San Jose 4, Toronto 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 19, 2015
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Referees:
Wes McCauley, Dean Morton
Linesmen:
Steve Miller, Scott Cherrey
Attendance:
18926
By SportsDirect Inc.
Sharks 4, Maple Leafs 1: Logan Couture scored one goal and set up another while Joe Thornton notched two assists to become the 19th player in NHL history to reach 900 as visiting San Jose rolled over Toronto.
Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels also tallied for the Sharks, who moved within five points of third-place Calgary in the Pacific Division. Antti Niemi turned aside 27 shots en route to his 28th victory as San Jose improved to 1-1-0 on its seven-game road trip.
Defenseman Jake Gardiner netted his third goal of the season and first in 46 games for the Maple Leafs, who have been outscored 18-6 during their four-game skid. Jonathan Bernier made 20 of his 38 saves in the first period as Toronto lost for the ninth time in its last 10 meetings with the Sharks.
San Jose opened the scoring 7:02 into the contest, when Chris Tierney circled the net before setting up Hertl on the doorstep after a poor line change by the Maple Leafs. Couture doubled the lead during a power play at 2:06 of the middle session after making a nifty move to his forehand in front, but Gardiner’s shot from the left point found its way into the net at 8:54 to halve the deficit.
The Sharks restored their two-goal lead when Thornton set up Karlsson at 10:19 for his milestone assist. Wingels followed by deflecting Matt Nieto’s shot past Bernier with just six seconds left in the period, and Niemi needed to make only six saves in the final session as San Jose cruised.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Thornton climbed within one assist of Bryan Trottier (901) for 18th place on the all-time list. … Karlsson’s 13th goal of his rookie season was his fourth in the last seven games. … Toronto C Nazem Kadri began serving his four-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Edmonton RW Matt Fraser. … Maple Leafs C Trevor Smith played his 100th NHL game while D Eric Brewer pulled within one of 1,000 contests.
Top Game Performances
| San Jose |
|
Toronto |
|
Logan Couture 2 |
Points |
Jake Gardiner 1 |
|
Logan Couture 1 |
Goals |
Jake Gardiner 1 |
|
Joe Thornton 2 |
Assists |
Leo Komarov 1 |
|
Logan Couture 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Antti Niemi .964 |
Save Percentage |
Jonathan Bernier .905 |
|
Antti Niemi 27 |
Saves |
Jonathan Bernier 38 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| San Jose
|
42 |
4 |
1-5 |
2-2 |
6 |
36 |
| Toronto
|
28 |
1 |
0-2 |
4-5 |
12 |
38 |
Upcoming Games
-
Toronto will play their next game on the road against Ottawa. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .464 after a win and .318 after a loss.
-
San Jose will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Sharks have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .514 after a loss.
For more information, contact us