• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Clowe, Sharks beat Devils in shootout

Oct 22, 2011 - 3:29 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - Ryane Clowe scored the game-winning goal in the final round of the shootout, sending the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils from Prudential Center.

Clowe moved in slowly, deked and backhanded one past Johan Hedberg to the glove side for the deciding tally.

Clowe also added a goal and an assist in regulation, while Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton -- who played in his 1,000th career game -- scored the other goals. Antti Niemi made 16 saves for the Sharks, who snapped a three-game skid.

"It was nice to see us finally score with some opportunities," Clowe said. "It took the whole game, but we needed those two points."

Patrik Elias, Zach Parise and David Clarkson found the back of the net for the Devils, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Hedberg stopped 38 of the 41 shots he faced for New Jersey.

With the game tied at two, New Jersey went ahead at 13:18 of the final period when Mattias Tedenby chased down a loose puck in the left corner and found Clarkson completely unchecked in front and the gritty winger took his time to settle the puck before sliding it in behind Niemi for a 3-2 lead.

But the Sharks came back to tie with Niemi pulled and the extra man on the ice. Pavelski picked up a loose puck amid a mad scramble in front and quickly deposited it into the top right corner of the net to knot it at three with just 33 seconds remaining in regulation.

New Jersey opened the scoring with a power play tally at 13:53 of the first period, thanks to a roughing minor called on Sharks enforcer Douglas Murray. With the man-advantage, Ilya Kovalchuk picked off a clearing attempt on the left half-wall and moved to the circle before sliding a perfect cross-ice pass to Elias all alone in the right circle. The winger patiently waited for Niemi to go down before roofing it to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Just 36 seconds into the second stanza, New Jersey made it 2-0 when Parise intercepted a pass at his own blue line while on the penalty kill and was off to the races on a breakaway. The Devils captain was taken down from behind by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns and awarded a penalty shot on the play.

On the penalty shot, Parise made a quick deke to his backhand and slid it through the five-hole of Niemi for a shorthanded marker and his third tally of the season.

"We had a chance to win tonight, considering how relatively poorly we played," Parise said. "We're going to have to be better. We're definitely going to have to be a lot better than that."

San Jose made it a one-goal game at 15:18 of the second stanza when Thornton accepted a pass off the rush on the right wing from Pavelski and the big center fired a quick snap shot from the top of the right circle through the legs of Hedberg.

Just over a minute later, the Sharks evened the game with pure determination in the offensive zone. San Jose peppered Hedberg with shots before Clowe finally stuffed it home among the numerous bodies in front of the net on a rebound at 16:21 to make it 2-2.

Game Notes

Sharks defenseman Colin White made his return to New Jersey on Friday after spending 11 years on the Devils' blueline...It was Parise's first career penalty shot...Sharks winger Martin Havlat, who was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in the offseason in exchange for Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, made his debut after missing the first four games of season recovering from surgery...San Jose went 0-for-5 with the man advantage, while New Jersey was 1-for-4 on the power play...San Jose continues its six-game road trip with a visit to Boston on Saturday, while the Devils will travel to Pittsburgh to battle the Penguins, also on Saturday.