Author: Ivan Makarov

Sharks rise to the top continues with a victory over Maple Leafs

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By Ivan Makarov

Having won seven out of the last eight games, San Jose Sharks continued to win on Tuesday day when they hosted the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. The game was never close, with home team winning 6-2 and earning seven out of the possible eight points during the four game home stand.

Sharks outshot the Leafs 48-21, have played in the Leafs zone for most of the game (after going 49-28 in face-offs circle), and put one of the more complete games they have played all season.

“We’ve been good during different times throughout the season,” said Joe Pavelski after the game when asked where this victory ranked among others. “We’ve been playing good at home. This was definitely one of them. We got on them early, and had the puck a lot. It was a solid win.”

Before Sharks got the big lead in the game, they had to endure one of the strangest first periods of the season.

Sharks played the way they usually play this season at home in the first period – dominating the play all over the ice. The shot total ended up being 14-6 in the first period in their favor, but they only went up 2-1 on the scoreboard. It could have been more, but Sharks’ good goal scored by Tommy Wingels was disallowed. The replay showed the puck nowhere near being frozen on the play, and going inside behind Toronto’s goaltender James Reimer, but the referees blew the whistle and after discussing it over, disallowed the goal.

However, Marc Eduard Vlasic and Brent Burns scored more goals that counted. Vlasic blasted a slap shot from near the face off circle after a great pass from Matt Nieto who spotted him open on the play. Brent Burns scored in front of the net assisted by Joe Thornton, and there was a wait between the time he scored and when the goal counted, as refereed discussed it between themselves. With loud boos from the crowd, and having disallowed Wingels’ goal just minutes before, they at last awarded the Sharks with the second goal.

The second period continued much like the first. Sharks had the puck more, they were playing with more desperation and they were creating all the chances. All this advantage resulted in two more goals. Tommy Wingels at last got the goal allowed, scoring his 15th on the season on a deflection from the shot by Justin Braun 6:54 into the period. Joe Pavelski got the Sharks lead to three goals when he scored just over a minute later, assisted by Joe Thornton, making it 4-1. Sharks had the chance to make the score even more in their favor, when they went on 5-on-3 power play towards the end of the second period for more than 90 seconds. But the players failed to produce a single shot during that stretch with 2-men advantage as Toronto killed off those penalties.

“We made adjustment or two between [first and second periods], and talked about using our energy, few more pucks to the net,” said Todd McLellan reflecting on what was the key turning point in the game. “Fortunately, [Toronto] played on their end a little bit longer. We had the short change. A lot of the times in the second period the long change is what’s talked about. When you’re on the offense, you have the short change, and can pin teams in. We were able to that.”

The third period seemed more like a formality at that point for the Sharks, having a three goal lead going into the third period. But they continued to play hard while rolling all four lines, and scoring goals – with Joe Pavelski and Marty Havlat getting on the scoreboard.

Besides the goals, the game also saw four fights, with Andrew Desjardins dropping the gloves twice – once against David Clarkson and the second time against Tim Gleason, while Mike Brown fought Troy Bodie early on in the game. Tommy Wingels earned his first “Gordy Howe” hat trick of the night (goal + assist + fight) in the third period when he fought Joffrey Lupul with three minutes left in the game.

Sharks will next play three games on the road, visiting Columbus, New York and Rhode Island before they return back to San Jose.

Sharks come back to beat the Penguins

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By Ivan Makarov

After losing to an Eastern Conference outsider Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at home, San Jose Sharks had a high mountain to climb against East’ top team Pittsburgh Penguins, who made a rare appearances at the SAP Center, where they were winless in the last 10 visits. Sharks made the best of their chances, and beat the Penguins 5-3 in what turned out to be one of the best games of the season.

It really felt like a playoffs atmosphere. Some of the best players in the game were on the ice on San Jose. The fans were loud. Both teams played hard and well. There were big hits and back and forth goals. The game had it all.

Sharks like to start well and get on board early when playing at home, attacking in waves, and taking home ice advantage. They did the opposite of that against the Penguins as the game began, allowing the visiting team to take 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

San Jose looked sloppy in the beginning, and when they do it against the offense that Pittsburg has, it can be costly. Olli Maatta scored the first goal in the game on a rebound near the crease after Tanner Glass took the shot and Antti Niemi was unable to control it.

Shortly after, Brent Burns took a roughing penalty, giving the visitors their first power play of the game. Penguins have the best power play in the league, and they capitalized right away, with Chris Kunitz scoring his 29th goal of the season on a pass from Evgeni Malkin.

Sharks did not get discouraged, and instead switched the game to the very physical one, taking advantage of its size and speed. That worked in their favor, as Penguins started to lose the puck more, and could not keep up with the fast transition game the Sharks were succeeding in.

“I thought that’s as physical as we’ve played in a while,” said Sharks coach Todd McLellan after the game. “We were really engaged. And it’s not about running out of position and big hits. It’s about body position, playing on the inside, knocking people off 50-50 pucks, playing around the opposition’s net, even in front of the net. It’s nice to get rewarded for that type of effort.”

The key turning point in the game came towards the end of the second period. Still down 2-0, Justin Braun was credited with a goal after he shot the puck into the scrum in front of Penguins goal, as it went in off someone’s body. The goal was originally recorded to Adam Burrish, but the replays showed that he did not touch the puck before it went in.

Early in the third, Sharks were shorthanded when Patrick Marleau broke through and only had Evgeni Malkin to beat before getting a breakaway chance. Marleau tried but failed, only to be in the exact same position just second later – again just Malkin separating him from Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff. This time Marleau succeeded and scored on a breakaway, which allowed the Sharks to tie the game at 2-2.

Only 19 seconds later Maatta scored another goal to give Penguins a lead. But it was short lived when Brent Burns tied the game again on the next shift on a pass by Joe Pavelski who found him all alone in front of the goal.

Sharks continued to press and hit all throughout the ice, and scored two more goals to seal the victory. Joe Thornton made it 4-3 when he scored a strange goal on a wrist shot from above the face-off circle as the puck took an odd trajectory towards the net. Brent Burns scored the last goal in the game on an empty net with just three seconds remaining.

“They were physical, and we did not get a lot of offensive zone time,” said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (who was -5 on the night) after the game. “They get speed through the neutral zone and they are able to create things with the speed and size that they have. We didn’t play enough in their end.”

Sharks made a good rebound against the Penguins and will look to build on that victory on Saturday when they host Montreal Canadians.

Sharks fall short against Hurricanes

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By Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks have not played well against Eastern Conference bottom dwellers this season, having lost to Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders at home. The game against 13th spot Carolina Hurricanes became another one of those, as Sharks fell 3-2 in overtime.

San Jose started game slow, generating only three shots in the first 10 minutes of the game and being outplayed on all parts of the ice. They looked rusty, and out of sync, which often happens when team comes back home after a long road trip or a break. Carolina capitalized on the sleepy Sharks, taking 1-0 lead in the game as Juri Tlusty scored on a breakaway at 12:07 mark.

The goal seemed to have woken up the Sharks and they responded with one of their own. Marty Havlat scored his fifth goal of the season on a rebound from Tyler Kennedy’s shot. Havlat’s goal was even more memorable because he scored it while falling down.

Brent Burns increased the Sharks lead towards the end of the period. He scored on a slap shot from near range when Raffi Torres set him up on a great play just in front of the goal.

Hurricanes tied the game at 2-2 in the second period when Elias Lindholm scored a similar goal to Brent Burns earlier, as he shot a slap shot from a short range that left Alex Stalock with no time to react, thus setting the third period with no team leading.

Both teams traded good scoring chances in a fast paced game, but failed to score, taking the game into the overtime. The game seemed to have been heading towards another shootout, but Carolina ended it with less than a minute left on a broken play inside the Sharks own zone. Jay Harrison jumped into the play from the blue line as he got the puck from his teammate Elias Lindholm, and became wide open right on the edge of the crease. With plenty of time to pick a corner and Andrew Desjardins failing to cover him, Carolina player sent the puck into the net, thus ending the game.

It was not a loss in which the Sharks played well, but they have a chance to rebound against the best team in the East Pittsburg Penguins, as Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin make their rare appearance at the SAP Center.

Sharks Third Line Beats the Stars

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By Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks have not been getting much offense lately from it’s top lines. After helping them win games all throughout the season, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau’s lines have been held mostly off the scoresheet in the past few games. They went scoreless again against Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at the SAP Center, but the Sharks went on to win 2-1 in overtime anyway due to the great game by Sharks third line, and yet another strong performance by Sharks backup goaltender Alex Stalock.

Marty Havlat and Tommy Wingels each scored a goal, while Alex Stalock made 20 saves to record his eighth win of this season.

“It was time for some other players to step up and score,” said pleased Sharks head coach Todd McLellan after the game. “To see Marty and Tommy both do it in one game is a good thing for our team.”

Havlat took part in both goals, which is good to see from someone who recorded no points in the last five games since he came back from a month long recovery from injury, and was largely invisible all season long.

“It feels nice to win the game,” said Havlat. “I don’t really care who scored the goal. But it’s nice to score the goal.”

Havlat scored a goal towards the end of the second period, as he redirected a puck from a pass made by Scott Hannan. Later on he assisted Wingels on the game winning overtime goal as Wingels skated towards the net.

“I came over the line and saw someone being late and was trying to make a play,” said Wingels. “It bounced on me, but we got the puck back. Hannan got open there, and knew that Marty was there. Marty made a good play when he slotted [the puck] across the crease to me and I shot it and it went in.”

Scott Hannan was also credited with the secondary assist on the first goal, and like Havlat, he ended the night with two points.

Overall, it was a pretty sloppy game, with not a lot of scoring chances, and both teams struggling to possess the puck and creating very little in terms of chances on their own power plays. Nonetheless, McLellan saw improvement in team’s play after a bad game on Monday against the Flyers.

“The team improved, pretty evidently,” he said commenting on the result. “You look at the game tonight and compare it to the Philadelphia game. It doesn’t mean that we were cleaner or faster or more polished. It’s just that the commitment level went up. We still got to improve.”

Sharks play one more time before the Winter Olympics break in the schedule when they host Columbus Blue Jackets at home on Friday.

Flyers too much for the Sharks

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By Ivan Makarov

Going into the Monday night matchup against Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center, San Jose Sharks did not lose to that team in 13 straight games, dating all the way back to December 21, 2000. The world was very different back then – we could bring liquids on the plane, there was no iPhone and the average price of gas was $1.65 per gallon.

The winning streak against the Flyers came to an end in one of the more disappointing performances by the home team. After beating the current Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks at home on Saturday, the Sharks showed the lack of consistency, focus and depth, and lost 5-2.

The only positive time for the Sharks came in the first period when Sharks showed speed and resiliency they are known for when playing at home this season, especially at the start of the game. They did allow the Flyers to score first on their power play, when Mark Streit put a slapshot past Antti Neimi while he was screened by Flyers’ forward Wayne Simmonds. But the Sharks came right back and tied the game three minutes later on their own power play. Matt Neito scored after a nifty pass from Tommy Wingels as he was the first to the puck after Matt Irwin dumped it inside the Flyers zone.

Matt Nieto didn’t stop there and recorded another goal five minutes later. During Sharks possession inside the Flyers zone he was able to skate away from coverage. As he received the pass from Brent Burns from the corner, he made a great individual play as he paused the puck to bring Steve Mason down and put the puck into the net.

But this is where positives ended for the Sharks.

Being up one goal, they seem to have been content to try to ride it until finish, but were unable to match Flyers energy and execution. They ended up keeping the lead all the way into the third period, but the visiting team dominance on the ice eventually translated into goals, as Flyers scored three in the first four minutes of the third period.

“Even in the first, I did not think we were very sharp as we needed to be,” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. “We broke the cardinal rule – when you get outworked and get outnumbered all over the rink – you’re going to lose. It’s as simple as that.”

Those punches were too much for Sharks to overcome, and they were unable to generate any sustained pressure, or chances on goal even after Sharks coaching staff replaced Antti Niemi in goal with Alex Stalock. The move did not shake up the team like it sometimes does, and the Flyers increased the lead to three goals with a couple of minutes remaining. It was obvious with what McLellan thought of team’s performance as he let third and fourth line finish off the game.

“I don’t have any other explanation or excuse for it,” he said after the game. “I thought [the Flyers] were harder than we were, in all facets of the game – the goaltender, the blue line, 5-on-5, special teams. They were just a better team. It’s disappointing.”

Sharks still have a chance to rebound before the Olympic break in the schedule that starts after the game on Friday, and they’ll look to do just that when they host Dallas Stars on Wednesday.

Pavelski’s two goals help the Sharks beat the Red Wings

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SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 9: Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates his goal against the Detroit Red Wings during an NHL game on January 9, 2014 at SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 9: Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates his goal against the Detroit Red Wings during an NHL game on January 9, 2014 at SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks have been very successful against Detroit Red Wings ever since Todd McLellan took over the head coaching responsibilities at the start of the 2008/2009 NHL season, including defeating them twice in Stanley Cup playoffs. The streak of victories continued on Thursday back at SAP Center when Detroit made their only stop of the season in San Jose. Sharks got off to an early lead, and never let the game get away from them, finishing the game with a 4-1 victory.

“We have success against certain teams, and against other teams, like LA, we have stats where we haven’t won in a while,” said Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle.  “We’ve been successful against Detroit for 5-6 years now. I can’t explain it. It’s easy to get up to play against them, and we’ve been playing well.”

Joe Pavelski scored twice for the Sharks, and Dan Boyle and Andrew Desjardins added to the score for the home team, while Tomas Tatar got the only goal for the visitors. Antti Niemi earned his 23rd victory of the season while making 24 saves on 25 shots.

Sharks started like they usually do at the SAP Center – scoring a goal in the first five minute of the game. Joe Pavelski continued his hot streak of goals, scoring his 20th at 4:59 mark in the first period, after he got a pass from his center Joe Thornton, who had the puck on the wing, and paused to wait for Little Joe to open up.

Pavelski went on to score again later in the game, when Sharks were ahead by a goal, and made it 3-1 on a Sharks power play showing great skill as the puck bounced to him when he was parked just to the right of Howard. With Detroit goaltender laying on the ice after making a safe, Sharks forward stopped the puck and sent it top shelf to score his 21st goal of the season, taking the lead in goals on the team from Patrick Marleau.

Things are working out well for Pavelski, who now has 12 goals in his last 15 games, in addition to four assists. What’s working well for him?

“I’ve been around the net a little bit, got some big goals, got lucky at times, and playing with some good players,” said Pavelski after the game. “I am playing with some good players. We are getting multiple looks throughout the night. Between Burnzie and me, we are getting a lot to the net and Jumbo is making all the passes. The power play is starting to click a little bit, so it all adds up.”

“He’s been really good,” said Todd McLellan about Pavelski’s recent performance. “We need to keep him this way. When team needs him, he seems to elevate his game. That’s a sign of a really good player. Playing with the two players that he does, he just needs to get himself into he right spot and find pucks. He took advantage of it again.”

Detroit did score to tie the game when Sharks were only up by one as the Slovak Tomas Tatar capitalized on defensive miscues inside the Sharks zone when Marc-Eduard Vlasic got caught without a stick in front of the net. Detroit’s left wing read the situation well, dropped back as he skated from behind the Sharks net he buried the shot top shelf.

Sharks put the game out of Detroit’s reach in the second period by scoring three goals on the 14 shots, which sealed the deal for them. Third period saw the Sharks turn on their defensive attention, but it was not the most exciting of periods, with shots being 5-3 in favor of the Sharks. The game got chippy at the end, and referrees assessed 12 penalties in the last 5 minutes of the game.

Sharks improved their record to 28-11-6  and are still second in the Pacific division. They are next facing Boston Bruins at home on Saturday.

Sharks rebound against Oilers

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SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 02: Bracken Kearns #38 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center on January 2, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 02: Bracken Kearns #38 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center on January 2, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — After splitting the series against their division rival Anaheim Ducks with a win and a loss, and ending it on a bad note, having suffered 6-3 loss in their last game, San Jose Sharks looked to redeem themselves against Edmonton Oilers back in San Jose on Thursday night. Coach Todd McLellan even addressed the team after a big loss, hoping to send a message to the team after allowing six goals.

San Jose proved they are a better team than Edmonton both through how they played and on the scoreboard, rebounding after poor play in Southern California on New Years Eve. Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau, Bracken Kearns, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, while Nail Yakupov scored for the Oilers in what ended as the home team sailed to a comfortable 5-1 win.

The game was never close, as Sharks got up 4-0 lead before the game was even half way over. They played a good game for most of the 60 minutes, and were all smiles in the locker room after the game – both the players and the coaches.

“We were ready to go as soon as the puck dropped,” said Sharks captain Joe Thornton. “For a full 60 we kept the pressure on and dictated a pace of the game. We are a team that when we lose one, we’d like to get back to the next one. We proved that tonight.”

Todd McLellan was likewise positive after the game, saying he felt his message after the loss to the Anahaim got through to the players. “Our role players played pretty good roles tonight. You saw shots blocked. There was some physicality. They won battles. We checked well, so that was a good sign. Then the go-to offensive guys were productive as well. It was a good effort.”

Sharks did not get the quick goals like they used to in many home games this season to kick things off, as they looked a bit rusty in the very beginning. But things started to click for them as the first period progressed. Sharks had no trouble entering the zone and setting up, and the goals came with time.

Brent Burns scored his 13th goal of the season at 14:37 mark after receiving a good setup from Joe Pavelski who saw Burns wide open to his right. Shortly after that goal, Patrick Marleau made it 2-0 as he stripped the puck from Nail Yakupov, whose defensive struggles are well documented this season by the media and his league worst -25 stat this season before this game. Sharks former captain zipped right past the Oilers defense and capped the play with a hard wrist shot past Devan Dubnyk.

Oilers did not put too much fight after that, but the Sharks kept pushing forward and had most of the scoring chances, which resulted in two more goals. Bracken Kearns continued his hot streak, scoring his third goals in just four games in the second period at 7:18 mark.

A minute later another defensive misread in the neutral zone gave Logan Couture a chance to shine on a clear breakaway, and also to continue his scoring streak at three games in a row. Sharks forward picked up the speed, and left Dubnyk no chance to make a save with his signature wrister into the top corner.  That kind of a goal came timely for Logan, as Team Canada is finalizing their roster for the Winter Olympic game in Sochi, which will be announced next Tuesday, with Logan no doubt improving his chances to make the team with plays like this.

Oilers went on to score on Antti Niemi as the embattled Yakupov made it 4-1 towards the end of the second period on a wrist shot in front of Antti Niemi. Russian forward celebrated his seventh goal of the season with quite the passion, getting on his knee and fist pumping. But Sharks are one of the best home teams in the league this season, and they just kept on doing what worked for them all game long – good forecheck, physical game, fast transitions and solid defense against young but struggling Edmonton team. That turned out to be enough to score another goal later in the third period, and seal 5-1 victory.

Sharks will play the next three games on the road in Denver, Nashville and Chicago before returning to face the Red Wings at home.

Sharks win a thriller against the Avs

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By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — Ever since San Jose Sharks played Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs series back in in the 2010 Stanley Cup, the games between the two teams had a rivalry feel to them. They were often packed with big hits, fights and back and forth scoreboard. The next matchup at SAP Center on Monday night was no exception, and had all that. The Sharks came out on top against the Avs, winning their ninth straight at home against them, this time by the score of 5-4 in a shootout.

Colorado Avalanche is a young team on the rise. Having not qualified for a playoffs spot since that series against the Sharks almost four years ago, they were rebuilding through lottery picks in the NHL draft, including picking up Nathan MacKinnon as the first overall pick last summer (he went on to score in the game). They also went through a coaching switch, hiring their former player and a hockey legend Patrick Roy who made his NHL head coaching debut this season. All the changes are now paying off, as Colorado were just two points behind the Sharks in the stranding coming into this game.

Avs got the first lead in the game. Their rookie McKinnon scored his eighth goal of the season to break the scoring in the game half way through the first period, with a wrist shot on the power play. Sharks’ Jason Demers tied the game three minutes later, also on the power play, scoring with a big heavy slap shot from just above the face-offs circle as Joe Thornton laid a great pass for him.

Colorado took the next lead in the game, with their captain Gabe Landeskog scoring at the end of the first period, capitalizing on a fast transition, leaving him wide open in front of Antti Niemi, who was unable to react in time. That’s how these new Avs play – counter attacking, and moving the puck fast throughout the ice. That left the game 2-1 in favor of the visiting team, going into the first intermission.

Besides the exciting action, the game also featured two fights in that period. First Mike Brown knocked out Cody McLeod with repeated punches, sending his opponent to the dressing room with blood all over his face. Few minutes after that former Shark Jamie McGinn dropped the gloves with Brad Stuart to get the crowd even more riled up.

Sharks came back firing on all cylinders in the second period. They played faster, more focused and went to the net at every opportunity. The increased pressure resulted in two goals – one by Brent Burns and another one by Cody Irwin – both from the top of the face-off circles. The home team did not give much room for the Avs to come back either, and Joe Thornton said after the game that he thought that the Sharks played the best single period of the whole season, as they took 3-2 lead going into the third period.

It seemed as if the Sharks would finish the game with a victory as the game was winding down, but that’s not how the Avalanche saw it. They not only tied the game with less than two minutes left, but took 4-3 lead scoring just 12 second after the tying goal. San Jose pulled the goaltender for an extra skater, and climbed back into the game on a goal by Joe Pavelski.

Sharks could have ended the game in overtime, getting a golden 4-on-3 power play opportunity, but came up empty, taking the game into a shootout.

Antti Niemi stopped all his two tries by McKinnon and Matt Douchene, while Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau scored on their tries, letting the Sharks earn the extra point over their opponent.

While it was frustrating for the team and for the Sharks coach Todd McLellan to end the third period like that, the fact that they came back and still won the game helped them go on a short Christmas break in a happier mood.

“A wild finish,” said McLellan describing the game. “It’s disappointing that we couldn’t hold on, for whatever reason. You saw it in the third – we went on our heels. We didn’t back off. To come back and respond with a goaltender pulled, it alleviates some of that.”

The Sharks next travel to Phoenix where they take on another divisional rival Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.

Sharks power play sinks the Wild

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By Ivan Makarov

Sharks were looking for answers to the questions about their recent struggles after they lost four in the row. They found these answers on Thursday back at SAP Center against Minnesota Wild. The key to overcoming those struggles, as it turned out, was a great game from special teams.

Sharks power play shined against the Wild, and was credited with all the three goals of the night after going 3 for 6 on their attempts. On the other side of the ice, Sharks penalty kill was perfect, killing all three attempts they faced while stopping eighth power play unit in the league.

“I think we obviously found the work ethic on the power play,” said Joe Pavelski after the game where he scored two. “It certainly didn’t look pretty, but we’ve taken more shots, and got a lot more pucks back, and feel a lot better now.”

The game started well for the Sharks, like it often did this season ay home. With Wild taking penalties, Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal at 5:54 mark in the first period. After passing the puck along the boards, Dan Boyle found Pavelski with the pass at the top of the face off circle. Pavelski shot it Iow and it went into the goal after hitting one of the players in the crease and going between Niklas Backstrom’s pads.

Wild did not stop taking penalties in that period, and with their fourth penalty in that stretch of the game, they gave the Sharks 5-on-3 power play for 1:30. Sharks could not score with the two men advantage, but still had 30 second to play on one man advantage. It was at that time that Tomas Hertl put one into the net. The goal came as a result of a great individual play from Tommy Wingels who kept the puck from clearing, powered his way towards the net and passed it to Hertl who was wide open in the front.

Wild got into more penalty trouble in the second period. One of the key moments in game happened when Zenon Konopka was sent into the penalty box with a double minor for high sticking. Sharks scored again, with Joe Pavelski earning his second goal of the night, as he picked up the rebound neat the crease and put it past Nicklas Backstrom’s who was stretched out on the ice after making a save.

With the three goal lead, the Sharks put themselves into defensive mode, and their penalty kill had to work hard to protect the lead after Wild were awarded several power plays. None of them were as important as when Tomas Hertl was sent into the box, earning his first NHL penalty for a holding against Jonas Brodin. Wild were all over the Sharks in their zone, and with Brad Stuart breaking his stick, it looked a lot like 5-on-3 for a while. Sharks fought hard, and were able to stop the Wild from scoring, keeping their advantage to three goals. Hertl made a great play as well coming out of the box, as he chased after the puck, preventing an icing call on the play, and allowing his tired teammates to change.

“[That play by Hertl] was huge,” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. “He comes out of the penalty box, we got the clear, both teams are exhausted, so to have them get the line change with us already having used our time out and having have to continue. That was a pretty big and important point.”

Minnesota Wild finally broke their scoring drought in the third period when Brodin scored in front of the net on a deflected shot that was taken by Justin Fontaine at 12:36 mark in the third period. But their effort came a little too late and the Sharks were able to defend their lead and win the game.

With the victory, the Sharks ended their 4-game losing streak, and no doubt added confidence in their special teams ability, which was not consistent in the last few weeks. They are next back in action on the three game road trip that starts on Saturday in Nashville, followed by games in St Louis and Los Angeles.

Sharks skid continues against the Islanders

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By Ivan Makarov
San Jose Sharks returned to California after a disappointing four game road trip where they won just once. They hoped to turn things around playing at home where they won the last five games. Instead, their skid continued, as they allowed a third period breakdown, the Islanders come back, and their opponent’s win in the shootout.
The Islanders were in the middle of the losing streak themselves, having lost the last 10 games. However, solid play from their netminder and a great third period helped them break through and finally win.
A key turning point happened early in the third period. Sharks were up 2-0, but it became a one goal game just 51 second after the play began. Tomas Vanek scored by finding the puck in the crease after Antti Niemi was unable to freeze the puck after the shot by John Tavares who was near the crease after a great individual effort and drawing all defense to him.
New York went on to tie the game with less than two minutes left in regulation with an extra skater on the ice after their goaltender was pulled. John Tavares won the face-off inside the Sharks zone against Joe Pavelski and Kyle Okposo put one into the net. Antti Niemi was screened on that play by the Islander players and didn’t appear to see the shot coming.
“He lost it clean,” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan about Pavelski’s play. [Islanders] scored short side high. You’d like to get beat by a different shot. You’d like to be in the shooting lane. But it was a draw like that, and they got one freebie and they made it count.”
It was an even game in overtime, with NY having the slight advantage and the best scoring chance. With 1:16 remaining in overtime, Antti Niemi saved the game with a stretch glove save after a breakaway attempt by Brock Nelson. This was a great save in the very important moment of the game, taking it to the shootout.
Logan Couture scored on his shootout chance but Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle didn’t. Kyle Okposo became a hero again, scoring on his attempt after Boyle missed, and winning the game for his team.
There were still positives in that game despite the outcome.
The power play looked dangerous and was credit with the first goal. Patrick Marleau scored his 14th goal of the season after a rebound he picked up inside the face-off circle.
Joe Pavelski found the net for the first time in seven games, scoring Sharks’ second goal. Sharks’ center played aggressively on the forecheck, helping the puck stay inside Islanders zone and forcing a turnover. As he picked up the puck, he passed it back towards the blue line where Dan Boyle was skating by himself. Boyle shot the puck on the net, Poulin made the save, but it bounced back to Pavelski who put it inside the open net. This was Pavelski’s 10th goal on the season.
Sharks also had a great start in the game, outshooting the Islanders 18-3 in the first period, and outshooting them overall 48-28.
But in the end, it was losing key battles at the start and the end of the third period that cost them the win.
“Whether or not we deserved [the outcome], we ended up with it,” said McLellan. “I thought we started the game very well. I thought we got a little lose in the second period and decided we wanted to trade chances, giving up some odd number rushes. We gave up a goal in the first minute and the last minute of the third. … Our top line right now is getting beat, along with the goaltender, and it has to improve.”
They will be back in action on Thursday at SAP Center against Minnesota Wild.
Games Notes
  • The Islanders played game four of their five-game road trip in San Jose. It was the first of two meetings between the clubs this season.
  • Evgeni Nabokov was back to SAP Center, although did not dress up for the game due to injury. He was given a loud ovation during the first period when video board played his highlights from the time he was a San Jose Shark.
  • Two Sharks players registered multi-point nights: Patrick Marleau (1-1=2) andDan Boyle (0-2=2).
  • Patrick Marleau is now in sole possession of 77th place on the all-time goal scoring list (418 career goals).
  • Patrick Marleau led all Sharks skaters with seven shots on goal.