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7:30 P.M.: Sharks Go For Sweep Of Red Wings In Detroit
(Sports Network) - The San Jose Sharks will try to complete a sweep of the two-time defending Western Conference champions when they visit the Detroit Red Wings for Game 4 tonight at Joe Louis Arena.
The top-seeded Sharks have taken all three games so far in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals and are coming off a thrilling comeback victory in Game 3 at Detroit.
San Jose trailed 3-1 heading into the third period, but wound up winning by a 4-3 count on Patrick Marleau's goal 7:07 into overtime.
In order to reach the conference finals for the fourth straight year, Detroit will have to become just the third team in NHL history to win a series after trailing three games to none. The last time it happened was in 1975, when the New York Islanders charged back to defeat Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals.
Detroit was on the wrong end of the other 3-0 comeback, losing the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals against Toronto.
Meanwhile, the Sharks are trying to sweep a series for the first time in franchise history. The only time San Jose was involved in a series that lasted only four games was when it was swept by Detroit in the 1995 conference semifinals.
San Jose is also attempting to reach the conference finals for the second time in club history. The Sharks lost to Calgary for the right to play in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
Logan Couture's tally tied the score in the latter stages of the third period on Monday, before Joe Thornton -- who also scored along with Devin Setoguchi -- fed a perfect pass to Marleau on a 2-on-1 for the game-winner.
“We found some line combinations that we liked, and we overcame (a deficit) -- it’s very important for our team to keep believing that we can do that,” said San Jose head coach Todd McLellan.
Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves in the victory. Nabokov has a stellar 7-2 record to go with a 2.14 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in the 2010 playoffs.
Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Dan Cleary scored for Detroit in Monday's setback. Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard allowed four goals on 33 shots.
“The reality is that we’ve dug a huge hole for ourselves,” said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. “There’s no sense worrying about anything else but the next game. We will come to practice tomorrow and get our minds right.”
In overtime, a shot by Detroit's Brian Rafalski from above the right circle that missed the net caromed sharply off the rear glass, which set the stage for a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Thornton carried the puck down the right wing side and, from the circle, slid a perfect pass across the low slot for a redirection goal by Marleau from near the left post.
“They missed the net and it became transition hockey the other way,” said Thornton. “I put a lot of steam on that pass, and it was a great play by (Marleau) to put it home.”
It was the first career playoff overtime winning goal for Marleau, who is the all-time points leader in Sharks history for both the regular season and playoffs.
Detroit is just 1-3 on home ice in the playoffs, but the fifth-seeded Red Wings did post a solid 25-10-6 record in the Motor City during the regular season.
San Jose recorded a 24-14-3 road record in 2009-10 and is 3-1 as the visiting club in the postseason.
Detroit and San Jose have met three times previously in the postseason with the Red Wings winning the last two series. The two clubs last met in the 2007 conference semifinals, with Detroit advancing in six games.
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