Iafrate Sparks The Sharks Veteran Defenseman Scores Go-Ahead Goal On Assist From Former Chief
The San Jose Sharks are gambling that Al Iafrate has something left in his surgical knees and his tatooed torso.
The early returns came in Sunday night.
Iafrate is back.
Playing his first game in two years, the veteran defenseman knocked in the game-winning goal - a bomb just out from the wall at the blue line - that keyed a second-period turnabout in the Sharks’ 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League exhibition opener for both.
Injuries to both knees have rendered the 30-year former all-star inactive since May of ‘94, but he wasted no time showing his new teammates, and 8,251 in the Arena, that he can be part of a resurgence in the Shark Tank.
Coming off a horrible 20-55-7 season, the Sharks unveiled a new, no-nonsense look under new coach Al Sims.
The beneficiary of eight summertime player acquisitions, Sims in his debut watched his team turn a 1-0 deficit into a promising jump out of the gate.
“I think we out-worked Vancouver in the second and third periods,” Sims said. “They had trouble staying with us, especially in the second period. All the conditioning we did in camp is paying off. I told the guys they were in better shape than them and they proved it tonight.”
Iafrate, who last belonged to the Boston Bruins, and veteran left wing Tony Granato, late of the Los Angeles Kings, are newly aquired veterans who underscore a commitment to toughness instituted by general manager Dean Lombardi.
Both saw liberal ice time and both were impressive.
So was former Spokane Chiefs star Ray Whitney, who assisted Iafrate on the goal that put San Jose up 2-1.
The teams traded first-period power-play goals, Vancouver’s coming with a two-man advantage. With Granato (boarding) and Iafrate (cross-checking) in the penalty box, the Canucks cashed in on a 5-3 power play when Jim Dowd deflected Mark Wotton’s drive from the right point just 2:15 into the game.
That’s putting specialty teams under intense pressure, but Sims saw some good in the message.
“We want to establish something in front of our goal this year,” said Sims, an assistant at Anaheim the past three seasons. “That was a sore spot on this team last year - a lot of the goals were coming from directly in front of the net - and Al was sending a message right away that you’re not going to stand in front of our goalie this year.
“Most of our D - (Mike) Rathje, Al, Todd Gill - did a good job clearing the net. If we continue to do that, and let our goaltender see the puck, our goaltenders can do the job for us.”
The Sharks evened it 1 at 7:34 of the first with Jeff Friesen deflecting Gill’s slap from the point on the power play.
The Sharks dominated the second period, out-shooting Vancouver 17-4 and assuming control on the powerplay goal by Iafrate and another on the PP by Darren Turcotte.
Vancouver didn’t play their stars, Pavel Bure, Alex Mogilny and Trevor Linden.
“It was nice to see Al come up with a power-play goal in his first game back,” Sims said. “It was a bomb, as usual, from the point. One reason we got Al is his shot - his power-play strength - but he played well all over the ice tonight.
“He was taking the body and his knees have been responding so far. They’ve been fine all camp. We’ve had an extremely hard training camp - a lot of skating, a lot of conditioning - and Al’s made it through every practice.”
Whitney, robbed of a third-period goal when back-up goaltender Mike Fountain somehow got a leg on Whitney’s shot, was impressed with Iafrate’s return.
“It’s not so much the overall picture it’s the little subtle plays he made that make you wonder how he can do them after being off for two years, after surgeries to both knees,” said Whitney, the leading scorer on Spokane’s ‘91 Memorial Cup championship team. “He’s going to be a great addition, I think.”
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