|
 Following a trade at mid-day, Smith arrived in time to score a
goal and add an assist, helping the San Jose Sharks beat the
Montreal Canadiens 4-0, San Jose's first win on home ice in nine
attempts.
Backup goalie Alex Stalock posted his second shutout of the season
and fourth of his career with 20 saves. Montreal goalie Carey Price,
under siege all night, saw his franchise-record, 10-game road
winning streak end.
"It seemed like we had no energy tonight," Montreal coach Michel
Therrien said. "I thought our team was drained, and it always
happens this time of the season depending on a lot of things, and
tonight was one of those nights for us."
But this night belonged to Smith, the 26-year-old center acquired
from the Blackhawks along with a draft pick in exchange for center
Andrew Desjardins. Smith took the morning skate in Chicago in
anticipation of playing for the Blackhawks on Monday night.
Told after the skate he was traded, Smith raced home, grabbed a
suitcase and a couple suits and headed to the airport. He caught a 2
p.m. CT flight to San Francisco, where with the help of a police
escort, he arrived at the rink at 6:30 p.m. PT. Too late to
participate in the pregame skate, Smith rode a stationary bike and
suited up for the game.
 "I don't think too many guys take a pregame skate half a country
away, land, throw your gear on and have that kind of game," Sharks
coach Todd McLellan said. "That's speaks volumes about Ben's
character."
Smith redirected a wrist shot by defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic past
Montreal goalie Carey Price 6:51 into the game to find the back of
the net for the first time in 29 games.
"It had been a while for me," Smith said. "It was nice to have that
happen, and hopefully that can continue here. Anywhere I can help
this team win some games moving forward is what I'm going to do
every single day."
Center Joe Pavelski's 32nd goal, a power-play strike at 19:13, gave
the hosts a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
In the second period, Smith was at it again, providing the second
assist on defenseman Matt Irwin's sixth goal at 6:28 that made it
3-0.
"You can see his game, I think he fits in well with our team," San
Jose center Tommy Wingels said of Smith. "He's tenacious, he's got a
good skill set. I think he'll complement our team very well."
Instead of sagging and letting the opponent back into the game as
the Sharks had in each of their previous two home outings, the hosts
continued to push and deny the Canadiens any thought of a comeback.
Montreal did not have a power play for the first time this season,
and San Jose outshot the Canadiens 37-20.
[to top of second column] |
"(The Sharks) were sharp tonight, in all areas they were really
sharp and we weren't," Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban said. "We
weren't good enough tonight, and against a team like that, you can't
afford to not be sharp and not be ready to play."
Center Patrick Marleau scored his 15th goal of the season on the
power play at 13:07 of the third period.
All that was left was the suspense of a shutout, and Sharks
defenseman Brent Burns earned a big assist by batting away a diving
shot by Canadiens center David Desharnais just before it crossed the
goal line seven minutes into the final period. The play was
confirmed by video review.
Burns made a diving play in the final seconds to break up a
two-on-one, too.
"That was a helluva play defensively at the end," Stalock said. "To
see a guy lay out like that is pretty cool."
NOTES: San Jose dealt three pending unrestricted free agents, C
Andrew Desjardins (Chicago), RW Tyler Kennedy (New York Islanders)
and C James Sheppard (New York Rangers) in addition to having LW Tye
McGinn (Arizona) claimed off of waivers. San Jose received F Ben
Smith from Chicago along with a 2017 draft pick. The Sharks received
draft picks for Kennedy and Sheppard. ... San Jose recalled rookie C
Chris Tierney from Worcester of the AHL. ... Montreal acquired D
Jeff Petry from Edmonton for a pair of picks, F Brian Flynn from
Buffalo for a pick, and F Torrey Mitchell in a separate deal with
Sabres for a pick and a prospect. ... Petry made his debut with the
Canadiens on Monday, but Flynn and Mitchell planned to meet the team
in Anaheim where Montreal next plays on Wednesday. ... San Jose G
Antti Niemi is expected to start in Vancouver on Tuesday.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
