Author: M Walsh

Sharks Beat Stars 2-1, Reimer Returns, Hertl scores

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) scores on Dallas Stars right wing Alexander Radulov (47) and goaltender Braden Holtby (70) at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Dec 11, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson scored for San Jose. That goal tied Karlsson for third in the NHL among defensemen. James Reimer made 34 saves for the win. Michael Raffl scored for Dallas and Braden Holtby made 23 saves in the loss.

The Stars’ power play is ranked fourth in the NHL right now, so it was a good sign for the Sharks that their penalty kill was perfect Saturday. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Our penalty kill has been sort of our backbone all year and we take a lot of pride in that. It was nice to respond. This is a good power play here in Dallas. I thought we did a really good job of coming up with sort of a game plan to nullify that shot Klingberg has at the top.”

Tomas Hertl deflected Timo Meier’s shot to start the scoring at 8:30. Meier spun on the face-off dot before taking the shot. The puck ramped off of Hertl’s stick and went off the top bar and in. Assists went to Timo Meier and Alexander Barabanov. That was Hertl’s 14th goal of the season, and he has now scored in four games in a row.

The Sharks took two penalties in the first period, and allowed five shots to the Dallas power play. The Stars out-shot the Sharks 14-6, and beat them in the face-off circle 61% of the time.

Erik Karlsson scored with a hard shot from the blue line at 16:28. The Stars challenged it for goaltender interference as Tomas Hertl was in the blue paint behind Braden Holtby. Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell helped Hertl get into that spot. Assists went to Timo Meier and Alexander Barabanov. That was Karlsson’s eighth of the season.

The goal held up and the Sharks earned a power play from the failed challenge. The Stars killed the penalty, spending much of the penalty time in the Sharks zone.

The Sharks took one penalty in the second period and gave up two shots to the Stars power play. The Stars took two penalties. The Dallas penalty kill gave up one shot to the Sharks power play, and got one short-handed shot on goal. The second period shot count was 11-10 Sharks, and in the face-off circle, 54% to the Stars.

Michael Raffl cut the lead in half by deflecting Radek Faksa’s shot over James Reimer at 8:26 of the third period. Assists went to Faksa and Jani Hakanpaa. It was Raffl’s third goal of the season.

At the time the goal was scored, the shot count was 6-2 Dallas. After the goal, the Sharks reasserted themselves on offense and balanced out the shot disparity. Noah Gregor and Jonathan Dahlen in particular had some good shifts in the o-zone. The final shot count was 35-25 Stars, with the face-off wins also going to Dallas at 53%.

Kevin Labanc was injured on his first shift of the game and did not return. After the game, Boughner had no specific updates on Labanc’s condition but he said it was some type of upper body injury.

Timo Meier had two assists in the game but he is still chasing his 100th NHL goal.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT. They will host the Seattle Kraken for their first meeting ever.

Sharks Fall 5-2 to Wild, Wild Win Streak at Eight

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Minnesota Wild center Victor Rask (49) tries to get control of the puck against San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor (73) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Dec 9, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The Sharks fell 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild Thursday. It was the Wild’s eight win in a row. Wild goals were scored by Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway (2) and Kirill Kaprizov. Cam Talbot made 33 saves for the win. Sharks goals were scored by Jonathan Dahlen and Tomas Hertl. Adin Hill made 22 saves in the loss.

To start the third period, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner juggled his lines a bit. The result was positive but not enough, as he explained after the game:

“We switched up the lines a little bit, sometimes it’s good to put them in the blender when things aren’t going your way. We did that and the team reacted but, it’s just, you know, it’s a good team and in order to beat those good teams you have to be good for sixty minutes, especially our team and it I think that it took too long to find our game tonight.”

Minnesota’s Kevin Fiala scored the lone goal of the first period, 6:22 in. Jon Merrill’s shot was blocked by Mario Ferraro right in front of the net. The puck dropped in front of an open net for Fiala’s shot. Assists went to Merrill and Brandon Duhaime.

Joel Eriksson Ek scored the the Wild’s first power play goal at 7:04 of the second period. Jacob Middleton was in the box for tripping Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello sent the puck into a crowd in front of the net and it went off of Eriksson Ek’s stick for a perfect deflection past Hill. Assists went to Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov.

Jordan Greenway scored Minnesota’s second power play goal at 15:20. Jacob Middleton was in the box for holding Nick Bjugstad. Kevin Fiala brought the puck into the slot, then made a pass out to Greenway in the face-off circle. Greenway took a quick shot and beat Hill on the far side. Assists went to Fiala and Alex Goligoski.

Jonathan Dahlen scored for San Jose 3:29 into the third period. Tomas Hertl won an offensive zone face-off and sent the puck up to Erik Karlsson at the point. Karlsson brought the puck down the boards a bit before taking a shot that went off of Dahlen in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl cut the Wild lead to one with a power play goal at 13:26. Jonathan Dahlen took a shot that created a rebound. The puck fell to Hertl at the side of the net and he lifted it in behind Talbot. Jonathan Dahlen and Logan Couture got the assists.

The Sharks pulled Adin Hill for the extra skater with more than to minutes left. The Wild got the puck out and Jordan Greenway raced Brent Burns for the puck. As they reached the net, Greenway was able to nudge the puck in to make it 4-2. Moments later, with the net still empty, Kirill Kaprizov broke away to make it 5-2.

The Sharks had a good night in the face-off circle, winning 57% of them. The shots were close in the first to periods, but in the third, the Sharks outshot the Wild 19-9. the Sharks penalty kill gave up four shots along with the two goals, and the Wild penalty kill gave up four shots and one goal. Jacob Middleton took three penalties in the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT, against the visiting Dallas Stars.

Sharks Beat Back Flames 5-3, Hertl Scores Hat Trick

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San Jose Sharks left wing Jasper Weatherby (26) screens Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar (80) to allow a goal by center Tomas Hertl to score in the first period at SAP Center on Tue Dec 7, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks came back from a two goal defecit to win 5-3 against the Calgary Flames Tuesday. The Sharks got goals from Erik Karlsson and Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl scored a hat trick. Logan Couture passed the 600 point mark in his NHL career. Adin Hill, making his fourth start in a row, made 40 saves for the win. Dillon Dube, Johnny Gaudreau and Adam Ruzicka scored for the Flames. Dan Vladar made 22 saves in the loss.

Tomas Hertl’s three goals and one in the previous game signal a shift from a 10 game dry spell, during which he had just two goals. Of this sudden productivity, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Yeah, he was frustrated for a couple weeks, a few weeks getting chances but not putting it in. We had a talk the other day and he just, good players do that. He’s a heck of a player in this league I think. You knew it was going to come, just like [Bonino] a few weeks ago, we were talking about it. You don’t play that long in the league and have that much success and the switch goes off.”

Calgary’s Dillon Dube started the scoring just 97 seconds into the game. Milan Lucic made a quick pass from the outside to the slot and the puck went off of Dube and also Mario Ferraro right in front of the net. Lucic got the assist.

Tomas Hertl tied the game with his tenth of the season, on a power play at 8:58. Alexander Barabanov made a pass from one face-off circle to Hertl in the other. Hertl took the shot off the pass and put it in the top corner on the short side. Barabanov and Brent Burns got the assists.

Johnny Gaudreau scored his tenth of the season, giving Calgary the lead back at 11:55. Matthew Tkachuk made a nifty between-the legs pass from almost behind the net. The pass found Gaudreau on the doorstepTkachuk and Elias Lindholm got the assists.

Adam Ruzicka scored the first of his career at 4:31 of the second period. Christopher Tanev’s shot created a rebound and Ruzicka kept after it until he could push it around Hill’s skate and in. Tanev and Brad Richardson got the assists.

Erik Karlsson cut the lead down with a break-away goal as he came out of the penalty box. Logan Couture spotted him and got the puck up to him as the penalty expired. Assists went to Couture and Jasper Weatherby.

Logan Couture tipped an Erik Karlsson shot, tying the game again on the power play at 14:27. Jonathan Dahlen got the secondary assist.

Tomas Hertl gave the Sharks a lead with his second of the night at 18:10. Alexander Barabanov’s shot created a rebound close to the goal line. Hertl was there to lift it in.

At 6:29 of the third period, Lane Pederson went into the boards by the bench, head-first, with some help from Milan Lucic. Pederson returned from the dressing room very quickly and no penalty was assessed.

Calgary pulled their goaltender for the extra skater with a little under two minutes left in the third. Tomas Hertl scored his third of the night into the empty net at 18:10.

With just under ten seconds left in the game, Ferraro’s clearing attempt hit referee Michael Markovic in the face and he needed help to leave the ice.

The Flames beat the Sharks in the face-off circle in 59% of the draws. They out-shot the Sharks 43-27. The Sharks power play had two chances and scored on both. Their penalty kill gave up three shots and produced three short-handed shots.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in San Jose against the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Blue Jackets 6-4, Give up Lead Twice

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Columbus Blue Jackets’ Max Domi, right, takes a leap over San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson (left) stick during the second period at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Sun Dec 5, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 6-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. Columbus got goals from Sean Kuraly, Cole Sillinger, Jack Roslovic, Alexandre Texier and two from Adam Boqvist. Elvis Merzlikins made 30 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Nick Bonino, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl. Adin Hill made 24 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “I think that it was a tale of two games. I thought I liked our start even though we got out of period one 1-1. The second period, you know, we did some good things but we didn’t manage our game properly.” He went on in some detail:

“Mario fanned on the one, but then we’re all over them and we let them come back on the two-on-one goal. Roslovic got behind us, you know, break away. You know, just, dumb plays, and they come back to haunt you. Again, you score four goals on the road and you feel like you should come away with at least a point.”

Adam Boqvist scored the first goal for Columbus at 16:16 of the first period. Justin Danforth had the puck knocked off of his stick but it went across the ice to Boqvist in the opposite face-off circle. Hill got across to face the shot but it slipped by him. Danforth got the assist.

Nick Bonino tied it up for the Sharks with three seconds left in the period. Matt Nieto pushed the puck out from behind the net and Bonino jumped on it at the crease. Matt Nieto and Andrew Cogliano got the assists.

Erik Karlsson gave the Sharks a lead 21 seconds into the second period. Alexander Barabanov carried the puck out of the defensive zone and into the o-zone. He found Karlsson with a pass just as Karlsson crossed the blue line. Karlsson took the shot right away and beat Merzlikins. Barabanov got the assist.

Sean Kuraly tied it back up less than 30 seconds later, off a two-on one with Andrew Peeke against Brent Burns. Assists went to Peeke and Alexander Texler.

Brent Burns grabbed the lead back for San Jose at 8:44, with a blast from the blue line that flew by three Blue Jackets, hit Merzlikins in the sleeve and went into the net. Assists went to Matt Nieto and Timo Meier.

Cole Sillinger tied it back up at 17:48, off another two-on-one, this time with Mario Ferraro back. Sillinger took the shot from the hash marks and beat Hill on the blocker side.

Jack Roslovic gave the Blue Jackets the lead again 1:57 into the third period. Roslovic beat three Sharks defenders to the net for a back-hand shot around Hill’s outstretched glove. Assists went to Max Domi and Andrew Peeke.

Adam Boqvist scored his second of the night at 5:34, giving the Blue Jackets a two goal lead. Gabriel Carlsson caught a pass from Jakub Voracek on the boards. As he skated to the net, he made a back-hand pass across to Boqvist who was just arriving above the blue paint. Assists went to Carlsson and Voracek.

Tomas Hertl cut the Columbus lead back down to one at 10:11 of the period. Timo Meier dug a puck out of the corner ad Jonathan Dahlen pushed it up to Hertl in the face-off circle. Assists went to Dahlen and Meier.

Gustav Nyqvist scored scored a sixth goal for Columbus at 16:42. The Sharks challenged it as an offside play and it was disallowed.

Alexandre Texier scored into the empty net at 18:53 to make it officially 6-4. Assists went to Gustav Nyqvist and Eric Robinson.

The Sharks just barely won the face-off battle, winning 51% of the draws. They won 71% of the second period draws but were beaten in the first and the third. The Sharks outshot the Blue Jackets in the first, 19-9, but were out-shot in the third 12-5, for a total shot count of 34-30 San Jose. The Sharks had no power plays, and the Blue Jackets had just one. The Sharks penalty kill gave up no shots.

The Sharks return home now, to face the Calgary Flames in San Jose on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Shutout Blackhawks 2-0; Reimer makes 29 stops for SJ

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San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) makes one of his 29 saves this one against Chicago Blackhawks center Kirby Dach (72) during the first period at the United Center in Chicago on Sun Nov 28, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Blackhawks 2-0 Sunday in Chicago. Timo Meier scored both Sharks goals and James Reimer made 29 saves for his 25th career shut out. Chicago’s Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach reflected on James Reimer’s shut out performance: “The double rebound in front, I mean that’s when you know you’re in the zone. When you make the save and it’s basically an open net and you find a way to stab your glove out and save another one.”

The Sharks needed that performance, especially in the first period, when the Blackhawks outshot the Sharks 11-4. Boughner said:

“I wasn’t happy about the way we were playing in our defensive zone. I thought that we weren’t collapsing, I thought we weren’t protecting the house, we weren’t stopping our feet, we were losing all kinds of battles. So we talked about that in between the first and second.”

Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro also talked about how well Reimer has been playing for the Sharks:

“His shut out should have came a lot earlier. So he’s been playing great for us, he’s the reason we why we have a lot of the wins that we do. Him and [Hill], they’ve stepped up big. So, super proud of him, we’re super happy for him, he was especially big in the first period when we weren’t playing very strong.”

The first period saw just one power play, for the Sharks. The Sharks had one shot in that power play. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 62%.

Timo Meier scored his first at 13:39 of the second period. Logan Couture’s pass got to Rudolfs Balcers deep in the slot. Balcers took a shot and it went off of Meier’s stick before going in. Assists went to Balcers and Couture.

The Sharks outshot the Blackhawks 15-9 in the second, and won 65% of the face-offs. The Sharks took the only penalty of the period, for too many men on the ice. Their penalty kill allowed two shots.

Meier scored his second from the middle of the neutral zone, into an empty net, at 18:29 of the third. Logan Couture got the assist.

The Blackhawks outshot the Sharks 9-3 in the third period. The Sharks took the only penalty in third period. Their penalty kill did not allow any shots. The face-off circle saw a big drop off for the Sharks in the third. They won just 35% of the draws.

The Sharks are scheduled to play on Tuesday against the Devils in New Jersey at 4:00 PM PT.

Sunday, the Sharks placed Evander Kane on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL Barracuda. .

Sharks Lose 4-1 to Maple Leafs; fifth loss out of last eight games for SJ

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Right winger Wayne Simmonds hoists his stick and arms after scoring a goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs against San Jose Sharks goaltender James Remier at SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Nov 26, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks (10-9-1) fell 4-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs (15-6-1) in San Jose Friday. Toronto goals came from William Nylander, Wayne Simmonds, Auston Matthews and John Tavares. Joseph Woll made 34 saves for the win. Nick Bonino scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 13 saves on 17 shots and Adin Hill made 16 saves in the loss.

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “I just thought that they were the better team, we didn’t look as fresh as we have in the last couple games. I didn’t think we had the same pop. You gotta be at your best to beat one of these teams like this.”

Sharks Captain, Logan Couture said his teams needs to get back to shooting the puck:

“I mean we had success earlier in the season. We shot the puck with traffic and right now maybe we’re looking for seams too early, we’re getting too cute with the puck. I think if we get back to just blasting it from the flanks and from the middle of the ice, we ‘re going to find rebound goals or dirty goals.”

William Nylander started the scoring just 32 seconds into the game. John Tavares made a touch pass at the blue line to catch Nylander on his way into the zone. Nylander carried the puck to the net before taking a shot. Reimer got a toe on it but it bounced over the line. Assists went to Tavares and Morgan Reilly.

Nick Bonino tied tied up at 4:44. Bonino gathered a loose puck up near the hashmarks and took the shot right away. The puck went under Woll and in. Assists went to Noah Gregor and Erik Karlsson.

Wayne Simmonds gave his team the lead back soon after, at 5:16. Simmonds deflected a quick shot over Reimer’s glove and off the cross bar. Assists went to Kampf and Nick Ritchie.

Auston Matthews made it 3-1 at 4:57 of the second period. After a couple of cross-ice passes with Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren sent the puck to the net where it came loose before Matthews tapped it in. Assists went to Michael Bunting and Timothy Liljegren.

John Tavares scored Toronto’s fourth at 10:44, on the power play. Reimer fought off two shots, but Tavares persisted without much interference from Sharks skaters. He finally got it through, over Reimer’s pad. Assists went to Nylander and Mitchell Marner.

After that goal, Boughner pulled Reimer and put Adin Hill in net. After the game, Boughner said:

“It definitely wasn’t his fault. I told him that much when he came back to the bench. I said the plan was to play him Sunday in Chicago. So I said just get some rest. It was good for Hill to get in there, I think I was trying to spark the team, maybe have a little bit of momentum change there. I thought Hiller played well when he went in there, so that was important to see.”

It was the fifth time in a row that Reimer was pulled against the Mape Leafs, playing for various teams.

The shot count for the game was close, 35-33 Sharks. In the face-off circle, it was not close: the Maple Leafs won 60% of them. The Maple Leafs had six shots on the power play, in two tries. The Sharks power play had two shots in three tries.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Chicago against the Blackhawks at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Senators 6-3; San Jose scores 3 unanswered goals in 3rd period

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Timo Time the San Jose Sharks Timo Meier is exalted after scoring a third period goal against the Ottawa Senators at SAP Center in San Jose on Wed Nov 24, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks (10-8-1) won 6-3 against the Ottawa Senators (4-12-1) in San Jose on Wednesday. Matt Nieto, Tomas Hertl, Nick Bonino, Timo Meier, Logan Couture and Jacob Middleton all scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 26 saves for the win. Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk and Connor Brown scored for the Senators and Matt Murray made 23 saves in the loss.

It was Jacob Middleton’s first NHL goal and Timo Meier had three points in the game. Nick Bonino scored his first point of the season in 700th NHL game.

The Sharks scored first but the Senators fought back to take the lead in the second period. The Sharks had a 3-0 third period to close it out. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I was happy with the way we stuck with it. I think it could have went the other way on us real quickly. I didn’t like our first period at all. I thought we were playing an urgent team that was looking to get back on track and we knew they would come out hard. They won more battles than us and they were more hungry in the first period.”

The game started with and early fight, between Auston Watson and Jacob Middleton, before Matt Nieto gave the Sharks a lead at 7:16 of the first period. Nieto, Labanc and Weatherby broke into the zone three-on-two, with Nieto carrying the puck. With Weatherby driving the net, Nieto opted to take the shot and got it through on the far side. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Erik Karlsson. It was Nieto’s first goal of the season.

Ottawa tied the game at 13:38 with a goal from Josh Norris. Assists went to Brady Tkachuk and Lassi Thomson. The goal was Norris’ eighth of the season.

The shots for the period were close, 12-11 Ottawa. Ottawa was better in the face-off circle, winning 60% of the draws. The Sharks power play had four shots on goal.

Tomas Hertl gave the Sharks the lead again just 47 seconds into the second period. Hertl carried the puck from behind his own net all the way to the other ed of the ice, finishing with a wrist shot into the near side. Assists went to Timo Meier and Mario Ferraro. It was Hertl’s eighth of the season.

The Senators tied it again at 14:38, when Brady Tkachuk scored his fourth of the season. Thomas Chabot’s shot from the circle went off of Tkachuk in the blue paint. Assists went to Chabot and Artem Zub.

Connor Brown gave the Senators their first lead of the game 93 seconds later. The teams were playing four on four when Chabot’s pass found Brown in the slot. Reimer was moving across as if to follow a cross-ice pass and he couldn’t get back in time when the pass stopped short. Assists went to Chabot and Tim Stutzle.

Nick Bonino scored his first of the season to tie it back up at 19:29 on the power play. Logan Couture made a pass down to Timo Meier on the goal line and Meier tapped it back up to Bonino for a shot from the slot.

The shots were close in the second period as well, 13-10 Senators. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 60%. Ottawa had three power plays as seven shots on the power play. The Sharks had two power plays and on power play shot. They also had one short-handed shot.

Timo Meier scored his seventh of the season to take the lead back for the Sharks. He held the puck for a moment, high in the slot, before sending a hard wrister under a Senators defender and over the goalie’s glove. Assists went to Rudolfs Balcers and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Logan Couture scored his seventh, into an empty net at 18:56. Jacob Middleton scored his first NHL goal at 19:28, into an empty net. Assists went to Andrew Cogliano and Erik Karlsson.

The Sharks power play had no shots in the the third period, and their penalty kill gave up none. Most of the penalty time in the third were overlapping our matching penalties, but the Sharks did have one full power play. The Sharks outshot the Senators 7-4 in the third.

The Sharks next play on Friday against the Toronto Maples Leafs at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Hurricanes 2-1 in OT; Barabanov gets gamer in late stanza

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San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Barabanov (94) puts in the game winner against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta (32) and and right wing Sebastian Aho (20) during overtime at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 22, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in overtime Monday. Kevin Labanc and Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 22 saves for the win. Tony DeAngelo scored for Carolina and Antti Raanta made 25 saves in the loss.

The game looked like it might be the third this season in which the Sharks did not get a single power play. At the end of the second period, defenseman Erik Karlsson spoke to officials. That did not seem to make a difference, though the Sharks did finally get a call at the end of the third period.

On the lack of calls, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“We haven’t got a lot of power plays lately but we certainly deserved a few more tonight than zero. So, it’s frustrating, and I try to tell the players to let me do the talking to the refs and you guys just concentrate on the game.”

After the game, Sharks forward Kevin Labanc said: “It was a pretty tight game for the full 60. You know, they weren’t really giving us much we were creating chances and those are the games that you gotta find a way.”

Labanc was did not play Saturday, as he was serving a one-game suspension for a slew foot in last Thursday’s game. Monday, however, he was all business. Asked to talk about his performance and that of his team, he said: “We did our job tonight and it’s a good two points.”

In a scoreless and penalty-free first period, Carolina out-shot the Sharks 8-7, but the Sharks won 69% of the face-offs. Alexander Barabanov took a hard hit midway through the period but he did return for the second.

Tony DeAngelo scored for Carolina at 1:16 of the second period. His shot flew down the slot through some traffic and past Reimer on the stick side. Assists went to Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis.

The Hurricanes out-shot the Sharks again in the second 10-8, and the face-offs were even at 50%. The Hurricanes had one power play and the Sharks penalty kill allowed two shots.

Kevin Labanc tied the game at 3:54 of the third. Jasper Weatherby corralled the puck as it came out of a board battle and pushed it up to Labanc. Labanc carried it a little deeper before taking the shot and beating Raanta on the far side.

The Sharks out-shot the Hurricanes 8-5 in the third, and won 57% of the face-offs. The Sharks penalty kill allowed no shots to the Carolina power play in the third. Their own power play did not begin until 19:38 and bled into overtime.

Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose 1:42 into overtime, just after the Sharks power play ended. Tomas Hertl took two quick shots at the net from in close, before sneaking the puck under the goaltender, across the crease to Barabanov. Barabanov had a clear shot and he took it. Assists went to Hertl and Mario Ferraro.

The Sharks had three shorts in the extra frame, and won both of the face-offs. The Hurricanes managed one short-handed shot in overtime.

Scott Reedy made his NHL debut in the absence of Jonathan Dahlen, who was injured in Saturday’s game. Reedy had two blocked shots in 10:56 time on ice.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday, against the Ottawa Senators at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Shut-Out by Caps, 4-0; Dahlen leaves in second period with shoulder injury

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San Jose Sharks head coach behind the bench looks up at the scoreboard in the third period which reads bad news as the Sharks get shutout by four goals from the Washington Capitals at SAP Center on Sat Nov 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks (8-8-1) fell to the Washington Capitals (11-2-5) 4-0 Saturday. Conor Sheary and Alexander Ovechkin each scored two for the Capitals and Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves in the shut-out win. Adin Hill made 17 saves for San Jose in the loss.

Conor Sheary gave Washington an early lead with a goal at 2:17. Daniel Sprong carried the puck into the zone, battling to get by Sharks defenders. With Sharks all around him, Sprong still managed to get a pass across to Sheary for a shot that went under Adin Hill. Assists went to Sprong and Aliaksei Protas.

Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play at 13:58. John Carlson made a pass across the width of the ice, so that the puck landed nicely for an Ovechkin one-timer. The shot went by Hill on the blocker side, finding a gap that was not big. Assists went to Carlson and TJ Oshie.

Midway through the first period, Jonathan Dahlen left the ice and went to the dressing room with what appeared to be an upper body injury. He returned to play two shifts at the start of the second period.

The teams were tied in shots at the end of the first, 6-6. They each had two power plays, but three of those penalties were overlapping by at leaxt 30 seconds. Each team had two power play shots. The Capitals were better in the face-off circle, winning 55% of the draws.

The Capitals appeared to have scored a third goal at 14:31 of the second but the goal was waved off. Adin Hill was impeded by a Washington player being sprawled on top of him.

The Sharks out-shot the Capitals in the second, 10-7. The Sharks power play managed four shots on goal during double minor, and their penalty kill gave up one shot to the Capitals. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 67%.

The Sharks started the third period still on the penalty kill, but allowed no more shots during that Capitals power play.

Conor Sheary scored his second of the game to made it 3-0 at 15:10 of the third. Adin Hill stopped John Carlson’s shot but a small rebound went right to Sheary on the doorstep. Assists went to Carlson and Ovechkin.

Ovechkin scored into and empty net at 18:56 to make it 4-0. He took the shot from just inside his own zone. An assist went to Nic Dowd.

The final shot count was 22-21 Sharks. The Sharks had four power plays to the Capitals’ three, and the Sharks won 55% of the face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Carolina Hurricanes, in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Blues, Ending Blues Losing Streak

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Its hard for San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer to look back as the St Louis Blues Brandon Saad (20) score a second period goal at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Nov 18, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues Thursday. The Blues got goals from Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, and two from Brandon Saad. Ville Husso made 26 saves for the win. Jonathan Dahlen scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 44 saves in the loss.

For the second time in four games, the Sharks had zero power play opportunities. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I thought when we started getting back into the game, and we were trading chances a little bit, we took a terrible penalty, 200 feet away from our net and they scored. It’s 1-0, now we’re playing a little bit of catch up. It just seemed we couldn’t get a power play call. You know, I was whining a little bit there ’cause I’d had three or four there that I thought could have been a power play.”

Jacob Middleton and Robert Bortuzzo dropped the gloves off the opening face-off, starting the game off with some energy.

Logan Couture appeared to have scored the first goal at 8:21 of the game but it was called back because Jasper Weatherby was offside.

Brandon Saad scored the only first period goal, on the power play 10:35 minutes in. Ryan O’Reilly’s shot from the face-off circle went under Reimer and drifted into the blue paint. Saad had his stick ready to nudge it over the line. O’Reilly and David Perron got the assists.

Along with the one-goal lead at the end of the first period, the Blues also led in shots 16-13 and face-off wins at 62%. The Sharks penalty kill gave up six shots to the Blues power play.

Robert Thomas made it 2-0 for th Blues 1:35 into the second period. Pavel Buchnevich caught a pass from Scott Perunovich on the goal line, then sent it over to Thomas who was just below the hash marks. Thomas’s shot slipped by Reimer on the blocker side.

Jonathan Dahlen scored for the Sharks at 8:16. Timo Meier won a battle for the puck below the goal line and shot a pass to the front of the net. Dahlen was on the spot to push it in.

In a three-on-two, Brandon Saad scored his second of the game at 10:17. Oskar Sundqvist made a backhand pass from one circle to the other and Saad shot it in while Reimer was still trying to get across. Assists went to Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev.

The Blues out-shot the Sharks again, this time 19-8, though the Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 53%. The Blues had two power plays to the Sharks’ none, and their power play managed four shots on goal.

Jordan Kyrou made it 4-1 1:09 into the third period. David Perron’s cross-ice pass from the d-zone found Kyrou flying through the neutral zone. Kyrou took the shot from the top of the circle and beat Reimer on the far side.

The Blues had a single power play in the third period, and again the Sharks had none. The Sharks penalty kill gave up three shots. The Blues also out-shot the Sharks in the third period, 13-6. The Sharks won 62% of the third period face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, back in San Jose against the Washington Capitals at 7:30 PM PT.