Author: M Walsh

Sharks Beat Wild 4-1; Reimer keeps pucks out of the nets with 26 saves

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The Minnesota Wild’s Marco Sturm (7) takes a shot on net as San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer (47) gets a pad save on Tue Nov 16, 2021 in Minneapolis (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 4-1 on the road, against the Minnesota Wild Tuesday. The win was a nice follow-up to Monday’s induction of Sharks GM, Doug Wilson, into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Mario Ferraro, Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 26 saves for the win. Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild and Cam Talbot made 17 saves in the loss.

Sharks Captain Logan Couture, said, of the win: “Great effort. We played more of our style of hockey. Kind of frustrated them at times.” He also mentioned the upcoming game as a chance to show that the team is back on track: “St. Louis is a big game for us too, to finish off this trip on a good note. A three and two trip, with what we’ve gone through, would be pretty good.”

Mario Ferraro opened the scoring at 5:55 of the first. Timo Meier made a neat pass off the boards to Logan Couture, who was on his way to the net. Instead of taking the shot, Couture made a pass across to Ferraro by the opposite goal post. The puck landed right on Ferraro’s stick for the shot. It was his second goal of the season.

Timo Meier scored the next one. Coming out of the corner, he slipped between the Wild defenders to get the rebound from Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot. He had one knee on the ice as he took the shot for his sixth goal of the season. Assists went to Vlasic and Couture.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led in shots 9-7. The Sharks power play got only one shot on goal, a power play that bled into the start of the second period.

Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild at 5:25 of the second. Though two Sharks were right with him as he entered the zone, his shot went by them and over James Reimer’s glove. It was Eriksson Ek’s sixth of the season. Assists went to Kevin Fiala and Jonas Brodin.

At 8:42 of the second, Matt Dumba threw a hit on Alexander Barabanov that looked ugly. Tomas Hertl took issue with it and went after Dumba. Hertl went to the box for roughing. Soon after, Jonah Gadjovich tried to revisit the matter with Dumba, but Marcus Foligno wound up being his fight partner.

After the game, Boughner described these events as turning points in the game and said:

“Tommy Jumping in for Barabanov and then later on [Gadjovich] going out and, you know, looking to get physical. I think our team feeds off of that, we need that element and I think it’s very very important.”

At 9:32, Erik Karlsson scored his third of the season to make it 3-1. With the teams playing four-on-four between abbreviated power plays, Karlsson let loose a blast from the top of the circle. The shot went off of the bar and in. Assists went to Jacob Middleton and Rudolfs Balcers.

The Wild took the shot lead in the second, 13-8. Four different players spent time in the penalty box during the second, but neither team had a full power play out of it because penalties overlapped. The Sharks got two shots during their abbreviated power play and the Sharks penalty kill allowed no shots to the Wild.

Tomas Hertl scored the only goal of the third period at 9:25. The Sharks moved the puck from the goal line to above the circle and back down to Hertl who was just above the goal line. Assists went to Barabanov and Balcers. It was Hertl’s seventh goal of the season.

Late in the period, Mario Ferraro blocked a shot and seemed to sustain an upper body injury. He went down the tunnel but returned and was on the ice when the final buzzer sounded.

The Sharks made a good showing in the face-off circle, winning 59% of the draws. The Sharks penalty kill allowed just one shot in the game.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, in St. Louis against the Blues at 5:00 PM PT.

Avalanche Bury Sharks 6-2; SJ has lost 4 of last 5 games

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks right wing Nick Merkley, right, attempts to take the puck down ice against Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Sat Nov 13, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 6-2 to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver Saturday. Devon Toews, Nazem Kadri, Alex Newhook, Logan O’Connor, Andre Burakovsky and Samuel Girard scored for Colorado. Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for the win. Logan Couture and Alexander Barabanov scored for San Jose, and Adin Hill made 25 saves in the loss.

With this loss, the Sharks fell out of a playoff spot for the first time in this young season. Although they had their veterans back from COVID-19 protocol, having to kill four penalties in the first period hurt the team.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “You start putting your big boys out there, killing penalties and you lose the flow of your game and we could never get it back.” Boughner mentioned mishandled pucks and bad changes, then summarized: “We started doing things that were uncharacteristic. And there were some guys who looked like they hadn’t played in a long time.”

Sharks forward Tomas Hertl mentioned defensive zone turnovers and how they lead to penalties when tired skaters are trapped in their own zone. In terms of offense, he said: “We need everybody to step it up because we are a team, you know, with 20 guys and we are no team with one line. So today wasn’t good enough.”

Logan Couture gave the Sharks the lead early in the first. While Timo Meier created a screen, Couture’s one-timer from the wing beat Kuemper on the near side. Assists went to Mario Ferraro and Meier.

Devon Toews tied the game at 10:10 wth a power play goal. His shot went by a couple of skaters in the slot and under Adin Hill. Assists went to Samuel Girard and Nazem Kadri.

Nazem Kadri gave the Avalanche the lead just a few minutes later. Valeri Nichushkin’s pass found Kadri breaking away. Kadri drew Hill to the front of the blue paint before slipping the puck around behind the goaltender. Assists went to Nichushkin and Erik Johnson.

The Sharks had to kill four penalties in the first period. In all, their penalty kill gave up six shots and one goal. Despite the penalties, the Sharks still got 12 shots on goal to the Avalanche’s ten. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 46% of the draws.

Alex Newhook made it 3-1 with his first NHL goal, at 13:55 of the second period. Sam Girard made a pass form the red line to Newhook on the far side of the net, and Newhook shot it past a spawling Hill. Assists went to Girard and Jayson Megna.

Logan O’Connor added a short-handed goal for the Avalanche a couple of minutes later. O’Connor broke away, evading Brent Burns and Timoe Meier before scoring with a backhand. Assists went to Darren Helm and Erik Johnson.

The Avalanche outshot the Sharks 11-8, and won 53% of the face-offs. The Sharks penalty kill allowed two shots. The Sharks power play got one shot on goal.

Alexander Barabanov scored a power play goal for the Sharks at 9:02 of the third period. Tomas Hertl made a shot pass form the boards to Barabanov, who was ready to take a shot into the far side. Jasper Weatherby was right in front of Kuemper so the goalie didn’t see the shot. Assists went to Tomas Hert and Erik Karlsson.

Andre Burakovsky killed any momentum from the power play goal with a goal a little more than a minute later. Samuel Girard took a slap shot from just above the face-off circle, and hit Gabriel Landeskog. As Landeskog fell, the rebound went right to Buraskovky for the scoring shot. Assists went to Landeskog and Girard.

Samuel Girard scored Colorado’s sixth of the night at 16:37, into an empty net. Nazem Kadri got the assist.

For the game, the Sharks had a face-off win percentage of 52, and 30 shots to the Avalanche’s 31.

The Sharks’ next game will be Tuesday in St. Paul against the Minnesota Wild at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose to Jets 4-1; Third loss in four games

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Winnipeg Jets’ Nate Schmidt (88) scores the go ahead goal in the second period as Josh Morrissey (44) celebrates with Schmidt against the San Jose Sharks in Winnipeg on Thu Nov 11, 2021 (Canadian Press photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-1 to the Jets at Winnipeg Thursday. Kyle Connor, Nate Schmidt, Jansen Harkins and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for the win. Andrew Cogliano scored for the Sharks and James Reimer made 30 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Assistant Coach John MacLean was not willing to attribute the loss to fatigue: “I don’t know if [we] ran out of gas… I thought we had a couple of opportunities, we just weren’t able to bury it. And, you know, it was a close game there for a bit.” He also mentioned the lopsided penalty calls: “They get some power plays, we never really got any special… we never got any power plays. It was just one of those things, guys tried and it just didn’t come our way.”

The roster and the bench will likely look different for the next game, as players and staff will be returning from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. McLean assessed the performance of the team in the absence of those players:

“After a loss you’re not really pleased, I mean you wish, there’s a couple of opportunities there missed as well in that. So, I will say that I’m pleased with the total effort that these guys showed throughout this, you know, the guys who got called up and the guys who were here. I mean I think overall they all buckled down and gave us an opportunity each night to win.”

The Sharks scored the first goal of the game, at 6:28 of the first period. Brent Burns picked up the puck near the boards and carried it across into the slot, then made a quick pass to Andrew Cogliano who was on the far side of the net. Cogliano lifted it into the short side for his second of the season.

Kyle Connor tied the game at 11:38. As the Jets entered the zone, Evgeny Svechnikov passed the puck from the right wide to Dubois in the middle of the ice. Dubois tok a shot that went off of Reimer’s pads for a short rebound. Connor was right there to shoot it back in behind Reimer.

The Sharks penalty kill gave up one shot on a single penalty for the period. The teams were dead even at ten shots each. It was the Sharks’ best face-off period, at 69%.

The second period started with an early fight, between the Sharks’ Jonah Gadjovich and the Jets’ Adam Lowry. The Sharks took a delay of game penalty at 7:24, and then matching roughing penalties at 10:02 went to Dominic Toninato and Ryan Merkley. Again, the Sharks penalty kill gave up just one shot.

The Jets took the lead at 14:11, with a shot from the blue line by Nate Schmidt. Assists went to Josh Morrissey and Blake Wheeler.

Jansen Harkins made it 3-1 at 19:16 of the second. Harkins and Adam Lowry got behind the Sharks for a two-on-one. From low in the slot, Lowry made a pass to Harkins for a deflection.

The Jets out-shot the Sharks 13-8 in the second, but the Sharks continued to dominate in the face-off circle at 60%. The third period saw the Sharks slip in that area, winning only 44% of the draws. The Sharks penalty kill allowed two shots during the single third-period Jets power play.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his eighth of the season into an empty net at 19:27 of the third. Assists went to Andrew Copp and Nikolaj Ehlers.

The Sharks’ next game will be in Colorado against the Avalanche, on Saturday at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Light Up Flames, Win 4-1

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks’ Nicolas Meloche (right) plows Calgary Flames’ Mikael Backlund (left) into the boards during the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Nov 9, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started this road trip with a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames, scoring three times in the third period. Alexander Barabanov, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Dahlen scored for San Jose, and Adin Hill made 37 saves for the win. Brent Burns and Adin Hill each earned two assists in the game and Dahlen’s goal tied him for the NHL rookie lead in goals this season. Andrew Mangiapane scored for Calgary and Jacob Markstrom made 22 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Assistant Coach John MacLean talked about what he saw during the third period:

“It’s always fun when you can feel them just kind of, they’re excited to be out there, and going and cheering for one another and blocking shots and cheering for a good change, cheering for getting a puck deep. That’s when you can see them, you know, playing for one another and that when you know you have a shot.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture talked about goaltender Adin Hill’s performance in the net: “Tremendous, played great. Big saves, a few times there off tips. Always looked composed. I mean, there were a few times when the puck as bouncing around but he was a rock for us tonight.”

In a scoreless first period, the Sharks were out-shot 8-4, despite having two power plays. Two of their shots in the period came on the power play. In the face-off circle, they won just 4 out of 11 draws.

Alexander Barabanov scored the first goal of the game 47 seconds into the second period. Brent Burns made a pass from the Sharks red line to Barabanov on the Flames blue line. Barabanov made a beeline for the net and beat Markstrom with a quick wrist shot. Assists went to Burns and Hill.

Andrew Mangiapane tied it up 20 seconds later through a melee at the net. Assists went to Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube.

There was an official review after the on-ice official called no-goal. The video review reversed the call. The Sharks then challenged the goal for goaltender interference, as it appeared that Milan Lucic had pushed Adin Hill ‘s pad into the net. The challenge failed and the team had to kill their first penalty of the game.

The Sharks were out-shot again, 19-8 in the second period. They also had to kill three penalties, allowing six shots to the Flames power play. In the face-off circle they improved, winning 46% of the draws.

Logan Couture scored the game winner at 4:18 of the third period. He carried the puck over the blue line and took a shot from the boards that went off of a Calgary defender and into the net. Assists went to Santeri Hatakka and Nicolas Meloche.

With just over a minute left, Adin Hill collected the puck behind the net, and passed it to Brent Burns in the corner. Before taking a hit, Burns sent the puck all the way up the ice. He missed the net, but Tomas Hertl won the race, and put the puck in the empty net with a spin around the Calgary defender.

With 41 seconds left, Jonathan Dahlen scored another into the empty net from deep in the Sharks zone.

The Sharks finally out-shot Calgary in the third, 14-11. The Sharks also won 54% of the face-offs in the third period. Tomas Hertl led all skaters with seven shots in the game.

The Sharks play next on Thursday in Winnipeg against the Jets at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Devils, 3-2 in a Shoot-Out

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer in goal and the New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson (28) who scores in the shootout for the game winner at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 6, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 in a shoot-out to the New Jersey Devils Saturday at SAP Center in San Jose. Ryan Graves and Janne Kuokkanen scored for the Devils and Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Rudolfs Balcers and Jonathan Dahlen. James Reimer made 26 saves in the loss.

New Jersey out-shot San Jose 10-9 in a scoreless first period. Each team had a chance on the power play, with the Devils power play getting two shots on goal and the Sharks power play getting three. The teams were also very close in the face-off circle, with the Sharks winning 11 draws and the Devils winning 10.

Rudolfs Balcers scored the first goal of the game early in the second period. The Sharks had just killed off an early penalty, having given up just one to the Devils power play. Mario Ferraro carried the puck all the way across the Devils blue line before making a pass through the blue paint to Balcers, who was able to put the puck in the net. Assists went to Ferraro and Brent Burns.

Devils defenseman Ryan Graves tied the game at 16:45 with his first goal of the season. He trailed the play into the zone and arrived just in time to catch a cross-ice pass from Nico Hischier. Reimer could not get across in time to stop the shot. Assists went to Hischier and Michael McLeod.

The teams continued to be very close in shots, with the second period count at 9-7 Sharks. In the face-off circle, the Devils improved to 61%, or 11-18. The Devils had the only power play in the period, and had just the one shot on goal.

Jonathan Dahlen made it 2-1 with a shot on the power play into the top corner at 4:21 of the third. Assists went to Brent Burns and Ryan Merkley.

Janne Kuokkanen tied tied it back up at 17:04 of the third. His shot was one of many that flew at James Reimer in quick succession. Kuokkanen was able to shoot while Reimer was prone across the goal mouth. Assists went to Jimmy Vesey and Colton White.

Logan Couture shot first and scored with an assertive wrist shot through the Bernier’s five-hole.

New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt shot next. His shot hit Reimer’s pad and seemed to stop but instead slid over the line to count for a goal.

Rudolfs Balcers shot next for San Jose but his shot hit the post.

Alexander Holz shot next for New Jersey and Reimer stopped his shot.

Tomas Hertl shot next, but Bernier deflected the shot away from the net.

Damon Severson shot last for New Jersey and scored. After a shimmy and a shake he lifted the puck over Reimer and up into the corner.

The final shot count was as close as ever, 28-27 Devils. In the face-off circle, New Jersey also prevailed, winning 54% of the draws. The Sharks power play scored on one of three chances, and their penalty kill was perfect against four Devils power plays.

The Sharks will hit the road now and play next in Calgary against the Flames on Tuesday at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Blues 5-3; St Louis scores 3 goals in second period

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

St Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer stopped 23 shots in his first NHL game against the San Jose Sharks on Thu Nov 4, 2021 at SAP Center (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues Thursday. Blues goals came from Brandon Saad (2), Pavel Buchnevich, James Neal and Robert Thomas. Joel Hofer, in his first NHL game, made 23 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Logan Couture and Nick Merkley. Adin Hill made 23 saves in the loss.

After the game, Assistant Coach John MacLean was asked whether the Sharks let a win slip away here. He said: “No game’s a given here in the NHL. I mean, yeah we had some opportunities and we let a couple of opportunities slip away.” He summarized the loss as “just one of those games. We can’t forget that St. Louis is a pretty good hockey club and when they got the lead they shut’er down pretty good, they didn’t give us a lot after that.”

The Sharks scored a power play goal at 7:13 of the first. The teams were playing 5 on 3 due to several overlapping penalties. Burns’s one-timer went by three skaters and under Joel Hofer. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov.

Brandon Saad tied it up with a short-handed goal as the Sharks power play was winding down. Tyler Bozak carried the puck into the zone along the boards and made a pass across the ice to Saad on the other side of the ice, avoiding two Sharks defenders. Saad’s quick shot went by Hill on the far side.

Logan Couture got the lead back for the Sharks with his own short-handed goal at 17:16. Couture stole the puck from [x]Faulk in the neutral zone before making a run into the o-zone. His wrist shot snuck under Hofer. Rudolfs Balcers got an assist.

The Sharks out-shot the Blues 12-7 in the first. Their power plays got seven shots on goal and their penalty kill gave up one shot. They also did well in the face-off circle, winning 56% of the draws.

The Blues tied it again at 4:20 of the second. Ivan Barbashev intercepted the puck in the o-zone and found Pavel Buchnevich by the face-off dot with a quick pass. Buchnevich shot it right in and beat Hill over the glove. Assists went to Barbashev and Klim Kostin.

Nick Merkley put the Sharks ahead again less than 30 seconds later. Merkley tipped Mario Ferraro’s shot, sending the puck between Jake Walman’s skates and under Hofer for his first of the season. Assists went to Ferraro and Burns.

Saad tied it again with his second of the night at 8:09. A slick wrist shot from the face-off dot went off the post and in on the far side. Assists went to Robert Thomas and David Perron.

James Neal gave the Blues their first lead of the night at 11:42. Hill stopped Walman’s shot from the point but Neal picked up the rebound and swept it around the Sharks’s goaltender. Assists went to Walman and Tyler Bozak.

The Blues edged the Sharks in the face-off circle in the second period, 10 wins to 9. They also out-shot the Sharks 12-8. Their power play got three shots on goal.

Midway through the third period, Nikko Mikkola sent Logan Couture into the boards. Couture got up slowly and walked into the tunnel but he returned to the bench instead of going to the dressing room. After the game he said he was fine.

Robert Thomas scored an empty-netter with a minute left. Assists went to Colton Parayko and Hofer.

In the final tally, the Sharks won 58% of the face-offs. The Blues outshot the Sharks 28-26. The Sharks had nine shots on the power play and the Blues had four.

Thursday’s game was William Eklund’s ninth game. If he plays another with the Sharks, he cannot be sent down without triggering his entry level contract.

Due to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, the Sharks are still without forwards Keving Labanc, Timo Meier, and Matt Nieto, and defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Head Coach Bob Boughner, Head Trainer Ray Tufts and Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich are also out.

Of the Sharks’ young defensemen, John MacLean said: “One of the hardest positions to break into the National Hockey League is playing defense… the experiences they get, they played out of necessity, and you don’t jump on them because they gave a good solid effort.”

Logan Couture also talked about how the inexperienced players are doing:

“The guys that have stepped in and played their second or third NHL games have played well and they’ve given it all they have. The veterans, we can do a better job protecting those guys, playing out of our end and in their end a little bit more.”

The Sharks next play on Saturday at home, against the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Sabres 5-3; Seven Sharks sit for Covid protocols still get second straight win

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl celebrates scoring his fifth goal of the season on this third period goal at 6:02 against the Buffalo Sabres at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Nov 2, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 Tuesday night in San Jose. Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl (2), Jonathan Dahlen, Ryan Merkley and Mario Ferraro. James Reimer made 25 saves for the win. Sabres goals came from Jeff Skinner (2) and Drake Caggiula. Craig Anderson made 22 saves in the loss.

The Sharks roster is still in a state of flux due to COVID-19 protocols. Jonathan Dahlen was back, as was Andrew Cogliano, but Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc were out. Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Matt Nieto, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic remained out. Logan Couture returned after missing the last game, though not for COVID-19.

After the game, Couture said: “It was chaotic but proud of the effort again. I mean, found a way. Went down to five D early in that second period, or maybe even half way through that second period. Credit to those guys back there, they found a way. I mean, it wasn’t pretty, the whole game, but, found a way.”

Jonathan Dahlen scored first for the Sharks, at 7:25 of the first period. Brent Burns sent a shot from the blue line right down the middle and into a swarm of bodies at the net. The puck evaded Anderson and sliped back into open ice where Dahlen lifted it into the net. Assists went to William Eklund and Burns.

A little over a minute later, Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner tied the game during a delayed penalty. His shot zipped through traffic in the slot and past Reimer. Assists went to Vinnie Hinostroza and Robert Hagg.

Ryan Merkley made it 2-1 Sharks at 12:49. After holding the puck patiently at the blue line, he took a shot that went off of a couple Sabres in front of the net before landing behind Anderson. Assists went to Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl.

Hertl made it 3-1 Sharks early in the second period. Rudolfs Balcers picked up a turnover in the Sabres zone and carried it almost to the goal line before passing it back to the Hertl at the top of the slot. Hertl carried the puck around traffic down to the net and put it past Anderson at 6:13.

Drake Caggiula cut the Sharks lead down a bit at 13:33. Hinostroza brought the puck across the line and then passed it to Caggiula on the boards. Caggiula took a hard shot that went by Reimer on the far side. Assists went to Hinostroza and Dylan Cozens.

Early in the third, Mario Ferraro scored his first of the season with a one-timer from the blue line, off a pass from Nick Merkley. Assists went to Merkley and Jasper Weatherby.
Tomas Hertl added another at 11:46 to make it 5-2. He got the puck from Balcers just as he entered the zone, then wove his way through traffic right down the slot before taking the shot. Assists went to Balcers and Ferraro.

Jeff Skinner scored his second of the game at 18:13. Just as the puck jumped off of Reimer’s glove, Skinner tapped it out of the air. It bounced off the back of Reimer’s helmet and landed over the line. Assists went to Tage Thompson and Rasmus Asplund.

A littl emore than half way through the second period, Sharks defenseman Santeri Hatakka left the game with an upper body injury. He did not return and the team did not have any updates after the game.

The Sharks made an excellent showing in the face-off circle, winning 64% of the draws. The shot count was consistently close through the three periods, ending up 28-27 Sabres. There were few penalties in the game, and fewer power play shots. The Sharks power play had one shot on goal, the Sabres power play had none.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, at home against the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 PM PT.

COVID-19 Protocols Purge Roster, Sharks Beat Jets Anyway 2-1

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Barabanov (94) and Winnipeg Jets left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) make contact while chasing the puck in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Oct 30, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime Saturday. Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks and James Reimer made 34 saves for the win. Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves in the loss. That could be the result of a Sharks game on most nights, but Saturday was distinctly different from regular regular season Sharks games.

Late Saturday afternoon, the Sharks roster looked a lot like a preseason game. A slew of players, eight in total, were pulled from the lineup at the last minute and seven were replaced by call-ups from the AHL Barracuda. Andrew Cogliano, Jonathan Dahlen, Erik Karlsson, Jacob Middleton, Matt Nieto, Radim Simek, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Head Coach Bob Boughner were all held out of the game due to NHL COVID-19 protocol. Logan Couture was alsoout due to illness but not in COVID-19 protocol.

Seven players had just hours notice that they would be playing Saturday. Defenseman Santeri Hatakka made his NHL debut, with Ryan Merkley, Nicolas Meloche, and Jaycob Megna making their season debut on the blueline. The forwards making their season debuts were RW Nick Merkley, LW Jonah Gadjovich and LW John Leonard. Mike Ricci stepped in behind the bench to fill out the coaching roster.

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns said that a crazy day like Saturday can be good for a player who is making a debut with an NHL team: “Sometimes that’s the best thing. So those guys got to play their first game with not a lot of time to think about it and they get a good result in it and I think that can just really help all those guys.”

After the game, Sharks assistant coach John Maclean talked about the team’s response to these strange circumstances:

“They had great energy and they all knew that they had to play. Everybody got ice. It was like, the bench was lively, they were pretty much coaching themselves. They were excited to get out there and play. So that’s always fun to see.”

The first period shot count was very close, 14-13 San Jose. The Sharks power play got two shots on net. In the face-off circle the Sharks struggled. Nick Bonino won 60% of his draws and Jasper Weatherby won 50%, but Tomas Hertl was around 20%. As a result, the Sharks won just 25% of their draws in the first.

The Sharks scored the first goal of the game, 54 seconds into the second period. Barabanov carried the puck down the wall to the goal line, where he spun and threw it at the net. The puck went off of Timo Meier’s stick and across the goal mouth to Tomas Hertl, who was able to put it away. Meier and Barabanov got the assists.

The Sharks out-shot the Jets 13-7 in the second period. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 54%, but Hertl still seemed outmatched, especially against Pierre-Luc DuBois, who he drew against 7 times in the first two periods, and won only once.

Sharks Defenseman Santeri Hatakka did something about that at 3:43 of the third period, drawing a high-stick from DuBois. DuBois earned a double-minor and Hatakka went to the box for cross-checking. Still, the Sharks did not get credit for a single shot during that power play, and their face-off numbers did not improve.

The Jets tied the game at 16:48 of the third. DuBois drew the Sharks defense to himself as he drove the net. His shot bounced into the slot, where Nikolaj Ehlers picked it up for another try. Reimer stopped that too but Kyle Connor found the puck and put it in the net before Reimer could get across. Assists went to Ehlers and DuBois.

By the end of regulation, the only Shark with a better than even win percentage was Jasper Weatherby, who only took nine draws. He won six (67%) of those. Bonino had dropped from a high of 60% to 41% and Hertl went from 20% to 21%. All around, it was not a good night for the Sharks in the face-off circle. In shots, the Jets out-shot the Sharks 15-6 in the third.

Thirty seconds into overtime, Nikolaj Ehlers was called for interference on Brent Burns and Timo Meier scored the game winner 1:07. Burns sent the puck to Labanc near a face-off dot. Labanc skated with it to the top of the slot and then made a subtle touch-pass to Meier for the winning shot.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday, in San Jose against the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 PM PT.

Canadiens Shut-Out Sharks 4-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) shutout the San Jose Sharks as the Sharks center Tomas Hertl’s (48) shot is stopped in front of the net by Allen during the first period at SAP Center on Thu Oct 28, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-0 to the Montreal Canadiens in San Jose Thursday. It was the Sharks’ third loss in a row. It was Montreal’s first win in San Jose since 1999. Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, Alexander Romanov and Josh Anderson scored for Montreal and Jake Allen made 45 saves for the shut-out win. Adin Hill made 28 saves for San Jose in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the loss: “Our power play is not… you know, it’s generating shots and chances, we’re just not getting a bounce and that would have been a, both the last two games, that would have been a difference.” When asked about whether the Sharks are being aggressive enough in front of the goalie, he said: “We were there but we weren’t quite in his lap where we’re supposed to be.”

Sharks forward Timo Meier said: “We had some chances. It’s just, you know, we made it easy on their goalie, and in front of the net, we didn’t find the rebounds to put them in. So we didn’t do enough to win this game.”

The Canadiens scored the only first period goal at 12:09. Mike Hoffman was on his way to the net when Brett Kulak took a shot that created a rebound in the slot. Hoffman swept the puck around Adin Hill and tucked it in the net. Assists to Brett Kulak and Nick Suzuki.

The first period shots were nearly even at 10-9 Montreal. The Sharks had two power plays in the period and six shots with the man advantage. The Sharks had a slight advantage in the face-off circle, winning 53% of the draws.

The Canadiens scored again at 8:53 of the second period. It was Montreal’s first power play of the game. Alexander Romanov defelcted a hard shot from Jonathan Drouin at the point.

Brendan Gallagher made it 3-0 at 12:54, scoring his first of the season. Assists went to Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki.

The Sharks led the second period in shots 16-10. Each team had two power plays in the period. The Sharks penalty kill only allowed two shots and their power play managed seven shots on goal. The Sharks won 62% of second period the face-offs.

Midway through the third period, Jake Allen stopped three quick shots in close from Dahlen, Balcers and Couture. It was a good example of how frustrating the game was for the Sharks. Allen was indeed in the zone on Thursday.

The Sharks pulled Adin Hill for an extra attacker with a little over three minutes left. Josh Anderson scored an empty netter at 17:52. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and David Savard.

Near the mid-point of the third period, William Eklund took a shot off of his wrist. He required some attention on the bench but did return to play.

That Sharks out-shot the Canadiens 20-12 in the third. The Sharks took one penalty in the third, apart from a flurry of penalties in the final three seconds of the game. The Sharks penalty kill gave up three shots.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, in San Jose against the Winnipeg Jets at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Predators 3-1; Loss is second in a row for Sharks

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) skates around the back of the net in the second period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Oct 21, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated 3-1 by the Predators in Nashville Tuesday. Nashville goals came from Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund. Juuse Saros made 28 saves for the win. Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, and James Reimer made 23 saves in the loss.

The Predators scored less than two minutes into the game, on a very early power play. Duchene skated right down the slot, with Brent Burns in front of him. His shot slipped around Burns’ stick and past Reimer at 1:20. Assists went to Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen.

That was only penalty the Sharks’ took in the game. The Sharks power play had two shots on goal in the first, and the teams were dead even in shots for the first period at nine each. In the face-off circle, the Predators had an edge with a 52% win percentage.

Filip Forsberg made it 2-0 Predators at 12:31 of the second period. Roman Josi held the puck around the face-off dot until two Sharks and their goalie moved to defend against his shot. Then he found Forsbeg in the slot with a centering pass. Forsberg’s shot went between Mario Ferraro’s legs and over Reimer’s glove. Assists went to Josi and Dante Fabbro.

The Sharks had a slight edge in shots during the second period, 12-10. Their pwoer play got four shots in two tries. They improved in teh face-off circle to 57%.

Timo Meier scored for San Jose 11:54 into the third period. After an offensive zone draw, Meier jumped on a rebound and managed to get the puck in the net before tripping over Juuse’s outstretched left arm. Assists went to Jonathan Dahlen and Logan Couture.

Mikael Granlund scored into an empty net at 19:07, with a shot from his own net front. An assist went to Alexandre Carrier.

The Sharks finished with a 29-26 edge in shots and won 54% of their face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, at home in San Jose against the Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 PM PT.