Author: M Walsh

Barracuda Fall 6-5 to Heat in Shootout

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Tough close loss for the San Jose Barracuda against the Stockton Heat at SAP Arena in San Jose on Fri Mar 11, 2022 (image from the San Jose Barracuda)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Barracuda (18-28-2) lost 6-5 in a shootout to the Stockton Heat (32-9-4) on Friday. It was the eighth straight home loss against the Heat for the Barracuda. Emilio Pettersen, Jakob Pelletier, Mark Simpson, Walker Duehr and Matthew Phillips scored for Stockton. Adam Werner made 20 saves for the win. The Barracuda got goals from Joachim Blichfield, Eban Weinger, Artemi Kniazev, John Leonard. Zachary Emond made 34 saves in the loss. It was Artemi Kniazev’s first pro multi-goal game.

The first period was scoreless with the Barracuda outshooting the Heat 14-8. The penalty box saw some traffic with the Heat taking three penalties to the Barracuda’s two. The last of those penalties were matching roughing penalties to Connor Mackey and Jasper Weatherby.

The second period saw a flurry of scoring, starting with Joachim Blichfield’s goal at 2:07. Kyle Topping set Blichfield up for the one-timer with a circle to circle pass. Assists went to Topping and Santeri Hatakka.

Stockton’s Emilio Pettersen tied it up less than 30 seconds later, redirecting a shot from Mark Simpson.

Eban Weinger scored to give San Jose the lead back at 4:53, muscling his was past Kevin Gravel to get to the net. Assists went to Sasha Chmelevski and Jake McGrew.

Jakob Pelletier tied it again at 6:05. Matthew Phillips slipped by Ryan Merkley and then chased the puck down to make a diving pass across to Pelletier for the shot.

San Jose took their third lead of the game at 16:51 on their third shot of the period. Stockton’s Nick DeSimone lost his footing as he carried the puck behind his net and went down. John Leonard was right behind him to pick up the loose puck and carry it up the boards. Leonard passed it to Artemi Kniazev, who had just entered the zone. Kniazev took the shot and beat Werner on the stick side. Assists went to Leonard and Hatakka.

The shot count was 13-3 Stockton. The only penalty of the period went to Kyle topping for slashing, at 19:29. That put the Barracuda on the penalty kill to start the third period.

The Barracuda killed that off and then added to their lead with another goal from Kniazev. John Leonard made a short pass up the ice to where Kniazev was moving to the net. Kniazev took the shot from low in the circle and beat Werner through the five hole.

Mark Simpson cut San Jose’s lead back to one at 5:24. Justin Kirkland took a shot from the blue line and Simpson cleaned up the rebound.

John Leonard scored on the power play to make it 5-3 San Jose with a backhand at 6:11. That was the first power play goal against Stockton in 17 tries. Chmelevski and Kniazev got the assists.

Walker Duehr scored for Stockton at 9:53. His spin shot went off of the post. Kevin Gravel got the assist.

Matthew Phillips made it a tie game at 18:21 on a power play with the Stockton net empty. Phillips got his stick on the the puck as it slid out of a scrum at the net. Assists went to Jakob Pelletier and Juuso Valimaki.

The Barracuda were outshot again in the third period, 17-5. The overtime period was lively with a lot of chances for both teams but no goals. The Sharks had three shots and Stockton got none on net.

The first six shooters in the shootout scored, but the goaltenders found their groove in the next two rounds and stopped four shooters. In the sixth round, Johannes Kinnvall scored and Werner made a save on Jake McGrew to win it.

The Barracuda will play again on Saturday, in Stockton against the Heat at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Kings 4-3 in OT, Karlsson Returns

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl celebrates scoring an overtime goal against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Mar 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

LOS ANGELES- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime Thursday. Brent Burns, Nick Bonino, Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. Zach Sawchenko made 33 saves for his first NHL win. Phillip Danault, Andreas Athanasiou and Trevor Moore scored for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves in the loss.

Thursday saw the return of Erik Karlsson, Jonathan Dahlen and Jaycob Megna. Karlsson had two assists in 25:47 of ice time. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Erik was flying tonight. You could tell he was happy to be back and he was full of energy. I think our team looked like that too. You know, you get Megs and Karly back there, settle things down. You know, we’re not running around as much in our own end, and we’re spending more time in the other team’s end. So, it’s nice to sort of get some guys back from injury and look like a real team out there.”

The Sharks power play scored at 2:39 when Erik Karlsson made a pass to Brent Burns in the middle of blue line. Burns’ one-timer sent the puck in and out before you could blink. Karlsson and Couture got the assists.

Phillip Danault tied it up at 5:58. Sawchenko went to catch the puck on the initial shot but it bounced out of his glove. By then, he was out of position and when Danault found the puck, he had an open net to shoot at. Assists went to Trevor Moore and Andreas Athanasiou.

Athanasiou scored to give the Kings a lead eight seconds later. He took the shot from above the circle without seeming to look where he was shooting and it beat Sawchenko on the glove side. Assists went to Moore and Olli Maatta.

Moore made it 3-1 at 10:40 of the second period with a shorthanded goal. Danault and Moore played a little catch in the Sharks zone before Moore took the shot from the slot.

Nick Bonino trimmed the Kings lead at 12:13 with a power play goal. Jonathan Dahlen took a shot from inside the circle. Quick stopped it but it bounced over him and into the blue paint, where Bonino was able to nudge it over the line. Assists went to Dahlen and Jacob Middleton.

Alexander Barabanov tied it up at 1:21 of the third period. Erik Karlsson took a quick shot from up at the blue line and Barabanov managed to deflect it just as he arrived in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl scored the game winner at 1:15 of overtime. Hertl carried the puck over the line, across the ice and behind the net. When Hertl went past the net, Quick dove for the puck but missed it and Hertl carried on, around behind the net to score with a backhand. It was his first goal in 13 games. Assists went to Barabanov and Burns.

The shot count for the game was close, 36-30 Kings. In each period, the Sharks were within three shots of their opponent, a significant improvement over recent games. The Sharks won 53% of the face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at home, at 6:30 PM PT against the Kings again.

Sharks Fall 3-2 in OT to Ducks, Sawchenko Gets the Start

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Zach Sawchenko, right, stops a shot by Anaheim Ducks center Adam Henrique in second period action at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sun Mar 6, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

ANAHEIM- The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks Sunday. Adam Henrique, Sonny Milano and Rickard Rakell scored for Anaheim and Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves for the win. Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for San Jose and Zach Sawchenko made 33 saves in his first NHL start.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about Sawchenko’s performance:

“Sawzy, I thought he stood tall. I thought that he gave us the saves we needed early, he made some big saves to keep the momentum on our side. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the two points for him. But for his first full start I think he should be pretty happy with it.”

Undrafted, Sawchenko played for the San Jose Barracuda and the Allen Americans from 2019 to 2021 before signing with the Sharks at the end of last season.

The goaltender talked about making his first start: “It was a long road to get here. I think it’s that much more special, doing it here with the same team that I started with whatever it was, four years ago or three years, whatever the number is.” Sawchenko is of Ukrainian descent and he was asked about the performance of the Ukrainian anthem that played before the game. He said: “Obviously it’s cool. It was cool to hear that yesterday in San Jose too.”

The game-winning goal came after a very convenient line change by the Ducks, and Boughner was not happy about it:

“It’s just a complete, disastrous blown call. And the thing that pisses me off the most is they don’t even come over to the bench, they race off the ice. Just, the respect to come and explain it. Everybody missed it, no review, if you watch it, the replay, it’s too many men all day long.”

The game started with a fight between Jeffrey Viel and Sam Carrick.

Logan Couture made it 1-0 Sharks at 7:47. Couture carried the puck in, looking for the pass but took the shot instead and sent the puck right under Stolarz. Assists went to Timo Meier and Santeri Hatakka.

The Sharks came out of the first period with the lead and a shot lead of 10-9. The Sharks had to kill three penalties and had one power play in the period. Their penalty kill gave up just one shot and had two short-handed shots. Their power play got two shots on goal.

The Ducks tied it up at 1:41 of the second period. Max Comtois’s shot went off of Sawchenko and then off of Adam Henrique and into the net. Assists went to Comtois and Troy Terry.

A little over a minute later, Marc-Edouard Vlasic got the lead back for the Sharks with a shot from the blue line through traffic. The puck wet off of Kevin Shattenkirk’s leg and into the net. Nicolas Meloche got the assist.

Sony Milano tied it up again with 20 seconds left in the period. The puck came out of a scrum in front of the net and Milano was right there and in the clear to put it away. Assists went to Adam Henrique and Cam Fowler.

The second period had just two penalties called, one to each team. Each power play got just one shot in. The Sharks were badly outshot in the period, 13-6 Ducks.

At 7:03 of the third period, Jacob Middleton puck the puck in the net during a penalty kill but the play was called offside and the goal was called back. Middleton was about half a stride ahead of the puck that Nieto was bringing over the line. To follow up on that valiant effort, Middleton took a stick to the face at the end of the penalty kill to give the Sharks a power play.

Nine seconds into overtime, Logan Couture was covering Adam Henrique while the Ducks had the puck. Couture took an eye off of Henrique, who was near the bench. While Couture was looking away with Henrique behind him, Rickard Rakell jumped on the ice at the other end of the bench, giving himself a good lead on Couture and Burns both. Rakell skated into the zone alone and beat Sawchenko over the glove. Assists went to Terry and Fowler.

After the game, the teams conferenced about the play. It could have been a too-many men on the ice play since Henrique was lackadaisical about getting off the ice. But the goal held up.

The Sharks struggled in the face-off circle Sunday, winning just 38% of the draws. They improved in the third, winning 53% of them. The Sharks excelled at blocking shots, however, blocking 28 to the Ducks’ 7.

The Sharks lost Radim Simek to injury late in Saturday’s game, giving Santeri Hatakka a chance in the lineup Sunday.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Los Angeles against the Kings at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Shutout 8-0 by Predators; Eighth loss in ten games for San Jose

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The Nashville Predators Michael McCarron (47) gets congratulations from teammates after scoring a first period goal against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Mar 5, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks fell 8-0 to the Nashville Predators Saturday night in San Jose. Michael McCarron, Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, Matt Luff, Yakov Trenin and Mikael Granlund scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros made 20 saves for the shutout win. Alex Stalock made 22 saves before being replaced by Zach Sawchenko, who made 6 saves for the Sharks. It was the most goals the Sharks have ever given up in a shutout loss. The Sharks also have also been shutout at home more than any other team this season.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“That was the worst one of the year, for sure. I think, you know, regardless of the score, at three-nothing I thought we were actually playing a pretty competitive game. We were playing pretty hard. We only gave up two chances in the first period and I think we only generated one. So it’s a pretty even first period, regardless of the shot clock. I thought the second period, the chances we did have [Saros] made saves or [we] hit a couple posts, hit a crossbar. Once it got four-nothing we got away from our game.”

Before the game, the Sharks expressed their support of Ukraine by displaying the Ukrainian flag on the jumbotron while playing the Ukrainian anthem. It was also “You Can Play” night at the tank, promoting inclusivity in the sport. The Sharks wore rainbow jerseys during warm-ups and they held a ceremonial puck drop from San Jose sled hockey player Zack Nazareno.

Michael McCarron scored the first Nashville goal at 10:43 of the first period, off of a pass from behind the net. Assists went to Philip Tomasino and Date Fabbro.

Matt Duchene made it 2-0 with a shot up the middle from the blue line. That shot made its way through traffic and into the net at 18:30 of the period. Assists went to Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen.

Well past the ten minute mark, the Sharks were still at three shots on goal. By the end of the period, they had only managed five to Nashville’s eleven.

Roman Josi added a third goal for Nashville at 2:43 of the second period. Assists went to Matt Luff and Philip Tomasino.

Matt Luff made it 4-0 in the final minute of the second period, gathering the puck up as it slipped out of a melee in front of the net. Assists went to Tomasino and McCarron.

Duchene scored his second of the night 4:43 into the third period. He skated into the zone seemingly unnoticed by the Sharks defense and scored with a late backhand. Filip Forseberg and Mattias Ekholm got the assists.

Michael McCarron scored his second of the night at 6:07, redirecting a shot from Luff. Assists went to Luff and Josi.

The Sharks replaced Stalock with Sawchenko after that goal.

Yakov Trenin scored and unassisted goal at 11:13. He picked off a pass by Marc-Edouard Vlasic that came right to him above the blue paint.

Mikael Granlund scored a power play goal at 13:06. His shot from the bluel line went ight up the middle through traffic. Assists went to McCarron and Josi.

The Sharks power play got three shots on goal, and gave up two short-handed shots. Their penalty kill gave up oe goal and four shots.

Rudolf Balcers was back in the lineup Saturday. Erik Karlsson has been practicing but is not expected to play before next week.

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

Sharks Lose 3-1 to Golden Knights, Reimer Injured

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Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden, left, attempts to skate around San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton at the T Mobile Center on Tue Mar 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. It was the eleventh loss in row for the Sharks against the Golden Knights. Keegan Kolesar and Reilly Smith scored for Vegas, with two goals from Smith. Robin Lehner made 16 saves for the win. Noah Gregor scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 10 saves in the first period. Zach Sawchenko made 18 saves in the second and third periods.

While admitting that some of the Sharks’ top players may be fatigued after six games in ten days, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner saw few positives in the loss:

“There wasn’t anything I could really say positive about our game tonight. Only thing I’d say is we found a way to keep it a one-goal game for a long time. And that’s an opportunity on the road no matter how you’re playing. You can come up with ten good minutes and find a way to win but we couldn’t muster anything up tonight.”

Sharks forward Andrew Cogliano was equally glum about the team’s lackluster performance: “That’s on us, we know the game plan. The game plan was set in stone, and obviously the game plan against these guys is to try to take away the rush. They’re very good on it and they stretch guys behind you and for whatever reason we didn’t want to do that.”

James Reimer played to the end of the first period but did not return for the second, due to a lower body injury. There were no updates on his status in the post-game.

Keegan Kolesar scored first for Vegas, just 2:16 into the game. Brett Howden carried the puck in, two-on-one with Kolesar. Just before jumping over a prone Brent Burns, he made the cross-ice pass to Kolesar for the shot.

Noah Gregor tied it 1:53 into the second period. Andrew Cogliano, below the goal line, made a pass to Nick Bonino up in the circle, and he found Gregor on the other side of the slot for a quick shot.

Reilly Smith scored his first of the game at 13:56. Jonathan Marchessault brought the puck in and made a quick cross-ice pass to Smith for the shot. Assists went to Marchessault and William Karlsson.

Smith scored his second 4:45 into the third period. Karlsson made a touch-pass off of Marchessault’s shot to get the puck to Smith. It was so quick that it looked like a double deflection from one stick to the other.

The Golden Knights out-shot the Sharks 31-17. They also beat them in the face-off circle, 29-21. There was only one power play in the game, to Vegas. The Sharks penalty kill gave up just two shots.

After the game, Andrew Cogliano explained that he had been out because his infant daughter was hospitalized over the weekend. With her improved and out of the hospital, he was able to return to the team.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson and goaltender Adin Hill may be available to rejoin the team soon.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Nashville Predators.

Sharks Beat Kraken 3-1, End First Goal Drought

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 San Jose Sharks’ Ryan Dzingel (14) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Seattle Kraken in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Feb 27, 2022 (photo by Bay Area News Group)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Seattle Kraken 3-1 Sunday, handing Seattle their seventh loss in a row. Ryan Dzingel, Scott Reedy and Jonah Gadjovich scored for the Sharks. James Reimer made 39 saves for the win. Morgan Geekie scored for Seattle and Phillipp Grubauer made 21 saves in the loss.

The game was Reimer’s eleventh start in a row. After the game, he was asked about his fatigue level. He said:

“When you’re winning you feel a lot better than when you’re losing. So, yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, we’ve had a couple games here in a row. Like I said, I enjoy playing, I enjoy coming to the rink and working and so, it’s fun to play so I’ll never say I’m too tired to play.”

The Sharks got the first goal of the game, for a the first time in a long time. Ryan Dzingel scored it, his first as a Shark, at 17:19 of the first period. Noah Gregor carried the puck in deep then made a backwards pass to Logan Couture above the circle. Couture passed it across the slot to Dzingle for the shot.

Morgan Geekie tied the game just ten seconds later. As Geekie skated to the net, he fanned on a shot but gathered the puck up for a last-second backhand as he passed the post. Assists went to Ryan Donato and Austin Czarnik.

The Kraken out-shot the Sharks 19-4 in the first period.

Early in the second, Calle Jarnkrok put the puck in the net but the goal was called back after the Sharks challenged for goaltender interference. Marcus Johansson got a leg tangled up with Reimer after trying to get around Vlasic in front of the blue paint.

Scott Reedy made it 2-1 Sharks with his first NHL goal at 7:15 of the second period. He had just missed scoring when he took too long to take the shot. After the next face-off, the puck came to him and he took the shot even before the face-off scrum had cleared. Jasper Weatherby got the assist.

The second period was busy for defenseman Jacob Middleton. He fought Jeremy Lauzon a couple of minutes into the period. The he went back to the box with Ryan Donato for matching roughing minors. The Sharks recovered in the shot department, winning 11-9. Their power play had no shots but their penalty kill had one had gave up just one shot to the Kraken.

Jonah Gadjovich scored his first NHL goal at 14:37 to make it 3-1. A shot from Brent Burns went off of the goaltender and then off of Gadjovich’s skate. Seattle challenged it for goaltender interference but the goal was upheld. Assists went to Weatherby and Burns.

The total shot count was 40-24 Kraken. In the third period, the Kraken took three penalties and the Sharks power play got four shots in the period. San Jose had a slight edge in the face-off circle at 54% for the game.

Jonathan Dahlen was out due to illness and so Reedy was called up from the AHL. Defenseman Mario Ferraro, injured in Saturday’s game, had surgery to repair a broken leg. He will be out for six to eight weeks. Defenseman Nicolas Meloche, however, was back on the ice for Sunday’s game. Andrew Cogliano missed a second game attending to a personal matter.

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

Sharks Fall 3-1 to Bruins

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Boston Bruins left wing Taylor Hall (71) goes after the puck and San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro (38) slides into the dash boards at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks fell 3-1 to the visiting Boston Bruins Saturday night. The Bruins got two goals from Brad Marchand and one from Patrice Bergeron. Jeremy Swayman made 15 saves for the win. Timo Meier scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 34 saves in the loss.

The Sharks have not beaten the Bruins since 2016, and this year’s Boston team is clearly a contender. So the loss was not surprising. But it did highlight some ongoing issues for the Sharks. The Sharks had just 16 shots on goal in the game, a low for the season. Their power play, however, continues to produce at a good clip, with nine goals in their last nine games. But their inability to score first is looming large. They have given up the first goal in eight games in a row.

Defenseman Mario Ferraro had to be helped off the ice midway through the second period. The Sharks have used eleven defensemen this season. Nicolas Meloche is also out with injury now, and Erik Karlsson is still recovering from surgery.

Also in the troublesome injury category is the fact that James Reimer played his tenth game in a row Saturday, and may play his eleventh tomorrow. It would not be unreasonable to expect to see Zach Sawchenko in net Sunday, if Adin Hill is still not recovered from his injury. If ever there were a good reason to put an untested goalie in net, ten starts in a row would be it.

Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a lead at 14:24 of the first period. Jake Debrusk carried the puck in with Marchand two-on-one. Debrusk made the pass and Marchand put it past Mario Ferraro and Reimer for his 22nd of the season. Assists went to Debrusk and Erik Haula.

The Sharks tied it up at 12:50 of the second with a power play goal from Timo Meier. Brent Burns, midway up the slot, faked a shot before making a mass to Meier in the face-off circle. Meier’s one-timer beat Swayman on the glove side. Assists went to Burns and Logan Couture.

Early in the third period, Brad Marchand scored his second of the night to make it 2-1 Bruins. Taylor Hall made a backwards pass from the goal line to the left of the net across to the circle on the right side of the net. That is where the pass found Marchand for the game-winning shot. Assists went to Hall and Craig Smith.

Patrice Bergeron added another for the Bruins with just 40 seconds left in the game. David Pastrnak skated in as if to shoot, but then centered the puck for Bergeron. Bergeron put it past Couture and Reimer both for his 14th of the season. Assists went to Pastrnak and Marchand.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 7:00 PM PT, in San Jose against the Seattle Kraken.

Sharks Beat Islanders 4-3 in SO, End Losing Streak

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New York Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) tries to get his stick and arms around San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Feb 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 in a shootout Thursday night. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for the Sharks. James Reimer made 44 saves for the win in his ninth start in a row. Logan Couture, Jasper Weatherby and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks. Brock Nelson, Zach Parise and Adam Pelech scored for New York. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about James Reimer’s iron man streak in the Sharks net:

“Yeah, it’s a lot of hockey he’s played. Traditionally, if you look at [Reimer]’s career, he’s been such a good goalie in this league for a long time. But playing, I don’t know how many it is now, let’s call it eight, nine, ten in a row, you know, he’s not necessarily been in that position a lot. And, you know, he’s coming up with timely saves and he’s battling just as hard as everybody else and finding ways.”

Brock Nelson opened the scoring at 14:56 of the first. With almost all of the skaters on the left side of the ice, Scott Mayfield sent the puck all the way around the boards to an undefended Nelson. Nelson’s shot went over Reimer’s shoulder on the far side. Assists went to Mayfield and Kieffer Bellows.

Alexander Barabanov tied it up with a power play goal at 15:55, just six seconds into the man advantage. His shot came from above the face-off circle and went through traffic. Assists went to Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl.

Jasper Weatherby gave the Sharks a lead at 17:32. Holding the puck along the boards as if looking for a pass, he opted to send it to the net where it found its way in. An assist went to Jeffrey Viel.

Zach Parise tied it back up at 12:48 of the second period. Sebastian Aho carried the puck down below the goal line before making the pass to Parise just above the blue paint. Aho and Matthew Barzal got the assists.

Logan Couture made it 3-2 on the power play at 16:31. Couture’s shot went through traffic and past Sorokin on the stick side. Assists went to Ryan Merkley and Tomas Hertl.

Adam Pelech tied it again just 19 seconds later, shooting from the slot through a mass of bodies. Assists went to Barzal and Parise.

Half way through the third period, the shots were 10-0 Islanders. At 13 minutes in, it was 12-0. There were fewer than six minutes left by the time the Sharks got a shot on goal. Overall, the Sharks were outshot after the first period 30-13. The Sharks had one shot in overtime to the Islanders’ four.

James Reimer stopped all three shots in the shootout and Logan Couture scored. Ilya Sorokin stopped a shot from Tomas Hertl.

Thursday, Zdeno Chara surpassed Chris Chelios for the most games played by an NHL defenseman. He marked the occasion by fighting Jeffrey Viel. After the game, Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton said: “What he’s done for so long in this league is just so impressive. Still, at 44 he’s someone, night in and night out, is a presence and plays the right way and the leader he is. Everything he does is impressive.” Of Viel’s fight, he said: “That’s pretty impressive. Chara asked him too, from the sounds of it. So, for Viel to say yes, and go with a guy who’s that big, it just did give us some life on the bench, that’s for sure.”

Nicolas Meloche was injured late in the first period during a board battle with Zach Parise. He left the ice favoring his right side and did not return to the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT at home against the Boston Bruins.

Sharks Fall 4-3 in SO to Ducks, 7th Loss in a Row

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San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Barabanov (94) loses his balance in front of Anaheim Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) and Ducks’ Kevin Shattenkirk (22) at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Tue Feb 22, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

ANAHEIM- The San Jose Sharks lost to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in a shoot-out. It was their seventh loss in a row. Derek Grant and Rickard Rakell scored for Anaheim, with two goals from Rakell. Anthony Stolarz made 40 saves for the win. Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored for San Jose, with two goals from Couture. James Reimer made 26 saves in his eighth start in a row.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner discussed the Sharks power play in overtime and one of the differences between the two teams:

“We did have a couple good looks. You know, our big guys were tired, at the end of the game, let’s be honest. We took a lot of penalties and they killed a lot of penalties and, you know, Anaheim has got some guys that are fourth line that do some killing for them and I think that makes a big difference for ice time.”

The Ducks took the lead at 3:38 of the first period. Derek Grant scored on a two-on-0 after the Ducks picked off a neutral zone pass. Assists went to Sam Carrick and Nicolas Deslauriers.

Logan Couture tied it up at 7:10. Brent Burns took a shot off of an offensive zone draw. Stolarz stopped it but Couture jumped on the rebound for his 16th of the season.

Matt Nieto found Burns on his way into the zone to give the Sharks a lead at 17:22. Burns dropped to one knee for the one-timer and got the puck past Stolarz for his first goal in 16 games. Assists went to Matt Nieto and Timo Meier.

At 7:00 of the second, Rickard Rakell tied it up when a shot from Trevor Zegras created a rebound. Assists went to Zegras and Cam Fowler.

Logan Couture scored his second of the night on the power play at 13:44. Once again, Brent Burns took the shot and Couture cleaned up the rebound. Assists went to Burns and Meier.

At 16:09, Rickard Rakell tied it up again with a shot from the face-off circle into the short side. An assist went to Adam Henrique.

A scoreless overtime period saw the Sharks get seven shots on goal, three of those on a power play. The Ducks had no shots in overtime. In the shootout, Stolarz stopped Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl missed the net. For the Ducks, Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell scored, and Reimer stopped Troy Terry.

The Sharks out-shot the Ducks 43-29, though the teams were very close in the second and third periods (14-14 and 9-8). They had 14 shots on goal in four power plays. Their penalty kill gave up seven shots and had one short-handed shot in three penalties. The Sharks won 61% of the face-offs.

Ryan Dzingel made his debut with the Sharks after being acquired on Monday. He saw time on the power play (2:31) and skated in overtime. He had two shots in the game and drew the overtime penalty on a break away. Jonathan Dahlen was a healthy scratch Tuesday.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson and goaltender Adin Hill have both started skating but there is still no confirmed return date for the injured players.

The Sharks next play on Thursday back in San Jose against the New York Islanders at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Golden Knights; Sixth consecutive loss suffered by San Jose

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Lane Pederson (18) foreground, and goaltender James Reimer (47) collide inside the net against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Feb 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday. Keegan Kolesar, Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty, and Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas. Logan Thompson made 35 saves for the win. Nick Bonino scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 31 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner described the game as: “Another first period where we’re chasing and we’re down two-nothing, it’s a couple, I would say, soft kind of goals on us and it’s no recipe for success.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture talked about how frustration mounts for players as the losses pile up:

“Guys are trying to bear down. Everyone in there wants to score. You don’t come to the rink and say ‘oh, I can’t wait to get a chance tonight and then miss.’ You know, you’re trying the best you can. It’s deflating, obviously, guys get frustrated, disappointed. You know, you go one long streaks without scoring, trying to keep positive.

You know, it’s so easy to say ‘well I’m getting chances, it’s gonna go in, it’s gonna go in.’ Until you actually see the puck go in the net, you don’t feel that relief. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in there who feel like there’s an extra ten, twenty pounds on their shoulders right now, the puck’s not going in.”

The first goal came at 10:14, shortly after a successful four-minute penalty kill from the Sharks. The penalty was on Rudolfs Balcers, and though the damage was done with the injured players’ own stick, it was aided by a stick lift from Balcers. Then, after the Sharks killed that off, Keegan Kolesar’s shot went in, off of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick. It was Kolesar’s fifth of the season, assists went to Bret Howden and Shea Theodore.

The second Vegas goal came at 14:34, on the power play, off of Jack Eichel’s stick. It was Eichel’s first goal as a Golden Knight. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Alex Pietrangelo.

The Sharks were outshot 16-8 in the first period. Their penalty kill allowed six shots and mustered three short-handed shots. The Sharks won just 39% of the face-offs.

The third Vegas goal came early in the second period, a truly strange bouncer that crossed the line then bounced back out and required video review to be confirmed. That goal went ot Max Pacioretty, with assists to Theodore and Eichel.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 14-9 and improved a little in the face-off circle, wining 45% of the draws. There was only one penalty in the second period, and it went to Vegas. The Sharks power play got two shots on goal.

The Sharks finally got on the board midway through the third period. Nick Bonino scored the goal after Andrew Cogliano centered the puck from below the goal line. Assists went to Cogliano and Jake Middleton.

Chandler Stephenson scored into an empty net with 33 seconds left in the game. Assists went to Pacioretty and Nicolas Roy.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 7:00 PM PT.