Author: M Walsh

Sharks Hold On To Win 4-3 Over Avs

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose took an early lead and then fended off the resurgent Colorado Avalanche for a 4-3 win at home Friday. Sharks goals came from Marcus Sorensen (2), Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier. Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win, while Semyon Varlamov made an impressive 36 saves for the losing team. The Avalanche got goals from Samuel Girard, Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

We got a lot of pucks back and I think we were fairly hungry. We played a much harder game, much more complete game and, you know, we were rewarded for it. We got to play in the o-zone a little bit tonight.

The Sharks scored in the first five minutes of the first two periods. The first came from Marcus Sorensen, who received a well-timed pass from Brent Burns. Burns took a few seconds deciding where to send that pass as he held the puck along the boards. The opening was small, but Sorensen was there to shoot through traffic and into the net. Assists went to Burns and Joe Thornton.

The second came from Timo Meier at 2:35 of the second. Joe Pavelski got to the puck off a defensive zone faceoff and was just able to tip it over to Meier as Meier left the zone. Meier carried it through the neutral zone and then took a shot above the faceoff circle, using a Colorado defender as a screen. Pavelski got the assist.

The Avalanche got one back from the stick of Nikita Zadorov at 4:55 of the second. After winning control of the puck below the goal line, the Avalanche moved the puck back to the point and across, drawing defenders with it. Zadorov’s shot came from the blue line while Marc-Edouard Vlasic was trying to clear Matt Calvert out of Jones’s way. Jones didn’t see the shot coming until too late. Assists went to Gabriel Landeskog and Ian Cole.

With just 44 seconds left in the second, Sorensen scored his second of the game. The Avalanche were on their heels after a long, high-pressure shift from the Sharks’ top line of Couture, Pavelski and Meier. Not long after the line change, Kevin Labanc took a shot from almost at the blue line, but it hit a defender in front of Varlamov. Hertl was on hand to try again but his shot hit the post and the puck fell dead in the blue paint, behind the goaltender. Meier was right there for the third try and swept it over the line. Assists went to Hertl and Labanc.

The Sharks led on the shot clock in both the first (9-6) and second (18-7) periods. They also prevailed in the faceoff circle 55% of the time.

The Avalanche got a power play goal from Mikko Rantanen at 10:08 of the third. It was a strange goal that started with a shot from Alexander Kerfoot, which Vlasic got a stick on. The puck went off of Vlasic’s stick to hit Landeskog in the torso as he skated to the net. It bounced off of him and landed near Martin Jones, but Rantanen got to it before Jones could get a glove on it. Assists went to Landeskog and Kerfoot.

The Sharks took back their two-goal lead on a power play at 12:39 of the third. Kevin Labanc was above the faceoff circle, skating toward the net. He looked very much like he would shoot, but he passed at the last second, finding Pavelski across the ice with an open net. It was Pavelski’s 36th goal of the season and assists went to Labanc and Couture.

Colorado would not sit still for that and Samuel Girard got one back with a shot off the rush at 13:27. The shot went cleanly through quite a bit of traffic. Assists went to Landeskog and Nathan McKinnon.

Colorado pulled Varlamov in the final minutes, but the Sharks held them off.

The Sharks power play went 1/3, while the Avalanche power play went 1/2. Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson were both out of the lineup Friday.

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

Sharks Lose 4-1, Another Tough Loss to Bruins

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Bruins in Boston Tuesday. Boston goals came from David Krejci, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand. Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves in the win. Logan Couture scored the only Sharks goal, while goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I thought the first ten minutes of the second, we started to get some legs and grab some momentum. I liked our game. Then, you know, within a minute and a half we’re down 3-1. Couple mistakes, you know, but that’s what a good team does to you. And I think the game ran away from us from there.

Gustav Nyquist made his debut as a Shark since being acquired at the trade deadline. He had one shot on goal in 17:21 of ice time, skating on Joe Thornton’s line.

After the game, DeBoer said of Nyquist: “I liked him. I liked everything about him, he’s a good hockey player, he’s going to help us.” As for the adjustment period, DeBoer is not concerned about that: “No issue with that. This guy’s been well coached and he’s a smart player. I was really impressed with what he did tonight and the potential where he fits for us going forward.”

Five minutes into the second period, Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson fell and went to the dressing room with what appeared to be a lower body injury. He was back on the ice before long. He skated four shifts in the second half of the period but did not return for the third. After the game, there was no specific information available as to the nature or severity of his injury.

Logan Couture gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 12:47 of the first on the team’s first power play. Matt Grzelcyk was called for hooking Melker Karlsson as Karlsson cut to the net. Midway through the power play, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl were below the goal line trying to get the puck away from the Bruins’ defense. The puck bounced behind Hertl and up above the goal line unexpectedly. Zdeno Chara and Couture scrambled for it and it ended up behind Jaroslav Halak.

The Bruins responded with their own power play goal at 14:39. It was a double minor after Timo Meier was called for high-sticking and drawing blood to Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins dd not use all four minutes. They scored just nine seconds in. Brad Marchand made a backhand pass to the blue line for Torey Krug to tap it back down to David Krejci in the faceoff circle. Krejci’s quick shot went right through Martin Jones. Assists went to Krug and Marchand.

At the end of the first period, Boston was outshooting the Sharks 16-8 and had won 68% of the faceoffs.

Charlie McAvoy gave the Bruins the lead at 9:09 of the second. Marchand brought the puck over the line and then passed it before he hit the faceoff circle. McAvoy was the recipient of the pass and he took the shot from the slot. Assists went to Marchand and Danton Heinen.

Boston struck again fewer than 40 seconds later. Jake DeBrusk, part of a three-on-one attack by the Bruins, touched the puck into the net with a backhand while he changed direction. The three had traded four passes and Jones had made a good attempt to keep up with all of them but he was outnumbered. Assists went to Krejci and Marcus Johansson.

Micheal Haley went down awkwardly against the boards in that same span but he went to the bench instead of the room.

Boston did not let up and Brad Marchand scored a short-handed goal at 12:28 of the second. The Sharks were on a power play after Sean Kuraly went to the box for tripping Joe Thornton. The penalty only had a second left when Marchand took the puck from the neutral zone, around Erik Karlsson, and down to the net to score. Assists went to Patrice Bergeron and Brandon Carlo.

The Bruins outshot the Sharks in the second period as well, again 2-1 with a count of 8-4 Bruins. San Jose made some progress in the faceoff department but still trailed Boston there as everywhere else in the game.

Evander Kane and Chara came to blows early in the third period after exchanging hits during play. Kane got the worst of those hits, a shoulder to the head. They went to the box for fighting but nothing was made of Chara’s shoulder in Kane’s face. Rather, Kane got two extra minutes for instigating.

Almost as soon as play resumed, Bruins forward Noel Acciari took a puck to the face from Brent Burns. Before play resumed after that, Evander Kane was excused from the game for misconduct in the box. As soon as the puck dropped, Micheal Haley invited David Backes to fight and they went to the box.

Five minutes had not yet elapsed in the third period. The game came back to some degree of order for the rest of the period. Pete DeBoer pulled Martin Jones for an extra skater with almost four minutes left in the game and a three goal deficit. The Bruins did not score into that empty net, and Jones went back into the net for the final minute.

The Sharks will next play back in San Jose on Friday at 7:30 PM PT against the Colorado Avalanche.

Pavelski’s Hat Trick Leads Sharks to 5-3 Win Over Red Wings

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 at Little Caesars Arena Sunday. Joe Pavelski scored three unanswered goals, after goals from Tim Heed and Brent Burns. The Red Wings got goals from Darren Helm, Gustav Nyquist and Mike Green. The Sharks’ Aaron Dell made 20 saves for the win while Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves in the loss.

The Sharks passed some milestones in Sunday’s game. Joe Pavelski earned his 350th (and 351st) NHL points, Marc-Edouard Vlasic earned his 300th and Brent Burns passed the 70 point mark in 65 games for the season. Burns became the first defenseman to do that since 1994 when Ray Bourque did it.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Tim Heed described the team’s approach to a fast Detroit team: “Like you said they have a really speedy team and a lot of skills. In the first period they were all over us, then in the second and third I thought we took away their time and space and that’s… after that I think we took over the game.”

Tim Heed gave the Sharks an early lead with a goal at 3:46. Initially it looked like Joe Thornton had tipped Heed’s blue line shot but the puck actually went off of a defenseman’s skate. Assists went to Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Kevin Labanc.

The Red Wings responded with goals at 14:39 and 19:23. Darren Helm tied the game with a shot off of a breakaway, narrowly avoiding Brent Burns’s stick. Assists went to Justin Abdelkader and Mike Green.

Gustav Nyquist gave the Red Wings a lead in the final minute of the period. A backhand pass from Tyler Bertuzzi near the blue line found Dylan Larkin on the goal line. Larkin quickly moved it to the net where several Sharks and Red Wings descended upon it. Aaron Dell wound up down on the left side of the blue paint with Burns on the ice behind him. Burns stopped a couple of shots but Nyquist finally found the puck in the open and put it away. Assists went to Larkin and Bertuzzi.

At the end of the first, the Sharks had just five shots on goal to Detroit’s 15. The Sharks had some zone time but the Red Wings did a good job of limiting shot opportunities and blocking the ones the Sharks attempted.

One minute into the period, the Sharks were on the penalty kill after Brenden Dillon was called for high sticking Dylan Larkin. The Detroit power play lasted just 14 seconds before Dylan Larkin was called for hooking Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks made some adjustments for the second period, including some extra time on the ice for Evander Kane. In the first five minutes, the Sharks had five shots to the Red Wings one. Nevertheless, the Red Wings scored again at the 8 minute mark.

Mike Green found himself very much in the open with all the attention on the other side of the ice, where Justin Abdelkader had the puck in the corner. Abdelkader made a pass through traffic and across the goal mouth to Green. Dell tried to get across but could not get there in time. Assists went to Abdelkader and Anthony Mantha. That was Detroit’s third shot of the period and their last.

The Red Wings held the two goal lead until 13:50 of the second. Logan Couture won an offensive zone faceoff and Timo Meier helped the puck get to Brent Burns at the point. Burns’s shot went right through for his 13th of the season. Assists went to Meier and Couture.

Joe Pavelski tied the game at 15:50 on the power play. The Sharks spent a lot of time moving around the offensive zone before Joe Thornton finally took a shot. Bernier stopped it but the rebound didn’t travel far. Joe Pavelski was right in front of the goaltender and, while falling to his knees, he pushed the puck around the goalie and in. Thornton and Burns got the assists.

Pavelski gave the Sharks the lead at 16:45, deflecting a Vlasic shot while standing eight feet or so outside the slot. Assists went to Vlasic and Hertl.

The Sharks had 16 shots in the second to Detroit’s 3 in the second. In the third, the Red Wings got their first shot near the 14 minute mark, on a power play. The Sharks had 12 by then for the third period.

The only goal of the period came in the final minute, an empty net goal right off the faceoff. Joe Pavelski completed a natural hat trick with an almost casual backhand from the neutral zone. Logan Couture picked up an assist on that goal.

The faceoff was preceded by an off side call on the Red Wings, which followed a strange collision at the bench between players changing and the goalie leaving the ice. Kronwall seemed to get the worst of it, being knocked down. The extra skater in the final minute did little to help.

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

Sharks Shut Out 4-0 By Blue Jackets

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shut out 4-0 in Columbus Saturday. The Blue Jackets got goals from Boone Jenner, Matt Duchene (on his second day with the team), Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Sergei Bobrovski made 26 saves for the shut out, while the Sharks’ Martin Jones made 19 saves on 23 shots before being replaced by Aaron Dell, who made three saves on as many shots.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said: “We don’t need a refresher. You know, we had a shut out the other night, so it’s not 6-5 every night. We’re doing our job defensively, that’s why we’re scoring. Tonight was one that kind of got away from us. Our special teams weren’t great, and five-on-five … didn’t generate a lot.”

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said: “Fugly. I mean, you know, not much else to say. It’s one of those… you have a few of those games a year, I don’t know why. We didn’t execute, they were hungrier, they were more desperate, they deserved to win. Having said that, it was still a 2-0 game, we had some chances to maybe turn it a little bit but we didn’t deserve… We got what we deserved tonight.”

The Blue Jackets struck first at the 11-minute mark of the first. Josh Anderson carried the puck into the zone, facing resistance from Erik Karlsson. Brent Burns was also keeping an eye on him, perhaps too close an eye. Boone Jenner entered the zone behind Burns and caught Anderson’s pass for an unimpeded shot from the slot. Anderson got the only assist.

Columbus doubled their lead just 59 seconds into the second period. Artemi Panarin carried the puck in and waited until the last second to shoot. Jones stopped that but two Sharks defenders with one Blue Jacket crowded in front of the net and made it oddly difficult to see where that puck was going. Matt Duchene, however, had a god view of it as he skated to the net and popped the puck over the line. Assists went to Cam Atkinson and Panarin. It was Duchene’s first goal as a Blue Jacket since being traded to Columbus on Friday.

There were no penalties in the first period, but five were called in the second. Two of those power plays went to the Sharks, but they had no shots on goal in their first power play and just one in their second. The Sharks killed two of the Blue Jackets’ power plays, but they gave up a goal on the third.

With just 6.9 seconds left in the period and 1:36 left in the power play, Zach Werenski took a shot from the blue line that hit Jones and then trickled under him. Cam Atkinson found the puck behind the goalie and pushed it over the line. Assists went to Werenski and Panarin.

The Blue Jackets made it 4-0 at 6:02 of the third. Pierre-Luc Dubois skated into the zone, pressured by Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The pressure was not enough as Dubois got the shot off anyway. It did not look like Martin Jones expected that as the puck went right under him. Assists went to Dean Kukan and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

After the fourth goal, the Sharks pulled Martin Jones and put Aaron Dell in the net.

Erik Karlsson left the game after just four shifts in the second period. After the game, Pete DeBoer said that he had re-tweaked something and they “will see where it’s at tomorrow.” Marcus Sorensen left early in the third after being hit in the face by a shot from Dean Kukan.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Detroit against the Red Wings at 12:00 noon PT.

Sharks Beat Canucks 3-2, Erik Karlsson Returns

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Saturday. The win matches Calgary’s Saturday win to keep the Sharks tied in points with the Western Conference leaders to the North. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, who happened to be playing on the same line. Martin Jones made 32 saves for the win. Vancouver got goals from Antoine Roussel and Brock Boeser, while Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves in the loss. Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson made his return from injury with an assist and 24:44 time on ice.

Timo Meier put the first goal on the board at 3:45 of the first on a power play. The second power play unit of Meier, Evander Kane, Joe Thornton, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic moved the puck well all around the offensive zone for some time before Karlsson found Meier in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Evander Kane.

Antoine Roussel tied it up for Vancouver 57 seconds later, when the Sharks lost track of him in the neutral zone and Alex Biega found him with a good pass. He broke away ahead of the Sharks defense and beat Martin Jones before anyone could catch up with him.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had scored on one of two power plays, while Vancouver had not scored on either of their power play chances. The shot count was 11-8 for the Sharks and the Sharks had won 52% of the faceoffs.

The score remained 1-1 until Logan Couture scored for the Sharks 11:08 into the second period. the play developed after Erik Karlsson broke up a Canucks rush across the Sharks blue line. After breaking up the pass, he sent the puck the other way for Burns to move it through the neutral zone. He sent it to Pavelski, who got it across the blue line line and handed it off to Couture. Couture carried it to the net, waited for his shot and took it.

That goal was followed up by a fight between Barclay Goodrow and MacEwen at 11:10.

The Canucks out shot the Sharks in the second period 18-6. The Sharks killed almost two penalties, the second being cut short by a high sticking penalty to Vancouver. That 90-second power play for San Jose was the only penalty Vancouver had to kill in the second period. The Sharks faceoff win percentage improved to 58% by the end of the second.

The Canucks tied it up again at 4:31 of the third. Brock Boeser bought the puck out from behind the Sharks net and paused as if to make a pass. This lured Martin Jones into moving forward and away from his post. As no one prevented it, Boeser put the puck between Jones and the post. Assists went to Elias Pettersson and Derrick Pouliot.

The Sharks took the lead back with a goal from Joe Pavelski at 13:06. Timo Meier took a shot as he moved across in front of the net but Markstrom kicked that back out. Pavelski was in Meier’s wake and that rebound came right to him for the shot. Assists went to Meier and Logan Couture.

The Canucks pulled Markstrom for the extra skater with just under two minutes left in regulation. Final score, 3-2 Sharks. The Sharks won the faceoff battle 61% of the time, with Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl responsible for most of those.

Marcus Sorensen had to leave the ice for a spell after taking a stick to the face in the final five minutes of the second period. He returned to play for the start of the third period.

The Sharks next play on Monday in San Jose against the visiting Boston Bruins at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Win 5-2 in Edmonton, Thornton Ties Howe

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Oilers 5-2 win in Edmonton Saturday while adding a couple of milestones. Joe Thornton earned his 1,048th and 1,049th assists to tie Gordie Howe for ninth in the NHL. That last point came on Kevin Labanc’s third goal of the game for his first NHL hat trick. Two more Sharks goals came from Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 21 saves on 23 shots. Edmonton got goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian, while goaltender Cam Talbot made 26 saves on 31 shots.

Of their success in Edmonton this season, and of Labanc’s hat trick, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski said:

Yeah, first one, that’s awesome, they were nice goals too. He shot the puck really well tonight, you know, quick, accurate, hard. He made some good plays out there. It was big for us. That’s what I was talking about, up and down the lineup, when we’ve come in here we’ve had guys step up and have big nights and, you know, Kevin had a good one for us tonight.

Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 10:39 into the first. Catching a pass from Joe Thornton as he came into the zone at a good clip, Labanc took a quick shot that went off of an Edmonton skate and into the net. Assists went to Thornton and Marcus Sorensen.

Evander Kane added to that lead at 12:15. Tomas Hertl carried the puck over the blue line, then made a backwards pass to Joonas Donskoi who had just entered the zone behind him. Donskoi found Kane as he arrived in front of the net, undefended. Kane did not hesitate and put the puck by Talbot on the near side. Assists went to Donskoi and Hertl.

The teams skated four-on-four after Barclasy Goodrow and Leon Draisaitl exchanged penalties, crossing-checking for Goodrow and interference for Draisaitl. Neither team scored.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led 2-0 and 12-5 in shots.

The Sharks had an early power play in the second period, when Zack Kassian went to the box for tripping Evander Kane. With 22 seconds left in that penalty, Adam Larsson was called for delay of game after the puck went out of play.

The two man advantage had expired before the Sharks scored again. Evander Kane moved as if to carry the puck behind the net but instead sent the puck to the front. Timo Meier was there but he could not get his stick on it. The puck went off of his skate and out to Labanc who was at the edge of the faceoff circle. He dragged the puck closer to the slot, encouraging the goalie to move off the post. As Talbot started to move across, Labanc took the shot. Assists went to Meier and Kane.

The Sharks got another chance at 9:06 with Oscar Klefbom in the box for interference against Tomas Hertl, but that was cut short by half a minute when Timo Meier was called for tripping Brandon Manning. The Sharks penalty had 28 seconds left in it when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. Aaron Dell had fought off a couple of shots and was down when the puck popped out to Nugent-Hopkins away from the net crowd. Nugent-Hopkins took the shot and it went through traffic and in at 12:00 of the second. An assist went to Alex Chiasson.

At the end of the second period, the Sharks led 3-1. Despite the power play time for San Jose, Edmonton still had 13 shots to the Sharks’ 7 for the period. Whatever accounted for that imbalance, it did not go unnoticed by the Sharks during intermission. They came out with renewed energy to start the third period.

Kevin Labanc completed his hat trick just 1:36 into the final frame. Much like his first goal of the game, he took a pass from Joe Thornton off the rush and his shot went through traffic. This time, it did not hit anything and went into the net clean as a whistle. Assists went to Thornton and Brenden Dillon.

Tomas Hertl made it 5-1 at 4:24 of the third. He carried the puck into the zone, looked away like he was going to pass across the ice, snatched the puck away from an Edmonton stick, then shot it through the short side. Talbot was unable to predict that.

Zack Kassian got one back for Edmonton at 4:03 of the third. His shot from the blue line bounced off of a skate and went up in their over Dell before landing across the line. Adam Larsson got an assist.

In the end, the Sharks got one power play goal in five chances, and the Oilers scored on their only power play of the game. The Sharks won 60% of the faceoffs.

At 4:57 of the first period, San Jose’s Melker Karlsson carried the puck into the zone and attempted to protect it against Milan Lucic and Kevin Gravel behind the Edmonton net. Gravel pushed Karlsson into the boards and he started to loose his footing. As he started to fall, Gravel pushed him again and Karlsson went down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. Karlsson left the game.

In the final seconds of the first period, Edmonton’s Ty Rattie blocked a Tim Heed shot with his ankle and he left the ice with assistance. He did not return.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Vancouver against the Canucks at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Coyotes 3-2 in OT

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks returned from their post-All Star break to beat the Coyotes 3-2 in overtime. Sharks goals came from Kevin Labanc, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. Coyotes goals came from Josh Archibald and Conor Garland. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 31 saves in the win, while Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves in the loss.

The first penalty of the game went to San Jose at 3:53, a slashing penalty to Brenden Dillon. The Sharks killed that off efficiently and came out of it with some energy. Offensive pressure from the Sharks produced a Coyotes penalty at 7:30, a holding penalty to Ilya Lyubushkin. The power play did not produce much

In the last three minutes of the first period, Evander Kane had a great chance which he pretty much created with his speed on the way to the net. Kuemper stopped most of the shot but it did slip underneath him. It would have gone in had the goaltender not spun around, spotted the puck and swatted it away.

In the final five seconds of the period, Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for interference on Joe Pavelski. As a result, the Sharks finished the first and started the second period on a power play.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 10-8 Sharks.

Tim Heed was carrying the puck out from behind the Sharks net when Christian Fischer came up behind him and knocked the puck off of his stick. The loose puck was snatched up by Conor Garland, who caught Martin Jones out of position for the first goal of the game. That was 9:56 into the second period.

The Sharks responded at 12:09. Kevin Labanc and Joe Thornton converged on the Coyotes net while Marcus Sorensen carried the puck around the boards. Sorensen gave the puck to Brent Burns in the middle of the blue line. Burns took a shot which got to Thornton but did not go in. Labanc found it as it came out on the other side of the goal mouth and knocked it in from a tight angle. Assists went to Thornton and Burns.

They added a second goal just 44 seconds later. Timo Meier attacked the net after Logan Couture poked the puck through the neutral zone for him. Meier’s shot did not go in but Joe Pavelski was a few strides behind Meier and he arrived in position just in time to shoot the rebound in. Assists went to Meier and Couture.

The Coyotes scored under 30 seconds later, but the goal was called back after a standard review for whether or not the net was off its moorings (it was not), followed by a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference. Richard Panik, the shooter, did make significant contact with Jones, pushing him into the net.

Tim Heed was called for holding with just over five minutes to go in the second. The Coyotes had an extended delay on the penalty, before Barclay Goodrow finally blocked a shot and disrupted the unrelenting Arizona possession. The Sharks penalty kill was very aggressive, not giving the Coyotes any time to speak of in the o-zone. At 18:47, Justin Braun was called for holding, and that penalty kill was a little less effective. The Coyotes were able to set up and spend some time on the attack. The power play would carry over into the third period.

The shot count for the second period was dead even at 14 each.

The Sharks killed the rest of that penalty off but at 1:46, Brent Burns was called for high sticking. While he was trying to knock down a high puck, he caught Josh Archibald with the heel of his stick. With all but 40 seconds of that killed off, a line change between Logan Couture and Evander Kane caused a too many men penalty to the Sharks and a brief 5-on-3 power play for Arizona.

As the two man advantage ended, Brent Burns came out of the box at speed and caught a pass for a short-handed breakaway. Not long after, Couture and Hertl had a two on one short handed chance but they didn’t score either.

The ensuing even strength play tilted gradually in Arizona’s direction. Their fourth line finally broke through to tie the game with a goal from Josh Archibald at 7:10. Assists went to Mario Kempe and Lawson Crouse.

Arizona kept the pressure on and the Sharks had their hands full on defense for some shifts. As the period wore on, the game moved faster until the final couple of minutes during which there was so much north-south movement it almost looked like three on three. If that was an attempt to avoid overtime, it failed.

Arizona outshot San Jose in the third 11-9.

To start overtime, the Sharks seemed to have trouble making their passes connect. Luckily for San Jose, the Coyotes did not have much better luck in that regard. Finally, both teams tightened up, but it was San Jose who made it count. Tomas Hertl dropped the puck to Brent Burns, who pulled the puck in to draw the goalie to him, then pushed the puck back out in front of him and put it in the net off the far post. Hertl got an assist on the goal. The time of the goal was 3:14.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup paired with Tim Heed, while Justin Braun was with Brenden Dillon. Vlasic had 23:59 of ice time, one shot on goal and finished a minus one in the game.

The Sharks will now head out for a four game road trip, starting on Tuesday in Winnipeg against the Jets at 5:00 PM PT.

2019 NHL All-Star Game Final: Metropolitan Defeats Central 10-5

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Photo credit: @NHL

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — In the 2019 NHL All-Star championship game, the Metropolitan Division defeated the Central Division 10-5 in front of a sell-out crowd at SAP Center. The teams started with goaltenders Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. The fan-voted NHL All-Star MVP was Sidney Crosby, which won him a silver Honda SUV.

The Metropolitan Division struck first with a goal 22 seconds in from the Islanders’ Matthew Barzal. Assists went to Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby.

Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux made it 2-0 at 1:53, assisted by Washington’s John Carlson.

It was 3-0 after Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang took a no-look shot at Dubnyk and fooled him. Crosby got an assist on that one.

Columbus’s Seth Jones was awarded a penalty shot at 5:51 after Chicago’s Patrick Kane tripped him on a breakaway. He did not score and it stayed 3-0.

Shortly thereafter, a Metropolitan goal was called back after review, again keeping the score 3-0 Metropolitan.

They finally broke through for the fourth goal when New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri scored at 8:16. Assists went to Seth Jones and Sebastian Aho.

Their fifth goal came with just over four seconds left in the first half. Crosby scored it, with an assist from Matthew Barzal.

For the second half, Braden Holtby stepped into the Metropolitan net, while Pekka Rinne came in for the Central Division.

The Central Division got their first goal of the game, which was Gabriel Landeskog’s fourth of the night, at 1:15 of the second half. Ryan O’Reilly got the assist.

Colorado added another goal for the Central Division at 3:25 when Mikko Rantanen scored his third of the night. An assist went to Roman Josi and Dallas’s Miro Heiskanen.

The Metropolitan team pushed back with their sixth of the game at 4:02 from Crosby. Barzal got another assist.

The third Central goal came from Ryan O’Reilly at 4:38, but his team gave it back at 5:35 when Carolina’s Sebastian Aho scored against Dubnyk.

The Metropolitan team added their eight goal at 5:43 courtesy of Columbus’s Cam Atkinson. The ninth goal came from Matthew Barzal, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.

The Central got a fourth goal at 8:30 from Mikko Rantanen, and a fifth at 8:50 from Blake Wheeler.

Cam Atkinson got a tenth into an empty net for the Metropolitan, assisted by Seth Jones.

The regular season will resume on Monday, January 28. The Sharks will next play on Saturday, February 2, when they will host the Arizona Coyotes at 7:30 PM PT.

2019 NHL All-Star Game: Metropolitan Eliminates Atlantic Division 7-4

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Photo credit: @NHL

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The second game of the 2019 All-Star Game series was between the Metropolitan Division and the Atlantic Division. Though most of the game was close, the Metropolitan Division took the lead late and ran away with it for a 7-4 win. The Metropolitan team was coached by Washington’s Todd Reirden and the Atlantic team was coached by Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper. New York’s Henrik Lundqvist was in the Metropolitan Division net for the first half, with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy defending the Atlantic Division net.

Fifteen seconds into the first half, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby gave the Metropolitan Division the lead. Cam Atkinson got an assist.

The Metropolitan team took a 2-0 lead at 1:56 with a goal from Seth Jones with assists to Kyle Palmieri and Cam Atkinson.

The Atlantic Division got a goal back from Buffalo’s Jack Eichel at 2:04, assisted by David Pasternak.

The Metro Division got a second goal from Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos at 3:13 with an assist to Toronto’s John Tavares.

The Atlantic Division got a second goal from Seth Jones in the final moments of the first half.

To start the second half, Washington’s Braden Holtby took the net for the Metropolitan Division and Detroit’s Jimmy Howard took the net for the Atlantic.

Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner scored for the Atlantic Division just 56 seconds into the second half, beating Washington goaltender Braden Holtby. Boston’s David Pastrnak got an assist. Holtby gave up another at 1:28 to Toronto’s John Tavares. Florida’s Keith Yandle got an assist there.

The Metropolitan Division tied it back up at four with another goal from Sidney Crosby at 3:57. An assist went to his Pittsburgh teammate, Kris Letang. Letang added a fifth Metropolitan goal at 6:22.

Carolina’s Sebastian Aho scored a sixth goal for the Metropolitan team, with an assist to Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux. The lead grew to a 7-4 lead at 9:14 when Columbus’s Cam Atkinson scored, assisted by Sidney Crosby.

The Metropolitan Division moved on to the second round to face the Central Division team.

2019 NHL All-Star Game: Central Division Eliminates Pacific 10-4

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Photo credit: @NHL

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The First round of the All-Star Game was between the Central and the Pacific Divisions, with the Central Division winning 10-4. The Pacific Division was coached by Bill Peters from the Calgary Flames, while the Central Division squad was coached by Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets. The coaches came from the teams with the best record up to the All-Star break.

The All-Star Game was broken into three parts, two Conference contests and a third between winners of those. The games were made up of two ten minute periods of three on three play.

The Central Division scored first, with goals from Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog against Anaheim’s John Gibson. Both were assisted by St. Louis’s Ryan O’Reilly.

San Jose’s Erik Karlsson got one back for the Pacific Division at 4:51 in a breakaway against Nashville’s Pekka Rinne. John Gibson got an assist on that one.

Nashville’s Roman Josi scored a third for Central, followed seconds later by a fourth goal from Chicago’s Patrick Kane. Kane assisted on Josi’s goal and Josi assisted on Kane’s.

A fifth goal came from Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele, assisted by O’Reilly. Gibson gave up a sixth goal to Rantanen, his second of the game. Patrick Kane also got a second goal, the Central’s 7th. That was 8:11 into the first period.

For the second period, the teams changed ends and goaltenders. Las Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury took over for the Pacific Division and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk took the Central Division net.

Colorado’s Landeskog scored a second goal to start the second half, less than a minute into the period. He was assisted by Roman Josi. Fleury made a number of valiant saves before Ryan O’Reilly took the puck away from Brent Burns in the neutral zone. Fleury came way out of his net as if to steal the puck. He did not and O’Reilly went around him to score.

Yet another Central goal came from Landeskog, his third with about five and a half minutes left. Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler got an assist.

The Pacific Division got one back courtesy of Johnny Gaudreau with an assist to Connor McDavid at 4:47. They got another courtesy of two Sharks, Erik Karlsson assisted by Joe Pavelski. San Jose’s Brent Burns added a fourth goal for the Pacific Division at 5:52. Pavelski also got the assist on that one.

The Central Division squad went on to the second round.