Kennedy, Marleau lead Sharks past Maple Leafs

Final

Series (Game 1 of 2)

Maple Leafs 1

(22-20-3, 47 pts)

Sharks 3

(24-16-5, 53 pts)

10:30 PM ET, January 15,2015
SAP Center, San Jose, California

	1	2	3	T
TOR	1	0	0	1
SJ	2	0	1	3

J. Braun (Sharks - D): Goals: 0, Assists: 2
P. Marleau (Sharks - C): Goals: 1, Assists: 0
J. Reimer (Maple Leafs - G): Saves: 39, Save Pct.: .951

 

 

 

 

 

Associated Press

Big First Period Lifts Sharks past Maple Leafs

The Sharks scored two goals in the first period and went on to beat the Maple Leafs 3-1.

Tags: NHL, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Tyler Kennedy, Patrick Marleau

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Tyler Kennedy and Patrick Marleau scored goals 15 seconds apart in the first period, and the San Jose Sharks beat the reeling Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Thursday night.
Antti Niemi stopped 24 shots to win his second straight as the Sharks ended a three-game, home-losing streak. Tommy Wingels added an empty-net goal in the last minute.
Roman Polak scored for the Maple Leafs, who lost their third straight and for the sixth time in seven games. Polak's goal was Toronto's first in just over 133 minutes.
James Reimer, who made 39 saves, fell to 1-4 against the Sharks. San Jose won its fourth straight over the Maple Leafs and is 8-1 against them in the past nine meetings.
Kennedy, playing in his second game since returning from an injury, put the Sharks ahead midway through the first period.
Kennedy was all alone on the left side, and Brenden Dillon found him with a pass from the right point.
Kennedy had time to stop the puck and wait as Reimer, who had just made a stick save, dived to the ice. Kennedy flipped it over the goalie to make it 1-0.
Patrick Marleau, who ended a 16-game goal-less streak, scored 15 seconds later on a shot that was cleared out of the net and bounced off Reimer's skates. It was originally ruled no-goal before going to a video review.
The Maple Leafs kept the pressure on the Sharks and broke through with 8:03 remaining in the first period. Polak found a small crease between the goal line and Niemi, deftly sending the puck ricocheting off the goalie's skates and into the net.

Game notes

Maple Leafs F David Booth was unavailable for the game because his nose was broken by an elbow from Anaheim's Sami Vatanen in Toronto's 4-0 loss on Wednesday. Vatanen was fined $3,393.82 by the NHL. ... The Maple Leafs recalled F Matt Frattin from the Toronto Marlies to replace Booth. ... Tomas Hertl received a second start at center after an impressive emergency start in the Sharks' 3-2 win at Arizona on Tuesday. With Andrew Desjardins in San Jose with his wife for the birth of their first child, Hertl switched from the wing. ... The Maple Leafs ended a road-scoring drought of just under 170 minutes. . The Sharks opened a season-high, seven-game homestand. ... Polak ended a season-high, eight-game goal-less streak.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

 

 

 

Photo Wire

San Jose Sharks' Tyler Kennedy celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of an...
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Game Information

Arena: SAP Center Location: San Jose, California

Referees: Brad Meier, Brad Watson Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Don Henderson

Attendance: 17,562 (100.4% full)

Team Stat Comparison

Toronto		San Jose
1	Goals		3
0	Power Play Goals		0
3	Power Play Opportunities		3
0	Shorthanded Goals		0
3	Penalties		3
6	Penalty Minutes		6
25	Shots on Goal		42
25	Hits		25
19	Faceoffs Won		38

Scoring Summary

1st Period			TOR	SJ
8:55		Tyler Kennedy (4) Assists: Brenden Dillon, Justin Braun	0	1
9:06		Patrick Marleau (8) Assists: Matt Nieto, Justin Braun	0	2
11:57		Roman Polak (5) Assists: Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik	1	2
2nd Period			TOR	SJ
No scoring this period			1	2
3rd Period			TOR	SJ
19:15		Tommy Wingels (11) Assists: Tye McGinn, James Sheppard	1	3