the opposition 16 to 8. The onslaught brought on by the Sharks resulted in goals by Patrick Marleau and Ryan Clowe. Marleau capitalized on the powerplay just 3:56 into the first, and then again on a breakaway 17:25 into the first. Separating Marleau's offensive clinic was Ryan Clowe. Clowe managed to convert on a rebound chance off of a Dan Boyle shot from the point. The second period saw relatively no offensive action with Niemi and Luongo on top of their game. Niemi made perhaps the play of the game when he stopped a backdoor chance by Alex Burrows with 4:21 left in the second. Although the third period was highlighted by 3 Vancouver goals, it would not be enough on this night. The Canucks left Game 3 with one lesson; stay out of the box. The Canucks took 11 penalties on the night, which the Sharks used to their advantage. Going into the Western Conference Finals, the Sharks were 7 for 51 on the power play. So far they are 6 for 13 against the Canucks. Henrik Sedin told the Hockey News, "When you give those guys the chances we did, they are going to score." The Canucks are going to need to eliminate the power play opportunities the have given the Sharks if they want to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.