Lightning Fall to San Jose, 3-0

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Team Looks to Regroup on the Road

The Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up a five game home stand with a 3-0 loss to the potent San Jose Sharks at the St. Pete Times Forum tonight.

The Lightning skated hard, but were unable to generate much sustained offense against one of the better defensive teams in the NHL.

Lightning netminder Mike Smith turned in a spectacular effort in the first period, stopping 16 shots from every possible angle. When the first stanza concluded, thanks to Smith’s work, there was still no goal on the scoreboard.

In the second, the Sharks continued the shot assault on Smith and finally converted, jumping out to a lead at the 7:57 mark when Marcel Goc put a perfect shot from the top of the left face-off circle which eluded Smith. Former Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle was credited with an assist, along with Mike Grier.

The Sharks stretched their advantage to two goals late in the period when Ryane Clowe converted on a power play opportunity with Lightning newcomer Marek Malik in the penalty box for interference. The goal came on the third San Jose power play chance of the period.

Both goaltenders produced a strong game, with Mike Smith making 42 saves on 45 shots, and Brian Boucher gaining his second shutout of the season, shutting down all 22 Lightning shots on net.

San Jose put the topper on the scoring in the last period when Devin Setoguchi, assisted by Joe Thornton and Rob Blake tallied at the 16:28 mark.

Despite the outcome, there were some bright spots for Tampa Bay. Evgeny Artyukhin lead the Lightning effort with five shots on net, and Tampa Bay, paced by Steven Stamkos and Mark Recchi with four apiece, outhit the Sharks 25-12.

The loss concludes Tampa Bay’s five game home stand with a 1-1-3 record. For the Lightning, a road trip is now in order as they seek to regroup with two road games, Tuesday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs and then Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres before returning to the St. Pete Times Forum to face Ottawa on Nov. 1.