Joe Thorton opened the scoring just over three minutes in on a nice set up from Joe Pavelski, who tipped the puck to Thorton cross-crease for the open net tap in.
The Habs tied it up a few minutes later on an unlikely shot from the corner by Brendan Gallagher who caught Martin Jones off guard and slid it between the goalie and his post.
Brendan Gallagher scores one of the easiest goals of his life pic.twitter.com/UJvxWGqfn9
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 1, 2016
Victor Bartley took a tripping penalty midway through the first period that gave the Sharks some momentum. Mike Condon put a stop the Sharks’ buildup by making an incredible save in close right before a commercial time out.
The NHL’s third star of the week had been keeping the game even until just over four minutes remaining in the first period on a perfect set up from Joe Thornton to Joe Pavelski who fired off a one timer rushing into the slot in the middle of three Canadiens‘ players to put the Sharks up 2-1.
The Habs hung in there despite being outskated in the first period. The Sharks out-possessed the Habs by a margin of 24-11 CF. The Habs will have 1:43 of powerplay time to start the second.
Scoring Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:11 | SJ | Joe Thorton (15) – Asst: Joe Pavelski, Justin Braun | 1-0 SJ | |
| 5:26 | MTL | Brendan Gallagher (18) – Asst: Max Pacioretty (22), P.K. Subban (43) | 1-1 |
| 15:55 | SJ | Joe Pavelski (28) – Asst: Joe Thornton (44), Brett Burns (32) | 2-1 SJ |
Penalty Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10:14 | MTL | Victor Bartley Tripping against Melker Karlsson |
| 19:42 | SJ | Paul Martin Interference against Brendan Gallagher |
Shots
| PERIOD | MTL | SJ |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 7 | 13 |
| Total | 7 | 13 |
Team Stats
| CATEGORY | MTL | SJ |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 0/1 | 0/1 |
| Hits | 12 | 8 |
| Faceoff Win % | 63% | 37% |
| Giveaways | 5 | 5 |
| Takeaways | 5 | 2 |
| Blocked Shots | 5 | 1 |
| Penalty Minutes | 12 | 8 |
