two of San Jose's six consecutive goals and the Sharks took advantage
of New York backup goalie Steve Valiquette in a 7-3 comeback victory
Monday night that snapped the Rangers' seven-game winning streak.
The Sharks got off to a sluggish
start in the first half of the first period, falling behind 2-0. San
Jose got even before the period was over and then scored three more
goals in the second on only 10 shots at Valiquette.
No. 1 netminder Henrik Lundqvist took
over in the third for Valiquette, who allowed five goals on 18 shots.
Lundqvist gave up Ryan Vesce's third NHL goal — second in two games
this season — at 3:46 of the third, and one to Patrick Marleau with
1:55 remaining that completed the scoring.
New York (7-2) hadn't lost since a
season-opening defeat at Pittsburgh, but despite the winning streak
coach John Tortorella expressed concerns about how his club was
playing. The Rangers allowed more than three goals in a game for the
first time this season, and had yielded a total of five in the previous
three victories.
Brad Staubitz and Dany Heatley scored
in the first period for the Sharks (5-3-1), and former Rangers forward
Jed Ortmeyer added a goal in the second before Setoguchi struck twice.
Marleau also had two assists.
Chris Drury and rookie defenseman
Michael Del Zotto staked the Rangers to the early lead against goalie
Evgeni Nabokov, but that quickly became a distant memory. Nabokov gave
up Enver Lisin's goal that made it 6-3 with 2:48 left in the game and
finished with 27 saves.
Setoguchi started the season with a
flourish, posting four goals and five points in San Jose's first four
games. After three consecutive pointless efforts, Setoguchi bounced
back with three goals in two games. He moved into a tie with Marleau
for the team lead with seven goals, one more than Heatley.
The Sharks, three games into a
six-game Eastern trip, cut New York's lead to 2-1 with 7:11 left in the
first on Staubitz's first of the season and tied it on Heatley's
power-play goal at 18:12.
Ortmeyer made it 3-2 by cleaning up a
rebound in front 1:19 into the second, and Setoguchi scored his first
of the game during another man-advantage at 6:05.
The Rangers killed off consecutive penalties to Sean Avery, but couldn't gain any momentum or seriously threaten Nabokov.
Setoguchi pushed the lead to 5-2 by converting Marleau's cross-ice pass past Valiquette with 2:39 left in the second.
It appeared the Rangers were on the
way to their eighth straight win — a streak they haven't matched since
Dec. 27, 1974-Jan. 11, 1975 — when Drury and Del Zotto scored 1:17
apart to give New York a 2-0 lead at 8:34.
Notes
The Rangers gave up more than
one power-play goal for the first time this season. San Jose went 2 for
7 with the advantage. … New York scored on the power play for the
sixth straight game after failing on its first nine chances. … Vesce,
a Lloyd Harbor, N.Y., native, grew up a Rangers fan. … Nabokov has
played in every Sharks game this season, going 5-2-1. … Rangers RW
Marian Gaborik was pointless for the first time.