Author: M Walsh

Sharks Fall 1-0 to Coyotes, Two Goals Called Back

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Arizona Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram (39) makes a stopping save against the San Jose Sharks left winger Fabian Zetterlund (20) in the second period at Mullet Arena in Tempe AZ on Fri Dec 15, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shutout 1-0 by the Arizona Coyotes Friday. Matias Maccelli scored the only goal in the game and Connor Ingram made 21 saves for the shutout win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 23 saves for the Sharks. It was the fifth time this season that the Sharks have been shut out. The Coyotes were coming off of a four game losing streak.

After the game, Sharks forward Anthony Duclair said: “I thought we just needed some more energy. I think we could have had a better start, I think we just played an okay game. That’s what happens. Obviously they were a desperate hockey team on the other side, losing four in a row.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn also commented on the team’s lack of energy:

“To manage just to kind of hang around I think it’s another example of our progress. I think a month ago if we had this type of energy we wouldn’t have been in the situation we were in by the end of the game. So, disappointing we lost, our PK was good, we didn’t draw a penalty which was disappointing but, again, you know, we hung around, had a chance to tie it.”

The one goal of the game came at 14:45 of the second period. Nick Bjugstad took a shot into some traffic on the right side of the net. Kahkonen stopped that but sent a rebound out to the right, to Matias Maccelli. Kahkonen could not get across in time to stop that one. Bjugstad and J.J. Moser got the assists.

It looked like the game was tied at 7:40 of the third period. William Eklund put the puck in the net off a rebound from a shot by Luke Kunin. However, the Coyotes challenged the goal. On review, contact between Kunin’s leg and Ingram’s stick was seen as goaltender interference and the goal was called back.

The game seemed to be tied again at 16:01 of the third period, when Mikael Granlund put the puck in the net. It was a beautiful goal, with Granlund skating through several Coyotes before scoring. But the Coyotes challenged again. The review found that Anthony Duclair was offside and the goal was called back.

The Sharks took four penalties and killed them all but they had no power plays. The shot count was close, 24-21 Coyotes. In the face-off circle, the Sharks struggled, winning just 37.5% of the draws. This was due in part to the absence of Nico Sturm, who was placed on injured reserved Friday.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT in Colorado against the Avalanche.

Sharks Fall to Golden Knights 5-4 in SO

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Las Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault (81) takes a shot against the San Jose Sharks goaltender Kappo Kahkonen (36) during the shootout at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Sun Dec 10, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated, 5-4 in a shootout, by the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Sunday. Vegas goals came from Jonathan Marchessault (2), Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb. Jiri Patera made 35 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Mario Ferraro, Mike Hoffman(2) and Calen Addison. Kaapo Kahkonen made 23 saves in the loss.

The Sharks started the game without William Eklund or Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the lineup. Anthony Duclair left the game one shift into the second period with a jaw injury. Additionally, Justin Bailey missed more than 20 minutes of playing time but did return. Nonetheless, the Sharks managed a lot of shots on goal (39) and pulled off a surprising comeback to earn a point.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said, of the lineup changes: “When we lost those guys, obviously it doesn’t help us but I don’t think we had to change anything in terms of the way that we were playing. We were already going, we already felt good, I think if we had [Duclair] stay in the lineup for the full 60 minutes, who knows.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “Just so proud of our guys, and then you throw in the fact that we lose two forwards during the course of the game, Duclair and Bailey… really had a short bench. Guy had to play a lot of minutes at the end of a road trip.”

Mario Ferraro opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game with a wrist shot from the top of the circle. It was his first goal of the season. Assists went to Kyle Burroughs and Mikael Granlund.

Marchessault tied the game 5:34 into the second period. His wrist shot went short side off after a quick entry that caught the Sharks outnumbered. An assist went to Ben Hutton.

Chandler Stephenson gave the Knights the lead with a deflection on the power play at 15:44. Assists went to Alex Pietrangelo and Mark Stone.

Brayden McNabb made it 3-1 with a wrist shot at 1:43 of the third period. Assists went to Jack Eichel and Kaedan Korczak.

Mike Hoffman cut the lead to 3-2 at 3:56 with a power play goal. Assists went to Granlund and Kaapo Kahkonen.

Marchessault scored his second of the night to make it 4-2 at 9:23. Assists went to Stephenson and Zach Whitecloud.

Calen Addison scored his first of the season and his first as a Shark at 16:15 of the third, cutting the Knights’ lead to 4-3. Assists went to Justin Bailey and Filip Zadina.

With the Sharks’ net empty, Hoffman scored his second of the night to push the game to overtime. That goal came at 19:21 and assists went to Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov.

After a scoreless overtime period, Jack Eichel and Marchessault both scored in the shootout, giving the Golden Knights the win. Kevin Labanc and Granlund shot for the Sharks but Patera stopped them. Nicolas Roy’s shot was stopped by Kahkonen.

The Sharks will return home to play the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Win 6-5 in OT Barnburner Against Red Wings

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MacKenzie Blackwood (29) is replaced in the second period by Kaapo Kahkonen (36) against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Cesars Pizza Arena in Detroit on Thu Dec 7, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated Detroit Red Wings 6-5 in overtime Thursday. Sharks got goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund, and Nico Sturm and Tomas Hertl each scored twice. Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves on 20 shots before being replaced by Kaapo Kahkonen, who made 10 saves for the win. Detroit got goals from Klim Kostin, Lucas Raymond, and Dylan Larkin, and Michael Rasmussen scored twice. Ville Husso made 30 save in the loss.

“When we got our first goal, we knew we were going to come back. That’s a great feeling to have. We just played hockey, we played a really good game today,” said Fabian Zetterlund after the game. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn described the ups and downs of the game:

“I didn’t feel like we were playing like we should be down four-nothing. But, you know, a couple goals, quick hitters from the point by them. It was real disappointing, Then, obviously just to turn it on, to score two huge short-handed goals and really a third, when you think about it, the one when Vlasic comes out of the box and makes a hell of a pass.”

At the end of the first period, the game was scoreless but the shots were 14-7 Sharks. But it was Detroit that scored first, midway through the second period. Chasing down the puck as it drifted towards the net right off the face-off, Klim Kostin fought through Mario Ferraro to tap the puck under Mackenzie Blackwood’s pad. That was Detroit’s 11th shot of the game.

A few minutes later, Michael Rasmussen went on a tear. First, he tipped one in off a blue line shot from Daniel Sprong. Seconds later, he tipped one in from a similar shot from Ben Chiarot. Andrew Copp got a secondary assist on that one.

Lucas Raymond scored another for Detroit with a wrist shot, making it three goals in 49 seconds of playing time. Assists went to Ben Chiarot and Robby Fabbri.

The Sharks pulled Blackwood after that and put Kaapo Kahkonen in goal.

Tomas Hertl stopped the bleeding for the Sharks with a short handed goal at 14:08. He carried the puck through the neutral zone and in, then faked a pass and shot the puck under the goaltender. Assists went to William Eklund and Jan Rutta. That was the first short-handed goal of the season for the Sharks.

Fabian Zetterlund decided to try one of those too, and made it 4-2 with a second short-handed goal during the same penalty kill. It was Zetterlund’s first career short-handed goal. Assists went to Jan Rutta and Mikael Granlund.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic exited the penalty box where he had watched his team score twice. Soon enough, he assisted on Nico Sturm’s goal to make it 4-3. Kyle Burroughs got a secondary assist.

Sturm finished the comeback with a second goal, tying the game at 19:37. Assists went to Justin Bailey and Kevin Labanc.

At the end of the second, the shot count was 23-22 Detroit.

Dylan Larkin broke the tie at 13:20 of the third period. The Red Wings outnumbered the Sharks skating into the zone and after a few passes to mix things up, Larkin snapped the puck past Kahkonen. Assists went to Raymond and Fabbri.

With almost three minutes left in regulation, the Sharks pulled Kahkonen for an extra skater. It paid off, despite some close calls with Detroit circling the empty net. Finally, with 1:29 left, Tomas Hertl scored in a scramble at the side of the Detroit net. Granlund shot the puck into the backboards and it rebounded perfectly to Hertl for the shot. Assists went to Granlund and Alexander Barabanov.

Mikael Granlund scored the game winner 35 seconds into overtime. Zetterlund broke away after Larkin fell in the neutral zone, then made the pass to Granlund for a snap shot.

Neither team scored a power play goal, but each team had two opportunities. The final shot count was 36-31 Sharks. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won just 39.1% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Shut Out 3-0 by Bruins; Brief SJ two game win streak comes to an end

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The Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha gets a top shelf third period goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) and defenseman Kyle Burroughs (4) at TD Garden in Boston on Thu Nov 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-0 to the Bruins at TD Garden Thursday. Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the shutout win. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves in the loss. It was the fourth time the Sharks have been shutout this season, and all of those have been on the road.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn summarized the game as follows:

“I thought we had a good first period, played a pretty good tempo, I thought our puck play was good, you know, played smart hockey, played with the right intentions. And I thought it really got loose in the second period. I thought our turnovers really hurt us and really ignited their game. I though they brought it to another level once that period got going and we weren’t able to control it really.”

Probably the most disappointing moment in the game was when the Sharks failed to score with a two man advantage. That power play ended the second period and started the third. After the game, Tomas Hertl talked about that power play:

“We just, like, nobody wants to take the shot, everybody tried passing and we have zero shots, five entries and that’s a tough situation. We have to be quick, put something on the net you know because we have two extra guys so we should get a rebound and stuff, but we couldn’t even get a shot.”

The Sharks went into the second period in a decent position. Each team had a power play in the first, neither scored. The shots were relatively even at 10-9 Boston. The second period would not be so balanced.

Danton Heinen broke the 0-0 tie just 1:39 into the second period. Matthew Poitras took advantage of an offensive zone turnover by the Sharks, who looked tired after being trapped in their own zone for too long. Poitras found Heinen in the faceoff circle for a quick shot that sent the puck between Blackwood and the post.

Jake DeBrusk made it 2-0 at 8:10 of the period. While Pavel Zacha carried the puck over the blue line, DeBrusk entered the zone across the ice and around the Sharks defense. Zacha passed the puck to him and he was able to carry it to the net for a backhand shot. Zacha and David Pastrnak got the assists.

The Sharks finished the second period with a shot deficit of 18-6 as well as the goals surrendered. They did get a two-man advantage at the end of the period after a series of skirmishes. The power play carried over to start the third but did not change the score.

Instead, the Sharks took a penalty early in the third and gave up a power play goal from Zacha. Pastrnak carried the puck in and found Zacha skating right up the slot for a close-in shot. Assists went to Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy.

The Sharks did make a push, out-shooting Boston slightly, 11-8 in the third. But the score did not change. The final shot count was 37-26 Bruins. In the faceoff circle, the Sharks won 47.3% of the draws.

After the game, Tomas Hertl explained that his absence from the previous game was due to a kidney stone. He said that he had surgery for that last Monday.

The Sharks next play on Friday in Newark, New Jersey against the Devils at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Capitals 2-1, Bailey Assists GWG

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San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the go ahead goal in the third period against the Washington Capitals at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 Monday at SAP Center. Fabian Zetterlund and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves for the win. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves in the loss.

Justin Bailey was signed to a two-way contract Monday. He has been playing for the Barracuda so far this season. Monday was his first game with the Sharks and his first NHL point of the season. He made a particular impact in board battles. The 6’4” Bailey seems like exactly the type of player the Sharks could use to fill out their thinned forward ranks.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “He’s our biggest forward and he can skate. And as you can see, he’s got a little bit of touch too. That was a great pass he made to Kunin on the winning goal. And he plays an honest game.”

Fabian Zetterlund gave the Sharks the lead midway through the first period. After taking a shot from the top of the face-off circle, he pulled up near the net and jumped on the rebound. Assists went to Nikita Okhotiuk and Mikael Granlund.

Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov tied the game late in the second period. After a long spell in the offensive zone, Kuznetsov’s shot bounced off of Blackwood and then off of Okhotiuk and into the net. Assists went to Trevor van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary.

Luke Kunin gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a power play goal at 12:48 of the third period. Justin Bailey won a battle along the boards before finding Kunin with a short pass. Assists went to Bailey and Ty Emberson. Bailey was signed to a two-way contract with the Sharks Monday.

The Capitals pulled their goaltender with just over a minute left but the Sharks held on. The final shot count was 34-23 Capitals. The second period saw the largest discrepancy, with Washington out-shooting San Jose 14-6. The Sharks power play went 1/3 and their penalty kill was perfect through three penalties. The teams were even in the faceoff circle.

Tomas Hertl was out Monday, having suffered a mid-body injury Sunday. The Sharks again had seven defensemen in the game and 11 forwards.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Boston against the Bruins at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Canucks 4-3, Granlund Scores Highlight Goal

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San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund (64) is congratulated by defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) and left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Calen Addison (33) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday. Ty Emberson, Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the win. Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks and Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the loss.

It was the Sharks’ fourth win of the season. After the game, Sharks defenseman Calen Addison said: “Obviously we played a real complete game tonight, I think we should have won last night too. So, obviously it’s huge for our group and a win is huge for confidence.”

The Sharks and their goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen did not give up a goal at even strength Saturday. With their defense firmed up, their offense took on new life. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We’re looking different, right? We’re looking more cohesive, we’re playing faster, moving pucks, but, spending time in the o-zone feels good.”

Early in the first, Vancouver’s Sam Lafferty put the puck in the net but the goal was called back for goaltender interference. Lafferty’s skate connected with Kahkonen’s as the goaltender rushed back into the blue paint after playing the puck behind the net. As a result, Kahkonen fell before he could get in position.

After that close call, Ty Emberson scored the first goal of the game at 9:58. His slapshot off a Hertl pass was his first in the NHL and the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season. Assists went to Hertl and Mike Hoffman.

Filip Hronek tied the game at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Canucks’ fourth-ranked power play held the zone and the puck for the full minute that it took them to score. Hronek’s shot went under Kahkonen off a cross-ice pass. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-1 Sharks at 14:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Tomas Hertl found him with a quick pass from below the goal line after carrying the puck behind the net.

Brock Boeser tied it up again with a power play goal in the final seconds of the period. A rebound from Miller’s shot went right to Boeser for a shot over the goaltender. Assists went to Miller and Hronek.

The Sharks took the lead back with their first shot of the third period just 22 seconds in. The teams were skating four-on-four during a penalty carry-over from the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck end-to-end, right up the middle of the ice, weaving his way through the Vancouver defense. He made it to the net for a move worthy of a shoot-out. It was his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Calen Addison and Mario Ferraro.

Mike Hoffman padded the lead with a power play goal at 1:48. The teams were playing four-on-three. Granlund shot the puck to the net for a deflection. The deflection did not work but Hoffman swept it in with a second try. Assists went to Granlund and Addison.

With 3:11 left in the third, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. Brock Boeser was able to score with a quick shot through traffic. Assists went to Miller (his third of the game) and Elias Pettersson.

In the final minutes of the game, Nico Sturm blocked a shot, had some trouble getting off the ice (though he managed a shot at the empty net on his way) and had to go to the dressing room.

The shots were close in the first period, 10-9 Sharks, but tilted to Vancouver thereafter, ending at 34-22 Canucks. The Sharks had just one power play to the Canucks’ four. Their penalty kill went 2/4 against the proficient Vancouver power play.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Sharks Fall 3-2 in SO to Canadiens; Habs Jlonen scores game winner in sixth round of shootout

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Montreal Canadiens right winger Jesse Ylonen (56) scored the game winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout against San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) at SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Nov 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 in a shoot out to the Montreal Canadiens Friday at SAP Center in San Jose. Johnathan Kovacevic and Cole Caulfield scored for Montreal. Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylönen scored in the shootout and Cayden Primeau made 31 saves for the win. Mike Hoffman and William Eklund scored for San Jose, with a shootout goal from Eklund as well. Tomas Hertl assisted on both regulation goals. Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves in the loss.

It was just two days ago that the Sharks turned in possibly their worst performance this season, in the 7-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. After Friday’s game, Head Coach David Quinn said the Sharks “certainly looked a lot more like a hockey team tonight than we did against Seattle.”

For the first time this season, the Sharks out-shot their opponent for a final count of 33-24 Sharks. San Jose forward Tomas Hertl described Friday’s game as “A pretty good hockey game. I don’t think we gave them much but the chances we gave them they just cashed in, you know, so it’s tough because we deserved two points tonight.”

Mike Hoffman scored the first of the game at 5:06 of the second period. William Eklund held the puck behind the net after catching a pass from Tomas Hertl. Eklund found Hoffman drifting to the net for the shot.

Eklund made it 2-0 at 12:30 with a power play goal. Right off the offensive zone face-off, Calen Addison passed the puck to Eklund across the ice for a slap shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Addison and Hertl.

Johnathan Kovacevic cut the lead to 2-1 at 18:02 of the second. His wrist shot from high in the slot went over Blackwood’s outstretched right arm and into the net. Assists went to Jayden Struble and Cole Caufield.

Caufield tied the game 3:26 into the third period. Skating into the zone two-on-one with Christian Dvorak against Nikita Okhotiuk, Caufield opted for the shot and found the top corner. Assists went to Juraj Slafkovsky and goaltender Cayden Primeau.

The Sharks had three shots to the Canadiens’ two shots in the overtime frame. In the shootout, Primeau stopped shots from Fabian Zetterlund, Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund. Tomas Hertl and Anthoney Duclair. Blackwood stopped shots from Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Christian Dvorak and Sean Monahan.

With forward Nico Sturm back in the lineup, the Sharks only used seven defensemen. Filip Zadina left the game at the end of the first period, leaving the team with just ten forwards. Regarding Zadina’s injury, Quinn said: “Upper body injury, so not sure where he stands right now.” The injury did not seem to be a result of a specific event in the first period. Quinn said it was “just something that’s been bothering him and it just acted up.”

The Sharks were bested again in the face-off circle, winning just 43.8% of the draws. The penalties were low in the game, with just two penalties called on each team. The Sharks scored the only power play goal.

The Sharks next play Saturday night at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Vancouver Canucks.

Kraken Sink Sharks 7-1; San Jose drops fifth out of last six games

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The Seattle Karken’s defenseman Will Borgen (3) gets in front of the San Jose Sharks (left winger) Anthony DuClair (10) in first period action at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Wed Nov 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-1 to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday. Seattle goals were scored by Brandon Tanev, Oliver Bjorstrand, Adam Larsson, Yanni Gourde, Jared and McCann, with two goals from Eeli Tolvanen. Joey Daccord made 13 saves for the win. Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks, Kaapo Kahkonen started the game and made 13 saves on 17 shots. Mackenzie Blackwood came in to finish and made 10 saves on 13 shots.

The Sharks had eight defensemen in the lineup, due to unavailable forwards. Kevin Labanc was out due to an injury sustained in Monday’s game. Nico Sturm was away for personal reasons. Still injured are Logan Couture, Oskar Lindblom and Alexander Barabanov. Although the team used eight defensemen, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was a scratch.

After the game, Anthony Duclair was asked if the team’s poor performance was a result of the missing regulars. He said: “Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, you gotta compete. You’re in the NHL, you gotta compete and if you don’t compete that’s what’s gonna happen in the first period. It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, everybody has to be ready to go and it cost us.”

The first period was the worst for the Sharks. They gave up four goals, and but for an off-side call, it would have been five. The Sharks managed seven shots in the period but allowed seventeen to the Kraken.

“We can’t start a game like that in the NHL, you’re going to get embarrassed. We’ve been embarrassed before this season but nothing like the first period today. That was just unacceptable,” said Duclair. Asked what went wrong for the team, he said: “We just got out-competed, that’s not the xs and os, it’s win battles and losing battles one v one all over the ice and it cost us.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn went into more detail:

“Embarrassing. We weren’t ready to play. Two break aways in the first minute and a half. I mean just absolutely freaking embarrassing. We lost every single battle, got beat off walls every time there was a 50/50 puck battle we’re fishing for pucks get on the wrong side of it. One guy would get beat one on one and the other guy would dive in.”

In light of that start, the second period might have been worse. The Kraken only had four shots, but they had a four goal lead. The Sharks, trailing as they were, still had just one shot in the period. The total shot count for the game was 30-14 Kraken. The Sharks even had an unusually bad night in the face-off circle. Though they were missing Nico Sturm, their second best in that department, the rest of the team’s top three were present. Still, the Sharks won just 48% of the draws.

Quinn was asked if Wednesday’s performance was a symptom of the team being fragile this season. Quinn seemed out of patience with that excuse:

“I don’t want to hear about freakin fragile, okay? It’s the National freakin Hockey League and you better show up ready to play every freakin night. I don’t care about fragile, sometimes you don’t have it, I get it, but you want to show up and play with the right freakin intentions and we didn’t do it.”

The Sharks will next play on Friday at 12:30 PM PT against the Montreal Canadiens in San Jose.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Ducks; SJ has now dropped two straight

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The San Jose Sharks Mike Ferraro (38) skates with the puck in front of the Anaheim Ducks Troy Terry (19) during the first period at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Nov 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Sunday. Frank Vatrano scored twice for Anaheim, and Mason McTavish and Radko Gudas added two more. John Gibson made 25 saves for the win. Luke Kunin scored for San Jose and Mackenzie Blackwood made 40 saves in the loss.

The Sharks had two power plays in the game, and three shots with the man advantage. After the game, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn talked about the Sharks’ struggling power play:

“They get the power play goal late in the first, make it 2-1, and then we get our power plays and it just really deflated us. I mean really, you know, not a lot of pace, not a lot of urgency to our power play right now. You know, you may not score but you need to gain some momentum off your power play and that’s not happening right now.”

Tomas Hertl also talked about what the Sharks need to do to fix their power play: “We have to just try to shoot through and get some rebounds, some greasy goals more than fancy and we have to keep working on it.”

Anaheim scored first 4:49 into the game. Frank Vatrano tipped a shot from Ilya Lyubushkin. Ryan Strome got the secondary assist. It was Vatrano’s tenth goal of the season.

Luke Kunin tied the game at 13:05. After Tomas Hertl shot the puck in, it bounced up in a high rebound and Kunin batted it down and into the net. Assists went to Hertl and William Eklund. It was Kunin’s second goal of the season.

Vatrano scored his second of the game with a slap shot off a Cam Fowler pass. The power play goal came at 18:22, giving Ahamein at 2-1 lead. Assists went to Fowler and Jakob Silfverberg.

A scoreless second period saw the Sharks have their best shot count of the game, with 12 to the Ducks’ 18. the period saw a number of penalties, including a fight between Luke Kunin and Max Jones.

Mason McTavish made it 3-1 1:52 into the third period. Skating right down the slot, he caught a pass from Leo Carlsson right in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov.

Radko Gudas made it 4-1 just under a minute later. A crazy high-flying puck went up well out of reach of any defenseman and dropped behind Blackwood, who did not realize it was in the air. Assists went to Strome and Vatrano.

The Sharks’ penalty kill gave up two goals on five Ducks power plays. They also had two short-handed shots in the game.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday back in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT against the Florida Panthers.

Sharks Lose 5-0 to Golden Knights; Ex-Shark goalie Hill shuts out old team

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Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez (23) celebrates with teammates after scoring a first period goal against the San Jose Sharks at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Fri Nov 10, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shut out 5-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights Friday at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights got goals from Alex Pietrangelo, William Karlsson and Brett Howden, and two goals from Alec Martinez. Adin Hill made 20 saves for the win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 34 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said:

“Right from the get-go we looked flat for sure. You know, getting down again 2-0 certainly didn’t help our cause. We were half a step behind all night long. We defended way too much, weren’t able to end plays and just were chasing the game really from the drop of the puck.”

Alex Pietrangelo started the scoring just a minute into the game with a wrap around shot. With some activity in front of the net, Pietrangelo avoided all of that and carried the puck behind the net to tuck it in before Kahkonen could get across. Assists went to Michael Amadio and Mark Stone.

Alec Martinez made it 2-0 at 11:19 of the period. Amadio passed the puck up to the blue line for Martinez to take a slap shot that Kahkonen did not seem to see coming. Assists went to Amadio and William Carrier.

Ten minutes into the first period, the Sharks had just one shot on goal, even after a power play. In that light, the six shots for the period indicated that the team improved significantly as the period went on. Still, the Golden Knights had 15. And, in the second period, the Sharks still tallied just six shots.

William Karlsson made it 3-0 with a short-handed goal 2:24 into the third period. Karlsson and Jack Eichel broke away and got around the Sharks defenders. Eichel made the cross-ice pass and Karlsson put it away. Assists went to Eichel and Pietrangelo.

Alec Martinez scored his second of the game, making it 4-0 at 4:40. There was no one between Martinez and Kahkonen, and Martinez had time to pick his shot. He chose to put it just under the top bar. Assists went to Pietrangelo and Karlsson.

Brett Howden scored the fifth goal for Vegas. He got the puck away from Mikael Granlund behind the net. Bounced to Jonas Rondbjerg, who took a shot that Kahkonen stopped. But the rebound came back out to Howden and he was able to snap it in.

The Sharks had three power plays in the third period for a total of four in the game. The Golden Knights had none. The Sharks did well in the face-off circle, winning 33 of 59 draws. Tomas Hertl led the Sharks in shots with five and Mikael Granlund had four. Anthony Duclair did not play on Friday due to illness.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT in Anaheim against the Ducks.