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Clowe, Toskala give Sharks revenge over Coyotes

Jan 14, 2007 - 6:33 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks rode the hot hands of Ryan Clowe and Vesa Toskala to exact some revenge against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Clowe recorded his third multi-goal performance in five games and Toskala made 29 saves as the Sharks posted a 4-1 victory over the Coyotes.

Joe Thornton added three assists for San Jose, which has won five of six since a pair of embarrassing losses to Phoenix.

"We wanted this game, there was no doubt about it," Clowe said. "We didn't want to lose this one."

The Coyotes started a seven-game winning streak by completing a home-and-home sweep of the Sharks late last month. They posted a 3-2 victory on December 28 and humiliated the Sharks, 8-0, two days later, handing San Jose its worst loss in over 11 years.

"We wanted to come out with some energy and some jump," said Sharks captain Patrick Marleau, who was named to the Western Conference All-Star team earlier Saturday. "We let ourselves down the last time we were in here, so it was good to come out like that."

With that loss still fresh on their minds, the Sharks dominated on both ends of the ice in this one.

"We didn't really push things. We were guilty of doing some of the same things we did the last time here," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "We weren't skating and we were losing battles in our end, down low and along the boards. (Clowe's second) goal did settle things down.

"We were dictating the pace and the tempo of the game and wanted to forecheck and do some of the things we didn't do the last time in here, and it worked. The second period, they bounced back and we didn't keep our foot on the gas."

The 24-year-old Clowe, who posted the first career two-goal game of his career January 4 against Detroit and followed with a hat trick against Columbus two nights later, opened the scoring 8:07 into the contest with his 10th goal of the season.

"He's got good hands, but more importantly, he's working away from the puck, and that's why we've given him the opportunity," Wilson said. "He competes hard and he's getting rewarded for it."

The left wing then snapped a 1-1 tie with 5:32 left in the second, chopping a deflected pass from the left point by defenseman Doug Murray over the glove of goaltender Curtis Joseph.

"When you're hot, you're hot," Clowe said. "I keep saying that with those guys (Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo), the thing is to get open. On the first goal, Joe made a great play and I just kinda popped out. On the second, Doug Murray made a big play and I kinda popped out.

"For me, every day is a joy playing with these two guys. I'm feeling more comfortable every game, and I'm liking it."

After having to make just one save in the first period, Toskala stopped 17-of-18 shots in the second and all 11 he faced in the third. He has won his last five games, yielding just eight goals over that span, and improved to 7-2-1 lifetime against Phoenix.

Rookie defenseman Matt Carle and Cheechoo tallied in the third period to cap the scoring, with Clowe picking up an assist on Carle's goal.

Captain Shane Doan scored his 14th goal of the season for Phoenix, which had its seven-game run snapped Thursday by Detroit.

"Psychologically, this team has worked hard to get back to where we were in the race," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "We have to regroup tomorrow and have a good skate and a good practice and get ready for Monday.

"I don't have a lot of answers tonight. I'm not disappointed in our effort tonight. Sometimes in this game, you don't understand the end result. In a lot of ways, we played better tonight than we did in the 8-0 win, but that doesn't mean squat if you don't win."

Entering with 34 career wins against San Jose, his highest total against any opponent, Joseph made 16 saves.