Times wires
Friday, May 20, 2011
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patrick Marleau scored twice in the first period and Antti Niemi made the early lead stand up with 27 saves to get the Sharks back into the Western Conference final with a 4-3 victory over the Canucks in Game 3 on Friday.
Ryane Clowe and Dan Boyle also scored and Joe Thornton had three assists for the Sharks, who trail the series 2-1.
San Jose looked like a different team than the one that was outscored 10-5 in losing the first two games in Vancouver. The Sharks scored three times in the first period and had 15 of the first 16 shots on goal to snap an eight-game losing streak in the conference final, including a sweep last year to Chicago.
The Canucks nearly rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third, thanks to a five-minute boarding call on Jamie McGinn against Aaron Rome that led to power-play goals from Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa to cut San Jose's lead to 4-3 with 3:56 left.
| Sharks | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Canucks | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Sharks | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Canucks | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
First — 1, SJ, Marleau 6 (Thornton, Setoguchi), 3:56 (pp). 2, SJ, Clowe 5 (Boyle, I.White), 8:22 (pp). 3, SJ, Marleau 7 (Thornton), 17:25. Penalties—Lapierre, Van (roughing), 2:03; Ehrhoff, Van, double minor (high-sticking), 6:54.
Second — None. Penalties—Rome, Van (hooking), 3:20; Bieksa, Van (hooking), 6:34; Pavelski, SJ (interference), 7:47; Bieksa, Van (cross-checking), 10:30; Desjardins, SJ (holding stick), 14:27; Thornton, SJ (holding stick), 15:01; Desjardins, SJ (tripping), 16:32.
Third — 4, Vancouver, Burrows 5, 1:09. 5, SJ, Boyle 3 (Marleau, Thornton), 6:46 (pp). 6, Vancouver, Hamhuis 1 (H.Sedin), 13:39 (pp). 7, Vancouver, Bieksa 4 (Raymond, Hansen), 16:04 (pp). Penalties—Kesler, Van (tripping), 5:02; Burrows, Van (tripping), 5:27; Rome, Van (cross-checking), 8:27; McGinn, SJ, major-game misconduct (boarding), 11:22; Lapierre, Van, misconduct, 19:09; Bieksa, Van (hooking), 19:09; Kesler, Van (slashing), 20:00. Shots on Goal—Vancouver 8-13-9—30. SJ 16-14-8—38. Power-play opportunities—Vancouver 2 of 7; SJ 3 of 10. Goalies—Vancouver, Luongo 10-6-0 (38 shots-34 saves). SJ, Niemi 8-7-0 (30-27).
Rangers enforcer died of toxic mix
The death of Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard was an accident, caused by a toxic mix of alcohol and the morphine-like painkiller oxycodone, the Hennepin County (Minn.) Medical Examiner's Office said.
Boogaard, 28, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment May 13. His family released a statement in which it said the wing struggled with pain and addiction, and confirmed newspaper reports he had been involved in the substance abuse program run by the league and the players association.
"After repeated courageous attempts at rehabilitation … Derek had been showing tremendous improvement but was ultimately unable to beat this opponent," the family said.
"Regardless of the cause, Derek's passing is a tragedy," league spokesman Frank Brown said.
The Rangers had no comment.. Boogaard played 22 games for them after signing as a free agent last offseason. He was sidelined for the rest of the season with a concussion and a shoulder problem sustained in a fight with the Senators' Matt Carkner on Dec. 9. His funeral is today in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Thrashers-Winnipeg: Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said it's just "a matter of time" before a deal to move the team to his city is finalized. Katz said he has been in touch with True North Sports and Entertainment, the company negotiating to buy the team and move it, and had been told nothing was official, despite a report otherwise Thursday. The Winnipeg Jets moved to Arizona in 1996. Since then, the city has built an arena — the MTS Centre — and argued it can support a franchise again. Today the Thrashers will still hold in Atlanta their scheduled select-a-seat day for season-ticket holders for next season.