Sharks shut out Jets in Winnipeg for first time ever

BOX SCORE

WINNIPEGIt was already a day that Logan Couture is never going to forget.

After being chosen to play in his first NHL All-Star game earlier, the 22-year old scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 Sharks victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night in their first-ever visit to the raucous MTS Centre.

It's even more memorable now, as the Sharks won for the fifth time in six games (5-0-1) and are 9-1-4 in their last 14.

Just weird timing, Couture said.

Defenseman Brent Burns did most of the work on what resulted in Coutures team-leading 18th of the season. The defenseman gained the red line, chipped the puck deep into the Jets' zone off of the glass, and blew past Ron Hainsey. Burns was the first to retrieve the loose puck and sent a quick, backhanded tape-to-tape pass to Couture between the circles.

Couture buried a wrist shot past Ondrej Pavelec at 13:36 of the second period, and that was all the Sharks needed.

It feels good to score in this building the first time playing here. The crowd was loud, but we did a great job taking them out of it, Couture said.

It was a play that the Sharks would probably like to see more often from their biggest offseason acquisition in Burns. At least, Couture would.

We were telling him to do that more often, he said. When he gets going like that, hes flying up the wall, and not too many 'D' can skate with him and pivot with him.

Burns admitted afterwards that hes still adjusting at what is almost the midway point of the regular season.

Ive been trying to do it all year, it seems a lot of times it doesnt work out, he said, of jumping up into the offensive zone. Its a different way of playing, and Ive just got to get used to the differences from what I used to have.

Hes a very intelligent offensive player and he has the ability to do that, Todd McLellan said. Im really happy with Burnsies defending right now, the ability to use his big body, stick and size to prevent. Any time we get anything extra from him up front, offensively, were happy.

Brad Winchester gave the Sharks some insurance with a marker at 2:33 of the third period. Andrew Murray found Andrew Desjardins at the side of the net, and Desjardins slapped it towards Pavelec. The rebound bounced out to Winchester on the other side, and he hammered home his fifth goal.

It started off of a forecheck, Winchester said. Guys were in good spots, and it was a good low play by Murray. Desjardins threw it on net, and I was able to find a spot.

Murray, a Manitoba native, was inserted back into the lineup after a two-game absence.

McLellan was displeased with the performance from some of his third and fourth liners in Thursdays 5-4 shootout loss in Minnesota. He didnt mention anyone by name, but Winchester played less than seven minutes in that game.

Suffice it to say, this was the kind of effort the head coach was looking for from his forwards up and down the lineup.

Absolutely. Maybe more importantly, the players that we challenged Wednesday for the lack of preparation and maybe effort in Minnesota, they responded really well tonight, he said.

It was a night where we felt like we had control for basically all the game. There was very little panic in our game, and when youre playing that way youre usually doing a lot of good things. Minute one through minute 60, I liked our night.

It was also a strong showing for goaltender Antti Niemi, who made 24 saves to record his second shutout. Niemi didnt have to make any spectacular saves, though, as the team was excellent in front of him with 19 blocked shots.

I think we played way harder today and focused on the details, Niemi said, comparing the game with the loss to the Wild.

REWIND: Sharks fall to Wild in shootout

In fact, 13 of the Sharks 18 skaters finished with at least one blocked shot.

Up and down the lineup it was good. In the d-zone we protected the front of our net much better, and that was an emphasis that we put on in practice yesterday, Couture said.

McLellan said: Blocked shots, finished checks, faceoffs, loose puck racesthings you need to do to win games, I thought we did a very good job.

That the game was still scoreless when Couture broke through was due in no small part to the Sharks improving penalty kill. San Jose killed off minors to Winchester and Burns before the goal.

Overall, the PK is 28-for-32 in the last 11 games (87.5 percent).

The Sharks had the better of the scoring chances in the first period, thanks primarily to the top line. Joe Thornton, in particular, set up several good chances in the first 20 minutes including one-timers by Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray that were stopped by Pavelec.

Odds and ends: San Jose was 0-for-2 on the power play.The Sharks were in Winnipeg for the first time wince March 20, 1996. The Jets relocated from Atlanta in the offseason.Tommy Wingels and Frazer McLaren were scratched.The Jets fell to 14-7-1 at home, while the Sharks improved to 10-4-3 on the road.Patrick Marleaus six-game point streak ended.The Sharks were a dominant 38-20 in the faceoff circle, including a 12-4 mark by Logan Couture.Torrey Mitchell was credited with a game-high six hits.