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Boucher stellar in debut as Sharks blank Blues

Sun 2nd, March 2008

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Brian Boucher, picked off an American Hockey League roster by the Sharks at the NHL's trade deadline, came up big in his first game back in the league, stopping 24 shots as San Jose downed the Blues, 2-0.

San Jose signed Boucher, who had been playing for the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Flyers, to a one-year contract on Tuesday. Saturday he came through for his new club, picking up his 14th career shutout in the process.

"It's been a long time since my last game," said Boucher. "Tonight was special and I'm really happy to first of all get a win but secondly to get a shutout is unbelievable."

Joe Pavelski and Mike Grier scored for the Sharks, who won their fifth straight.

Manny Legace let in both goals on 34 shots for the Blues, who lost their sixth in a row.

"It was obviously unacceptable to play this way at home in front of our home crowd," said Blues head coach Andy Murray.

The win was also a milestone for Sharks head coach Ron Wilson. Wilson won his 193rd game as head coach of the Sharks, making him the winningest coach in franchise history.

Pavelski opened the scoring on the power play. Brian Campbell faked the shot from the point and passed to Pavelski at the left dot, who one-timed it past Legace for a 1-0 lead with 3:19 left in the first period.

After a scoreless second, Grier's shorthanded tally deflated the Blues just 58 seconds into the third. A bad pass gave Grier a break, and he lifted a lazy wrister from the right circle. The puck slipped past Legace, though, and San Jose took a two-goal lead with 19:02 left in regulation.

Boucher and the Sharks withstood two late penalties, both resulting in 6-on-4 advantages as the Blues pulled Legace, and held on for the win.

Game Notes

Wilson's record is 193-132-43 as Sharks head coach. He topped Darryl Sutter for the top mark in San Jose history. His .583 winning percentage is also tops in Sharks history...San Jose improved to 22-8-3 on the road, moving one win ahead of Detroit for the most as a visitor in the league this season.

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