"If it weren't for the Swedish national anthem at the start of the game -- and, yes, Douglas Murray said that did pump him up -- the Sharks' 3-2 victory Friday over the Columbus Blue Jackets really wasn't much different from any other season opener. "There's a ton of emotion, and players are often so wound up that they play a little bit sloppy, a little bit reckless," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said, "and then they settle into the game." Rookie Logan Couture settled in as well as anyone, firing a 33-foot wrist shot midway through the third period that took advantage of a screen by Devin Setoguchi for a power-play goal that proved to be the winner. "Seto was right in front of him," Couture said, referring to Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason. "I don't think he even saw it. I think it went low glove." Couture's shot gave Antti Niemi the victory in his first try since signing with the Sharks as a free agent. "I think it's a great thing to get a first win in the first game so you don't have to think about it anymore," said Niemi, who stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced. An early wraparound by Torrey Mitchell and a deflected power-play shot by Joe Thornton at 10:57 of the first period gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead. But the Blue Jackets came back with tallies by Kristian Huselius and R.J. Umberger 15 seconds apart to knot things late in the opening period. That was all the scoring until Couture's heroics, but the game was not without its emotional moments, many involving the five Swedish players on the two teams. Murray, for example, already had drawn a tripping penalty from Derek Dorsett after knocking down the Columbus agitator. Dorsett pursued Murray across the ice, looking for a fight, but Murray would have none of that. Clearly there was some disappointment in the crowd that Murray didn't drop the gloves. It turns out Murray was only following orders from Thornton. "The right place at the right time and, at that point in time, we were going on the power play, and I've been playing on the power play," Murray said. "I heard our captain yelling 'No.' We were up 1-0 and gaining more momentum." The Sharks' other Swedish player, Niclas Wallin, had to explain in two languages why he was called for diving after another Swede, Samuel Pahlsson, tripped him as he was coming from behind the San Jose net early in the third period." Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/sharks/ci_16290138?nclick_check=1
