2001–02 San Jose Sharks season

The 2001–02 San Jose Sharks season was the club's 11th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sharks once again set franchise records for points (99) and wins (44) in a season. Most notably, the team won the Pacific Division for the first time in franchise history. Consequently, the Sharks clinched a playoff berth for the fifth consecutive season.

2001–02 San Jose Sharks
Pacific Division champions
Division	1st Pacific
Conference	3rd Western
2001–02 record	44-27-8-3
Goals for	248
Goals against	199
Team information
General Manager	Dean Lombardi
Coach	Darryl Sutter
Captain	Owen Nolan
Arena	HP Pavilion
Team leaders
Goals	Teemu Selanne (29)
Assists	Owen Nolan (43)
Points	Owen Nolan (66)
Penalty minutes	Bryan Marchment (178)
Wins	Evgeni Nabokov (37)
Goals against average	Vesa Toskala (0.00)

In Darryl Sutter's fifth year as head coach, the Sharks took a massive step forward. For the first time, the team boasted offensive depth in spades, as six forwards (Owen Nolan, Teemu Selanne, Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Scott Thornton and Vincent Damphousse) finished the season with at least 20 goals, while another two (Mike Ricci and Adam Graves) finished with at least 17. While the Sharks' defense nominally regressed from one year earlier, it remained one of the Western Conference's top units; the play of Brad Stuart, Bryan Marchment, Gary Suter and Mike Rathje proved more than adequate during the regular season. The Sharks also benefited from the strong goaltending of starter Evgeni Nabokov and backup Miikka Kiprusoff. Regular season highlights included a 10–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets (March 30, 2002) and Patrick Marleau's first career hat trick (April 6, 2002). Evgeni Nabokov also became the first goaltender in franchise history (and seventh in NHL history) to score a goal with an empty-net tally against the Vancouver Canucks on March 10. On April 12, the Sharks clinched the Pacific Division title following a Los Angeles Kings loss to the Canucks. In winning the division, the Sharks also clinched home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

In the first round of the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, the third-seeded Sharks faced the sixth-seeded Phoenix Coyotes. The teams split the first two games in San Jose. From there, however, the Sharks closed the series out with a trio of convincing victories. In the second round, the team faced eventual Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy and the defending champion Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks took successive series leads of 1–0, 2–1 and 3–2 against the favored Avalanche. However, each time Colorado managed to re-tie the series. In Game 6, which was briefly interrupted by a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, the Sharks took the Avalanche to overtime. However, a goal by Peter Forsberg forced a deciding seventh game in Denver. There, the Avalanche eliminated the Sharks with a hard-fought 1–0 victory. The game is arguably best remembered (amongst Sharks fans) for Teemu Selanne missing an open net from close range in the first period.

Offseason

NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	20	Marcel Goc	Center	Germany	Schwenninger Wild Wings (DEL)
4	106	Christian Ehrhoff	Defense	Germany	Duisburg EV (GerObL)
4	107	Dimitri Patzold	Goaltender	Kazakhstan	Kölner Haie (DEL)
5	140	Tomas Plihal	Left Wing	Czechoslovakia	HC Bílí Tygři Liberec (Czech Republic)
6	175	Ryane Clowe	Left Wing	Canada	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
6	182	Tom Cavanagh	Center	United States	Harvard University (NCAA)

Regular season

On March 10, 2002, Evgeni Nabokov became the first netminder in NHL history to score a powerplay goal, doing so against the Vancouver Canucks. He was also the first European goaltender to score a goal.

On March 30, 2002, the Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets at home 10–2.[1] It was the second time in the 2001–02 NHL regular season that a team had scored ten goals in a single game, as the Ottawa Senators had defeated the Washington Capitals on the road 11–5.[2] Further, it was the first time the Sharks had scored ten goals in a regular season game since January 13, 1996, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road 10–8.[3]

Final standings

Pacific Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	3	San Jose Sharks	82	44	27	8	3	248	189	99
2	6	Phoenix Coyotes	82	40	27	9	6	228	210	95
3	7	Los Angeles Kings	82	40	27	11	4	214	190	95
4	10	Dallas Stars	82	36	28	13	5	215	213	90
5	13	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	29	42	8	3	175	198	69

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[4]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	51	17	10	4	251	187	116
2	y – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	45	28	8	1	212	169	99
3	y – San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	44	27	8	3	248	199	99
4	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	43	27	8	4	227	188	98
5	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	41	27	13	1	216	207	96
6	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	40	27	9	6	228	210	95
7	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	40	27	11	4	214	190	95
8	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	42	30	7	3	254	211	94
8.5
9	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	38	28	12	4	205	182	92
10	Dallas Stars	PAC	82	36	28	13	5	215	213	90
11	Calgary Flames	NW	82	32	35	12	3	201	220	79
12	Minnesota Wild	NW	82	26	35	12	9	195	238	73
13	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	29	42	8	3	175	198	69
14	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	28	41	13	0	196	230	69
15	Columbus Blue Jackets	CEN	82	22	47	8	5	164	255	57

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
1	OTL	October 4, 2001	3–4 OT	Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)	Nabokov	0–0–0–1
2	T	October 6, 2001	0–0 OT	Minnesota Wild (2001–02)	Nabokov	0–0–1–1
3	W	October 11, 2001	4–3	Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)	Nabokov	1–0–1–1
4	W	October 13, 2001	3–2	Boston Bruins (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	2–0–1–1
5	T	October 16, 2001	3–3 OT	@ Minnesota Wild(2001–02)	Nabokov	2–0–2–1
6	L	October 18, 2001	1–6	@ New Jersey Devils (2001–02)	Nabokov	2–1–2–1
7	T	October 20, 2001	2–2 OT	@ New York Islanders (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	2–1–3–1
8	W	October 22, 2001	5–1	@ New York Rangers (2001–02)	Nabokov	3–1–3–1
9	L	October 23, 2001	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	3–2–3–1
10	L	October 25, 2001	2–4	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)	Nabokov	3–3–3–1
11	W	October 27, 2001	2–0	Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)	Nabokov	4–3–3–1
12	W	October 31, 2001	4–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)	Nabokov	5–3–3–1
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
13	W	November 1, 2001	5–2	Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)	Nabokov	6–3–3–1
14	W	November 3, 2001	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)	Nabokov	7–3–3–1
15	W	November 6, 2001	4–1	@ St. Louis Blues (2001–02)	Nabokov	8–3–3–1
16	T	November 7, 2001	2–2 OT	@ Dallas Stars (2001–02)	Nabokov	8–3–4–1
17	L	November 9, 2001	2–3	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)	Nabokov	8–4–4–1
18	OTL	November 11, 2001	2–3 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)	Nabokov	8–4–4–2
19	W	November 14, 2001	4–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)	Nabokov	9–4–4–2
20	L	November 15, 2001	3–5	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	9–5–4–2
21	OTL	November 17, 2001	2–3 OT	Dallas Stars (2001–02)	Nabokov	9–5–4–3
22	L	November 21, 2001	0–2	Minnesota Wild (2001–02)	Nabokov	9–6–4–3
23	L	November 24, 2001	1–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)	Nabokov	9–7–4–3
24	W	November 27, 2001	3–2	Nashville Predators (2001–02)	Nabokov	10–7–4–3
25	W	November 29, 2001	5–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)	Nabokov	11–7–4–3
26	W	November 30, 2001	5–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)	Nabokov	12–7–4–3
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
27	T	December 4, 2001	2–2 OT	Calgary Flames (2001–02)	Nabokov	12–7–5–3
28	W	December 6, 2001	3–1	@ Calgary Flames (2001–02)	Nabokov	13–7–5–3
29	W	December 8, 2001	5–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	14–7–5–3
30	W	December 11, 2001	5–4 OT	Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)	Nabokov	15–7–5–3
31	W	December 14, 2001	3–0	@ Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)	Nabokov	16–7–5–3
32	W	December 17, 2001	4–1	@ Dallas Stars (2001–02)	Nabokov	17–7–5–3
33	W	December 19, 2001	4–2	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02)	Nabokov	18–7–5–3
34	L	December 21, 2001	0–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)	Nabokov	18–8–5–3
35	T	December 23, 2001	1–1 OT	@ Nashville Predators (2001–02)	Nabokov	18–8–6–3
36	L	December 26, 2001	1–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)	Nabokov	18–9–6–3
37	L	December 28, 2001	3–5	New York Rangers (2001–02)	Nabokov	18–10–6–3
38	L	December 30, 2001	2–4	Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)	Nabokov	18–11–6–3
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
39	W	January 2, 2002	5–2	Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	19–11–6–3
40	W	January 4, 2002	5–3	Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	20–11–6–3
41	W	January 5, 2002	6–0	Florida Panthers (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	21–11–6–3
42	L	January 8, 2002	2–6	St. Louis Blues (2001–02)	Nabokov	21–12–6–3
43	W	January 9, 2002	6–5	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)	Nabokov	22–12–6–3
44	L	January 12, 2002	2–3	Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	22–13–6–3
45	W	January 15, 2002	1–0 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)	Nabokov	23–13–6–3
46	W	January 17, 2002	3–2	New York Islanders (2001–02)	Nabokov	24–13–6–3
47	L	January 19, 2002	1–3	Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)	Nabokov	24–14–6–3
48	W	January 21, 2002	4–3	Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)	Nabokov	25–14–6–3
49	T	January 23, 2002	2–2 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	25–14–7–3
50	L	January 24, 2002	2–6	@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)	Nabokov	25–15–7–3
51	L	January 27, 2002	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (2001–02)	Nabokov	25–16–7–3
52	L	January 29, 2002	3–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	25–17–7–3
53	W	January 30, 2002	6–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02)	Nabokov	26–17–7–3
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
54	W	February 6, 2002	2–0	Calgary Flames (2001–02)	Nabokov	27–17–7–3
55	W	February 8, 2002	4–2	Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)	Nabokov	28–17–7–3
56	W	February 10, 2002	4–0	Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02)	Nabokov	29–17–7–3
57	W	February 12, 2002	3–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)	Nabokov	30–17–7–3
58	W	February 26, 2002	5–1	@ Nashville Predators (2001–02)	Nabokov	31–17–7–3
59	W	February 28, 2002	5–2	@ Washington Capitals (2001–02)	Nabokov	32–17–7–3
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
60	L	March 1, 2002	2–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	32–18–7–3
61	L	March 3, 2002	1–4	@ Dallas Stars (2001–02)	Nabokov	32–19–7–3
62	L	March 5, 2002	0–2	Nashville Predators (2001–02)	Nabokov	32–20–7–3
63	W	March 7, 2002	5–2	Ottawa Senators (2001–02)	Nabokov	33–20–7–3
64	W	March 9, 2002	2–0	Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	34–20–7–3
65	W	March 10, 2002	7–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (2001–02)	Nabokov	35–20–7–3
66	L	March 13, 2002	0–2	St. Louis Blues (2001–02)	Nabokov	35–21–7–3
67	W	March 15, 2002	5–4	Washington Capitals (2001–02)	Nabokov	36–21–7–3
68	T	March 16, 2002	2–2 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	36–21–8–3
69	L	March 18, 2002	2–3	Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)	Nabokov	36–22–8–3
70	L	March 20, 2002	1–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (2001–02)	Nabokov	36–23–8–3
71	W	March 21, 2002	4–1	@ Calgary Flames (2001–02)	Nabokov	37–23–8–3
72	L	March 23, 2002	0–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)	Nabokov	37–24–8–3
73	W	March 26, 2002	3–2	Dallas Stars (2001–02)	Nabokov	38–24–8–3
74	L	March 28, 2002	2–3	Colorado Avalanche (2001–02)	Nabokov	38–25–8–3
75	W	March 30, 2002	10–2	Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	39–25–8–3
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Decision	Record
76	W	April 2, 2002	3–1	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02)	Nabokov	40–25–8–3
77	W	April 4, 2002	5–2	Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02)	Nabokov	41–25–8–3
78	W	April 6, 2002	6–3	Detroit Red Wings (2001–02)	Nabokov	42–25–8–3
79	L	April 8, 2002	1–3	@ Minnesota Wild (2001–02)	Nabokov	42–26–8–3
80	W	April 10, 2002	5–3	@ Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02)	Nabokov	43–26–8–3
81	L	April 11, 2002	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (2001–02)	Kiprusoff	43–27–8–3
82	W	April 13, 2002	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (2001–02)	Nabokov	44–27–8–3

Playoffs

San José (3) vs. Phoenix (6) Date Away Home OT April 17 Phoenix 1 2 San José April 20 Phoenix 3 1 San José April 22 San José 4 1 Phoenix April 24 San José 2 1 Phoenix April 26 Phoenix 1 4 San José San José wins series 4–1.

Colorado (2) vs. San José (3) Date Away Home OT May 1 San José 6 3 Colorado May 4 San José 2 8 Colorado May 6 Colorado 4 6 San José May 8 Colorado 4 1 San José May 11 San José 5 3 Colorado May 13 Colorado 2 1 San José OT May 15 San Jose 0 1 Colorado Colorado wins series 4–3.

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Owen Nolan RW 75 23 43 66 93 7 8 2 2 Vincent Damphousse C 82 20 38 58 60 8 7 2 4 Teemu Selanne RW 82 29 25 54 40 -11 9 1 8 Mike Ricci C 79 19 34 53 44 9 5 2 0 Patrick Marleau C 79 21 23 44 40 9 3 0 5 Scott Thornton LW 77 26 16 42 116 11 6 0 5 Marco Sturm LW 77 21 20 41 32 23 4 3 5 Niklas Sundstrom RW 73 9 30 39 50 7 0 1 0 Gary Suter D 82 6 27 33 57 13 3 0 1 Adam Graves LW 81 17 14 31 51 11 1 3 1 Brad Stuart D 82 6 23 29 39 13 2 0 2 Matt Bradley RW 54 9 13 22 43 22 0 0 2 Todd Harvey RW/C 69 9 13 22 73 16 0 0 1 Bryan Marchment D 72 2 20 22 178 22 0 0 0 Marcus Ragnarsson D 70 5 15 20 44 4 2 0 3 Jeff Jillson D 48 5 13 18 29 2 3 0 2 Mike Rathje D 52 5 12 17 48 23 4 0 0 Scott Hannan D 75 2 12 14 57 10 0 0 1 Stephane Matteau LW 55 7 4 11 15 4 1 1 0 Alexander Korolyuk LW 32 3 7 10 14 2 0 0 1 Mark Smith C 49 3 3 6 72 -1 0 0 1 Evgeni Nabokov G 67 1 3 4 14 0 1 0 0 Shawn Heins D 17 0 2 2 24 1 0 0 0 Steve Bancroft D 5 0 1 1 2 -2 0 0 0 Mike Craig RW 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Hannes Hyvonen RW 6 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 Miikka Kiprusoff G 20 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 Vesa Toskala G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T/OT GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Evgeni Nabokov 3901 67 37 24 5 149 2.29 7 1818 1669 .918 Miikka Kiprusoff 1037 20 7 6 3 43 2.49 2 508 465 .915 Vesa Toskala 10 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 2 2 1.000 Team: 4948 82 44 30 8 192 2.33 9 2328 2136 .918

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Patrick Marleau C 12 6 5 11 6 3 1 0 3 Mike Ricci C 12 4 6 10 4 6 0 0 1 Owen Nolan RW 12 3 6 9 8 -2 0 0 0 Teemu Selanne RW 12 5 3 8 2 -3 2 0 1 Vincent Damphousse C 12 2 6 8 12 -1 1 0 0 Niklas Sundstrom RW 12 1 6 7 6 3 0 0 0 Scott Thornton LW 12 3 3 6 6 3 0 0 0 Marco Sturm LW 12 3 2 5 2 -1 0 0 0 Adam Graves LW 12 3 1 4 6 -2 0 0 2 Marcus Ragnarsson D 12 1 3 4 12 -1 0 0 0 Mike Rathje D 12 1 3 4 6 5 1 0 0 Gary Suter D 12 0 4 4 8 2 0 0 0 Stephane Matteau LW 10 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 Brad Stuart D 12 0 3 3 8 1 0 0 0 Bryan Marchment D 12 1 1 2 10 -1 0 0 0 Scott Hannan D 12 0 2 2 12 -1 0 0 0 Todd Harvey RW/C 12 0 2 2 12 3 0 0 0 Evgeni Nabokov G 12 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 Matt Bradley RW 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jeff Jillson D 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Miikka Kiprusoff G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Evgeni Nabokov 712 12 7 5 31 2.61 0 322 291 .904 Miikka Kiprusoff 8 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 2 2 1.000 Team: 720 12 7 5 31 2.58 0 324 293 .904

[5]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

References

1. "Columbus Blue Jackets at San Jose Sharks Box Score, March 30, 2002". Hockey-Reference.com. 2002-03-30. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
2. "Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals Box Score, November 13, 2001". Hockey-Reference.com. 2001-11-13. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
3. "San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins Box Score, January 13, 1996". Hockey-Reference.com. 1996-01-13. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
4. "2001-2002 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
5. "2001-02 San Jose Sharks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-24.

External links

• Sharks on Hockey Database