Author: M Walsh

Sharks down Blue Jackets 3-1; end four-game losing streak

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at the Nationwide Arena Friday. It was the Sharks’ first win since Joe Thornton suffered a knee injury four games ago. The Sharks’ goals came from Logan Couture, Kevin Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves on 29 shots.

Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovski made 25 saves in a losing effort.

After the game, Martin Jones said:

It was a really strong game for us. This is a pretty tough road trip for us and we weren’t happy getting one point in the first two games. Obviously we thought we could have done a little better. It was a big win for us. I thought it was a really strong road game for us. We did a lot of good little things tonight.

Kevin Labanc has moved onto the first power play unit in Joe Thornton’s absence.

“He knows what he’s doing out there,” Logan Couture said of Labanc. “He put up a lot of points in junior and I’m sure a lot of those were on the power play. So, that usually translates over to the pro league. I didn’t think it’d translate over this quickly but he’s done a great job.”

The Sharks scored the only first period goal at 5:07. The Sharks were on the power play after Matt Calvert was called for tripping Brenden Dillon. Brent Burns was parked in front of Bobrovski when Logan Couture took a shot from the point. The puck might have been deflected by a Columbus player, as there were several between Couture and the goal. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Tomas Hertl.

The Blue Jackets responded early in the second period with a goal from Boone Jenner. Jenner took a shot from some ways above the faceoff circle that beat Martin Jones on the left side. There were two Sharks defending, including Dylan DeMelo. The shot went off of Demelo’s stick and changed direction slightly on its way to the net. Assists went to Cam Atkinson and Dean Kukan.

The Sharks power play paid off again in the second period. This time with a goal from Kevin Labanc during a 13 second 5-on-3 at 10:20. After an especially contentious faceoff, Pavelski came up with the puck and sent it to Labanc who was waiting, unguarded, right in front of Bobrovsky.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic extended the lead at 6:51 of the third. Justin Braun sent the puck through the neutral zone, where Timo Meier touched it just enough for Vlasic to pick in up on his way into the offensive zone. Vlasic evaded the Columbus defense long enough to get a back hand shot off. The puck went in on the far side as Bobrovsky moved the other way to cover the shot. Assists went to Meier and Braun.

With 7:13 left in the third, Burns sent a puck around the boards and Couture caught it in the mouth and had to leave the ice. He did return to play before the end of the period.

The Blue Jackets had their only power play of the game at 14:34 of the third but failed to score.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday at 10:00 am PT in Raleigh, North Carolina, against the Hurricanes.

Sharks Use Speed and Defense to Beat Penguins 2-1

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday, in a close, fast contest. The Sharks’ goals came from Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. The Penguins’ lone goal came from Conor Sheary.

Aaron Dell made 31 saves for the Sharks. Dell has been stellar as backup this season, but due to an injury to regular starter Martin Jones, Dell will start again tomorrow in Anaheim. “That’s what I’m here for, ” Dell said during his postgame interview. “If they need me for three more games, they need me for one game, I’ve just got to take it as it comes.”

Casey DeSmith made 34 saves in a losing effort to Pittsburgh.

Two days ago in Colorado, the Sharks lost 5-3 after a slow start that put them in a hole they fought to get out of.

Taking the positives from that game into Saturday was vital. After Saturday’s win, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

I thought we played a real solid game. That’s a real good team, obviously and we picked up where we left off at the end of the Colorado game. I thought we really got on our toes and battled and played a real solid sixty minutes.

The Penguins started the scoring early with a Conor Sheary goal at 3:31. He caught Dominik Simon’s pass from behind the net and had a clear shot at the net. Assists went to Simon and Sidney Crosby.

It took the Sharks most of the period to get that goal back but Timo Meier tied it up at 17:44. Brent Burns made a pass from the Sharks’ zone that Joe Pavelski caught near the opposite blue line. Pavelski pulled up just across the line and sent the puck across the ice to Timo Meier, getting by three Pittsburgh defenders. Meier took a quick shot and beat DeSmith over the left pad. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

The Sharks outshot the Penguins 14-8 in the first.

Burns went to the box for tripping, giving the Pens a second power play at 2:12 of the second. The Sharks cleared the puck four times while killing the penalty. They came out of it and earned their own power play less than two minutes later. The Sharks were unable to get through the neutral zone for the first 50 seconds, but once they got through, they were there to stay and created a couple of chances. The power play was cut short when Dylan Demelo was called for hooking.

As the teams transitioned from a 4-on-4 to a Penguins power play, Chris Tierney and Joonas Donskoi held the puck in the Penguins’ zone, taking a bite out of the Penguins’ power play time. As the Demelo penalty wound down, the Penguins did make a good push and Dell had to make few stops, including a point-blank shot from Evgeni Malkin.

Kevin Labanc had a very good chance near the 10-minute mark when he scooped up a rebound and took a shot before DeSmith could reset. He tried to push it under DeSmith’s pads, but the Penguins goaltender closed the gap with a glove and made the save.

Sheary caught a Burns shot in his forearm and left the ice with 5:08 left in the second.

Through the second period, the Penguins had the advantage in shots, 16-11.

Joonas Donskoi drew a cross-checking penalty to give the Sharks a power play at 1:49 of the third. In the offensive zone, Pavelski won the first faceoff of the power play and Burns took the puck to the point. Pavelski redirected Burns’ shot, but it did not get through. Tomas Hertl was on the doorstep to grab the loose puck and push it through at 1:53. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

The Sharks kept the pressure on for the next several minutes. Labanc had a nice breakaway chance at the 11:39 mark, but DeSmith was up to the challenge.

The next dozen minutes of play looked like a track meet with nearly constant movement up and down the ice, pausing only for one-and-done’s at both ends. Hardly a whistle blew and the puck rarely stopped. In all that, the Sharks were outshooting the Pens 11-6, with only one of those coming on that very short power play.

The speed of that stretch and most of the third period was remarkable. “They’re a fast team,” said DeBoer. “They play fast and I thought we did too tonight. It was a good hockey game, I thought it had a playoff feel to it.”

The game did not slow down much after the television break. Tensions erupted after Patric Hornqvist cross-checked Hertl. Hertl reciprocated and that led to more jostling, and finally, a cross-check from Malkin put him in the box. Hertl also sat with just over three minutes left. The Penguins pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker.

The Sharks had several chances at the open net, but had to settle for the 2-1 win.

Hertl was very happy after the game, saying that it was “was a really good game for all three periods, all four lines. Deller he played really great in net, you know he saved a lot of chances and it’s a huge point against a team that is really hot now.”

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 6:00 pm PT.

Donskoi scores two goals, Sharks beat Coyotes 6-5 in wild overtime game

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-5 in overtime at SAP Center Saturday.

It was the Sharks’ first game back after their mid-season break that started last Monday. The Sharks’ goals came from Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and two from Joonas Donskoi. The Coyotes’ goals came from Derek Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Christian Fischer, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Archibald. Sharks’ backup goaltender

Sharks’ backup goaltender Aaron Dell made 13 saves on 14 shots after coming in to relieve Martin Jones en route to a thrilling victory. Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 38 saves on 44 shots in a losing effort.

After the game, Dell said: “It wasn’t too bad. We were playing pretty well, I think the bounces just weren’t really going our way. I guess they weren’t really going anyone’s was. Kind of a weird night all around.”

Sharks’ head coach Pete DeBoer said:

It looked like the first game back after a five day break. I thought we had great energy, great legs. We were making some really good plays, I thought a little loose in some situations defensively. But you know, we found away. It was one of those games where there were some strange bounces and the chances they got they ended up sticking in the net, so we had to show some resiliency and we did.

The first period exploded with six goals scored. Every time the Sharks took a lead, the Coyotes tied it up. Joe Thornton scored at 5:53, off a sneaky behind the net pass from Pavelski. Stepan scored a few minutes later, with a shot from the faceoff circle that touched Jones’ left sleeve and went in. Assists went to Brendan Perlini and Richard Panik.

Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal at 10:59. Pavelski’s shot initially seemed to go off of Tomas Hertl’s stick, but in fact, it went off of Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers’ stick. Assists went to Thornton and Brent Burns. 1:17 after that goal, Alex Goligoski scored off a faceoff win by Stepan.

Logan Couture answered that with a goal about a minute and a half later. The Coyotes were breaking out of their zone when Burns sent a pass back the other way. Donskoi caught it and fought his way to the net under pursuit. He managed to get a shot off and it rebounded gently to Couture as he came down on the other side of the ice. Scott Wedgewood could not get back across and Couture had an open net. Assists went to Burns and Donskoi.

Christian Fischer tied it up a third time less than 30 seconds later. His backhand beat on a breakaway after a Sharks miscue at the Coyotes’ blue line. An assist went to Kevin Connauton.

That was the third goal given up on six shots for Jones. Dell came in to replace him.

The second period was predictably more sedate. Donskoi got lucky with a breakaway, set up by his goaltender and Mikkel Boedker. He was even luckier when, as Wedgewood came out to poke the puck away, his stick collided with Wedgewood and the puck popped out of the collision and then bounced over the goalie and into the net. Assists went to Boedker and Dell.

Going into the third period, the Sharks had taken over 50 attempted shots for their 4-3 lead, while the Coyotes had fewer than 30.

The Coyotes tied the game at four apiece when Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot from the blue line went off of Tim Heed in front of the net. The Coyotes took their first lead at 6:22. Archibald’s shot, again from up near the blue line, got through with the help of some traffic in front of Dell. DeBoer issued a challenge on the bass of goaltender interference.  The goal stood up.

The Sharks pulled Dell with 2:17 left in regulation. They used almost every remaining second and Donskoi scored with just 15.8 seconds left. Burns had taken a shot from the blue line that was stopped by Demers’ skate. The puck trickled under Wedgewood and Donskoi was there to tuck it across the line. Assists went to Burns and Chris Tierney.

The Coyotes started overtime with possession, but a miscue at center ice gave Chris Tierney a breakaway. He took the shot, but was also able to get the puck back after the rebound. The Sharks held the puck almost exclusively after that until Pavelski’s shot caused some chaos at the Coyotes net. Marc-Edouard Vlasic followed Dvorak into the net. The puck went into the net off Dvorak’s skate, though, Vlasic’s stick seemed to touch it as well. The NHL situation room challenged it for goaltender interference, but the goal held up. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.

Up Next: The Sharks next play the Kings on Monday in Los Angeles at 1:00 pm PT.

Sharks lose third straight with 4-1 loss to Jets

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished a five game road trip 1-2-2, capping it off with a 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Sunday.

Logan Couture scored a power play goal, and Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 26 saves in the loss to Winnipeg.

Matt Hendricks and Marko Dano scored for the Jets and Mathieu Perrault scored twice. Andrew Copp and Tyler Meyers earned two assists each in the game and Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves in a losing effort.

Despite the disappointing outcome, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

What did we get, four out of 10 points? Could have easily had six which would have made it good. We didn’t. You know, we’re in every game. The only game I thought was really poor was the Dallas game, throw that one out. The rest of the trip, the third period in Ottawa I didn’t like but I liked our first two. Tonight I thought we hung in there in a tough situation and gave ourselves a chance anyway. So, overall we’re okay. We’re not perfect, we’re not exactly where we want to be but could be worse.

Brenden Dillon and Matt Hendricks started Sunday’s game off with a fight at 2:22 of the first. At 12:42 of the first period, Matt Hendricks scored the only goal of the period. After Andrew Copp blocked a pass, Armia won the race to the puck and moved it up ice where Copp and Matt Hendricks were flying through the neutral zone. Hendricks ended up with the puck and broke away to beat Martin Jones for the lead.

The Jets extended their lead to 2-0 with a goal just after a power play expired 11:03 into the second. Copp forced his way past Brenden Dillon along the boards, then danced away from Tomas Hertl before getting the puck back to Jacob Trouba up at the blue line. Trouba took the shot and Marko Dano redirected it under Jones.

Timo Meier drew a tripping penalty to Tyler Meyers a few minutes later. Halfway through that penalty, Dustin Byfuglien was called for hooking to give the Sharks a 5-on-3. The Sharks didn’t do much more than wear the Jets down with the extra penalty, but after the first penalty expired, Logan Couture found an opening to get a hard shot through. It went off the pipe and in. Assists went to Joe Pavelksi and Brent Burns.

Chris Tierney was set to the box after being pushed into the Winnipeg goaltender, putting the Jets on the pwer play in the final minutes of the second period. Wheeler took a shot from above the circle that Mathieu Perrault was able to tap by Jones. It only took the Jets 25 seconds to score with their formidable power play. They had six power play goals in five games before Sunday, and it was not a wonder. They worked very quickly and didn’t spend much time standing around. Assists went to Blake Wheeler and Myers.

DeBoer singled that goal out in his post-game comments: “Really, the third goal was really the killer. I don’t understand and I’m still looking for an explanation on how that’s a penalty but that’s what you deal with.”

The Jets had yet another power play start in the first two minutes of the third period, when Melker Karlsson was called for hooking. The Sharks killed that off and Joel Ward added a short-handed breakaway for emphasis. Despite that hopeful start to the period, the Sharks could not score and gave up an empty net goal to Perrault at 16:48.

San Jose’s power play went scored once in three chances, and they killed three of four penalties. Brent Burns got credit for eight shots on goal, Logan Couture took five and Timo Meier took four.

The Sharks next play after a five day break in San Jose against the Arizona Coyotes at 7:00 pm PT.

Sharks’ road woes continue as Matt Duchene quickly scores game-winner to lift Senators to 6-5 win in OT

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost in overtime 6-5 to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre Friday night. Three third period goals propelled the Senators into the extra period, where Matt Duchene scored the game-winner just seven seconds in. The loss is the third for the Sharks on this five-game road trip. San Jose has just one win since they hit the road on New Years Eve 2017.

Tomas Hertl did his part for San Jose, scoring twice. Additional goals came from Brent Burns, Chris Tierney and Melker Karlsson. For Ottawa, Matt Duchene scored twice, including the overtime winner, while Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Ryan Dzingle and Derick Brassard scored the balance of the Ottawa goals. Aaron Dell made 37 saves for San Jose, while Craig Anderson made 30 saves for Ottawa.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked about the team’s third period breakdown:

Positives are there, you know, you come out, you get that lead, we played well. We get a point out of tonight but obviously what we’re focussed on right now is that third period and that was uncharacteristic of us. We’ll have to be aware of the situation and next time we’re in it we got to, you know, establish our game better. We always talk about it: it doesn’t matter if we have the lead or not, we got to play a certain way in the third and you can’t sit back. We might have a little bit too much tonight.

The first goal of the game was scored short-handed by Hertl at 6:29. Brent Burns snuck a pass to Logan Couture along the wall and Couture hit Hertl as he crossed the San Jose blue line for the breakaway.

Dzingle tied it up after Stone picked off a Kevin Labanc pass to Logan Couture on the Senators’ blue line. Stone and Brassard got away from the Sharks defense and no one was there to cover Dzingle as he came down the slot late. He arrived just in time to catch a clean pass from Stone and slip the puck around Dell at 10:05. Assists went to Stone and Brassard.

Karlsson answered three minutes later, tipping a blue line shot from Joakim Ryan. A second assist went to Jannik Hansen.

The Sharks seemed to run away with the game in the second period with two power play goals in a row. The first came in the final seconds of the power play. Joonas Donskoi, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier entered the zone fast with a pass from Tierney to Donskoi. Donskoi’s shot came off of Anderson’s pads right to Tierney who kicked the puck to his stick and took the shot. Assists went to Donskoi and Tim Heed.

The next goal came less than two minutes later, on yet another power play. Joe Pavelski carried the puck in and had to pass the puck back to Couture at the point. Couture redirected the puck to Burns along the blue line and he wasted no time on the shot. Couture and Pavelski had the assists.

The Senators started the climb back with a power play goal from Mark Stone just over a minute later. Erik Karlsson took a shot from the blue line that broke Couture’s stick. The dead shot trickled to Hoffman. He quickly passed it to Stone who put it by Dell on the short side.

At 13:27, Hertl extended the Sharks lead again, with a desperate wrap around shot while falling to the ice. The puck went off of Anderson’s stick, but assists went to Couture and Brenden Dillon.

Derick Brassard scored just 26 seconds into the third period. His shot came from a bad angle and went off of Dell’s skate through a gap by the post. Assists went to Stone and Karlsson.

The shots were 11-1 for the Senators in the third, when Matt Duchene scored off a rebound created by Bobby Ryan’s shot from the slot. Matt Hoffman also had an assist.

Hoffman followed that up by tying the game at 10:48. Dell could not get across quickly enough to stop Hoffman’s one-timer off Duchene’s pass. Assists went ot Duchene and Bobby Ryan.

Hoffman won the faceoff and went right into a two on one with Duchene. His last-moment pas across the goal mouth left Duchene with an almost open net.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Winnipeg against the Jets at 12 pm PT.

Sharks see Stars on New Year’s Eve in 6-0 loss in Dallas

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Dallas Stars left wing Antoine Roussel (21) and center Radek Faksa (12) celebrate a goal by center Tyler Pitlick (18) on San Jose Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell (30) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. The Stars won 6-0. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

By: M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were roundly defeated by the Dallas Stars 6-0 in their last game of 2017. The Sharks were unable to recover from a sluggish first period, despite having their leading scorer (Logan Couture) back in the lineup after a two week absence.

First period goals came from Stars defenseman John Klingberg and Stars forward Tyler Pitlick.

The first goal came just over six minutes into the game. Alexander Radulov pushed his way past the Sharks defenders on the boards and got the puck to Janmark. Janmark carried it behind the net and passed it up to Klingberg, whose quick shot beat Jones on the far side. Assists went to Janmark and Radulov. The second goal came at 15:07 just after a faceoff in the Sharks zone. Pitlick narrowly avoided losing the puck to Joe Thornton, and then to Melker Karlsson, before beating Jones over the right shoulder with a wrist shot. An assist went to Faksa.

The Stars outshot the Sharks 17-5 in the first period.

Second period goals came from Stephen Johns and Tyler Seguin.

In the second, the shots went the other way with the Sharks up 12-5, but still, the Stars scored twice. The teams were trading penalties during the first five minutes. The Sharks’ Joonas Donskoi and the Stars’ Brett Ritchie were in the box so the teams were playing four on four. The Stars took control after a defensive zone faceoff and moved quickly through the neutral zone. Stephen Johns took a shot from almost the blue line that made its way through traffic and past Jones’s right glove. Janmark and Faksa got the assists.

Near the seven minute mark, Alexander Radulov went into the boards after a not very dangerous-looking push from Justin Braun. He was down for some time before skating off the ice under his own power. He left the ice presumably for evaluation.

The Stars scored on a power play at 9:33, a Klingberg shot redirected by Tyler Seguin.

Third period goals came from Pitlick and Devin Shore. Klingberg, Pitlick, Jamie Benn, and Mattias Janmark each turned in two-point games, while Radek Faksa earned three.

The third period goals came just fifty seconds apart. Devin Shore picked up the puck at the blue line as he raced into the zone and slipped past everyone to get in front of Aaron Dell. He used a late backhand to get around the Sharks’ backup goaltender.

The final goal came after Faksa and Antoine Roussel entered the zone on a brief two on one. The Sharks caught up to them but a rebound snuck out to Pitlick who was trailing the play. He shot it through the mass of players in front of the goal and scored his second of the game. Assists went to Faksa and Roussel.

Joe Pavelski, Justin Braun and Brent Burns each got credit for four shots on goal, with Timo Meier coming in second for the Sharks with three.

Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop made 26 saves for the shutout. For the Sharks, Martin Jones made 18 saves in the first two periods, and Aaron Dell made eight saves in the third.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said, of the first period: “We were fighting the puck, it was tough out there early. And they might have done a little of it but a lot of it came from us at the start and just really allowed them to stay in our end. It wasn’t one guy either, it was a group effort out there and we all contributed to that showing.”

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer dismissed the suggestion that this game was symptomatic of a larger problem with how the team plays on the road: “I don’t look at this like we’ve been a poor road team. This was a poor game tonight. We’ll see, I’d like to think that we can go on the road and play our game, we’ve done it even this year for stretches. So I don’t think it’s a symptom of something bigger, just a bad night.”

The only good news in the game for Sharks fans was Logan Couture’s return to the ice after missing four games to injury. Couture was asked after the game whether he had any doubts while he was recovering:

There’s always doubt and there’s always anxiousness. A lot of times, when you’re going to sleep at night when you’re dealing with this injury, you’re always doubting yourself and you’re always doubting coming back from it. Thinking of the worst just comes with the territory. I think the first shift I got out there and chased the puck around in our own end for about fifty seconds. First period was tough but from there on I felt okay. I didn’t play very well but I felt okay.

The Sharks next play in Montreal against the Canadiens at 4:30 pm PT on Tuesday.

Merry Little Shutout: Sharks Beat Kings 2-0, Jones Picks Up 100th NHL Win

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks shutout the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 at SAP Center Saturday night. It was Martin Jones’ 100th NHL win and the first time the Sharks shutout the Kings in San Jose in over a decade. Sharks goals were scored by Marcus Sorensen and Joe Pavelski. Jones made 28 saves for the win, while Jonathan Quick made 31 saves in a losing effort for the Kings. Pavelski’s power play goal extended the Sharks’ power play success to an eight-game streak.

After the game, Sharks assistant coach Rob Zettler said:

I thought that was one of our best games of the year so far, against a division team, obviously and able to gain two points on those guys. Defensively we’ve been good all year, we’ve been starting to put the puck in the back of the net the last few games, last couple of weeks so it’s a good feeling.

Over those last couple of weeks, the Sharks have had to lean on their top lines for scoring. With Logan Couture injured, the team needs even more from the bottom six than before. That was the difference Saturday, said Zettler:

Tonight specifically I thought we got some quality minutes from our fourth line: Ward, Boedker, Sorensen, obviously scored the goal. I thought that was a major difference, being able to put those guys out in key times, key moments, and keep our big guys’ minutes down a little bit.

The game started with a strange sequence of penalties. First, Justin Braun was called for tripping Marian Gaborik, and it was a questionable call at best. 42 seconds into the Kings power play, Oscar Fantenberg was called for delay of game by concealing the puck. Depending on your bias, he either fell or threw himself down to the ice, momentarily concealing the puck. The puck was visible and moving almost immediately, so if it was an attempt to freeze the puck it was not a successful one.

Apart from penalties, it was a very rough-and-tumble game. Brenden Dillon and Timo Meier stood out, but it was a skirmish-laden event for almost everyone on the ice.

“It was fun to be on the bench, the physical part was fun. You know, Timo and Dillon and Burnsie’s hit against good players, really fun to be a part of,” said Zettler after the game. “You could feel the energy, not only in the building but you could feel it on the bench.”

The second period started with more penalties. First, Jonny Brodzinski hit Timo Meier, who responded by holding on and being dragged away from the boards. Brodzinski then threw Meier to the ice and got four minutes for roughing. Meier got two minutes for holding. During the ensuing four-on-four, the Kings were called for too many men on the ice, giving the Sharks about a minute of four-on-three action. With three penalty killers and then with four, the Kings killed off all of that.

One second past the midpoint of the game, Sorensen put the Sharks on the board. Key to his goal was that Quick was too far out of his net as the Sharks entered the zone. Sorensen changed direction abruptly right in front of Quick and was able to put the puck in with a backhand. Assists went to Mikkel Boedker and Dylan DeMelo.

The second goal came in the third period, on the Sharks’ fifth power play of the night. Tomas Hertl was in moving in front of the net, with Pavelski a little ways up in the slot. Burns took the shot from the blue line and Pavelski redirected it in. Burns took that shot right off a faceoff win by Pavelski, just six seconds into the power play.

The Sharks return to action Thursday when they host the Calgary Flames at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Canucks 4-3 in Overtime; Gagner gamer puts Vancouver over the top

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Canucks center Sam Gagner (89) scores the winning goal in overtime during the NHL game between the San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. Dom Gagne/CSM (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

by M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost in 4-3 overtime to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday. Two Vancouver goals came from Markus Granlund, one from Brock Boeser, and the game winner from Sam Gagner. For the Sharks, Brent Burns scored twice and rookie Marcus Sorensen scored once. Jacob Markstrom made 34 saves on 37 shots for the Canucks, while Martin Jones made 36 saves on 40 shots for San Jose.

The Sharks were coming off a win the night before against Calgary, but they were facing a hungry opponent. Vancouver snapped a four game losing skid with the win, a skid capped off by a 7-1 loss to Nashville on Wednesday.

“This sets up all the things for them to have an A game and they did. They were outstanding early and Jonesy gave us a chance to hang around and we found a way to get an important point on a night we probably didn’t deserve one,” said Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer.

At 4:34 of overtime, Sam Gagner scored on a breakaway to win the game with a quick backhand over Martin Jones’ right shoulder. It was a tough loss after a valiant effort from the goalie to keep his team in the game. The Canucks outshot the Sharks 40-37, with 22 in the first period alone. DeBoer was asked if the three goals that Jones allowed were cause for concern. He said:

You can’t play any better than he played tonight. We didn’t give him a lot of help tonight. In defense of our guys, an emotional win last night in Calgary, the we fly in here on a back to back against a team that’s ready to go. So sometimes that’s what it looks like.

Logan Couture left the game early following a hit from Alexander Burmistrov in the third period. Burmistrov’s shoulder appeared to make contact with Couture’s face. The hit came about five minutes into the period. Couture has had an outstanding season this year, leading the team in scoring with 15 goals and 10 assists through 30 games. After finally getting most of the team healthy again, losing Couture for an extended period would be a big setback for a team that is just getting its game back. There was no update on Couture’s status after the game.

The first goal came on a Vancouver power play just 44 seconds into the game. The zig-zagging play started with Henrik Sedin on the blue line, went to a touch pass by Daniel Sedin and ended as little more than a tap-in for Granlund. Half way into the period, Brent Burns tied the game, again on a power play. His shot went through so many players that it seemed unlikely that it had not touched any of them, but it did not. Assists went to Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski.

The second Vancouver goal came just after a power play expired, while the Sharks penalty killers were trapped and perhaps out of gas in their own zone. A shot came from Daniel Sedin above the faceoff circle. Henrik caught it just above the blue paint and found Granlund. Gralund put the puck between Justin Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and past Jones.

The Canucks scored again at 11:46 of the second period, again on the power play. The Sharks started the penalty kill well with a clear just three seconds in. After retrieving the puck, the Canucks came back fast, with Brock Boeser carrying the puck through the neutral zone and weaving past two Sharks defenders to give himself a short breakaway. That shot did not go in but 12 seconds later Boeser caught a pass in the faceoff circle and with a clear shot at the net he did not miss. Assists went to Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

With under two minutes left in the second, Braun, Jannik Hansen and Sorensen outnumbered the Canucks in a quick rush created when Sorensen intercepted a pass from Troy Stecher. Sorensen scored on a rebound from Braun’s shot after their odd man rush cused a little chaos by the Vancouver net. Assists went to Braun and Hansen.

The tying goal came almost right off of a faceoff in the Canucks zone. Joel Ward won the faceoff back to Burns, whose shot was at least partially screened by Melker Karlsson and Tomas Hertl fighting for position in front of the net. Like his first goal, it made its way through a lot of traffic but did not hit another Shark. The only assist went to Ward.

The overtime point puts the Sharks in third place in the Pacific Division standings with 38 points. The Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks both have 35 points, which is good for fourth and fifth place in the Pacific. Both wild card spots are held by Central Division teams with 37 points.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 6:00 pm PT in Edmonton against the Oilers.

Sharks Come Back to Pick Up Point, Lose to Wild in OT 4-3

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Minnesota Wild’s Nino Niederreiter, left, celebrates his game-winning goal with teammate Eric Staal during overtime of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks fell in overtime to the Minnesota Wild 4-3 at SAP Center on Sunday night. The point was hard won as the Sharks had to come back from a three goal deficit. Eric Staal scored twice for Minnesota, Ryan Murphy added another goal and Nino Niederreiter notched the overtime winner. Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl scored two goals for the Sharks. San Jose goaltender Martin Jones made 20 saves on 24 shots, while Minnesota goaltender Alex Stalock made 31 saves for the win.

After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

It was a gutsy effort by us. It was our sixth game I think in ten nights, including traveling back from the East last week. Back to back, against a team that was rested and waiting for us. I knew we would probably start slow, we didn’t expect to be down three but I thought it was a gutsy effort to get some points tonight.

Three times in the past four days, the Sharks fell behind by three goals and came back to tie the game. In Sunday’s game, there was no back and forth in the score. It was all Wild, then all Sharks.  DeBoer was asked why the Sharks tend to score in bunches after falling behind by two or more goals:

We have a resilient group, a confident group. In all those situations, we’ve shortened the bench and we have our top players are top players. And when they get that extra ice time and the ability to play without worrying about the score, thy have the ability to create some offense and put a lot of pressure on the other team. Unfortunately though you can’t ride those guys 25 minutes a night. So we’ve got to stop putting ourselves in those holes and for me, get a little but more out of the depth of the lineup.

The Sharks gave up two goals early in the first period. The first was a power play goal from Ryan Murphy at 4:19 with assists to Jason Zucker and Eric Staal. Murphy scored after a beautiful two pass sequence starting at the blue line, then going to the goal line and back up to the far side of the net. The execution was perfect, but the Sharks probably should have gotten in the way of one of those passes.

The second goal came at 10:27 from Eric Staal with assists to Ryan Suter and Mikael Granlund. A key factor was a bump to Brent Burns near the blue paint from Staal. He pushed Burns into Jones and the two Sharks both went down. Staal retrieved the puck and took the shot before Jones could get back in position.

The third Minnesota goal was a wraparound from Staal. Staal jammed the puck between Jones’ skate and the post. The NHL reviewed the play and confirmed it. DeBoer followed up with a challenge for goaltender interference, but it was rejected. Assists went to  Murphy and Granlund.

The Sharks got a surprising opportunity during a penalty kill with less than three minutes left in the second period as Dylan DeMelo was in the box when Eric Staal and Ryan Murphy went to the box at the same time. Murphy’s penalty was delayed and Staal’s holding penalty came during the delay. With just six or seven seconds left in the five-on-three portion of the power play, Burns took a shot from the faceoff circle and scored. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl.

Two minutes into the third period, Gustav Olofsson went to the box for tripping. Forty seconds into the penalty, Burns took a shot from the center of the blue line and beat Al Stalock over the left shoulder. The lone assist went to Joe Pavelski.

The Sharks tied the game after a series of three astonishing attacks on the Minnesota net. Tim Heed took a shot that Stalock stopped, but he dropped the puck and it was in play again–with the Sharks swarming. Finally, Hertl’s shot found its mark. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Dylan DeMelo.

At the end of regulation, the shot count was 33-22 Sharks, with the third period count 14-7 in favor of the Sharks.

Overtime started with some energy from the Sharks, but in the second minute it fell into a lull with the Wild, circling the Sharks in the Sharks’ zone. After what seemed an interminable period, the Sharks finally broke out, but they had barely been able to change when Niederrieter broke in and took a shot for the win.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 pm PT.

Sharks Score Five Again, Shut Out Slumping Sens 5-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks handed the Ottawa Senators a resounding defeat to the tune of 5-0 at SAP Center on Saturday night. The win followed up a surprising 5-4 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, when the Sharks led a furious comeback after trailing by three goals. Saturday’s goals came from Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. Couture, Pavelski, Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc all had multi-point games and back-up goaltender Aaron Dell made 25 saves for the Sharks’ shutout win. At the other end of the ice, Craig Anderson made 45 saves on 50 shots in a losing effort for the Senators.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said that San Jose’s goal was to start fast against Ottawa, avoiding the slow start that marked their previous game: “I liked our game. Compared to the game against Carolina, I thought we were really sharp and really carried over the way we played in the third period against them into tonight.”

The Sharks checked a lot of boxes in Saturday’s game, killing four of four penalties and scoring on two of seven power plays. Tim Heed returned after dealing with an upper body injury, and Paul Martin is scheduled to start a conditioning stint with the Barracuda. So much rosy news begs the question of whether the Sharks have reached a turning point in the season.

DeBoer would not say that it is a turning point, but he did say that the goals are important for more than the score: “It was nice to score some goals, nice to get some power play goals. Guys have been working awful hard, we generate a lot of chances and we haven’t finished enough this year. So it was nice to have a night like that. Whether we can do that again tomorrow night I don’t know. But confidence is a big part of scoring and there was a lot of guys feeling good about themselves tonight.”

Logan Couture opened the scoring near the midpoint of the first period. The Sharks had outshot the Sens 10-0 at the 12-minute mark. Dell had just fought off the Senators’ first couple of shots in a flurry of activity on the edge of his crease. After Hertl won a defensive zone faceoff, the Sharks went the other way fast, with Labanc making a lovely pass so Couture could beat Anderson as he moved across. Assists went to Labanc and Justin Braun.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 16-6 San Jose.

Early in the second period, the Sharks had just come off of a power play when Vlasic blasted a shot past Anderson. Tim Heed caught a pass from Kevin Labanc from behind the net, and sent the puck across the ice to the waiting Vlasic.

The Senators were keeping pace at least in shots past the midpoint of the period, but the Sharks did not let up. Joe Thornton passed the puck backward behind the net to a trailing Pavelski, who quickly sent it back up above the goal line for Melker Karlsson to pop into the net.

The Sharks’ power play came to life in the third period with two goals, one early and one late. The first third period power play resulted from a fight between Marcus Sorensen and Ryan Dzingel, when Dzingel was given an extra minor for roughing. Pavelski tipped a quick Couture shot from high in the slot. A second assist went to Brent Burns.

The Senators appeared to have scored at 5:12, in a power play that followed soon after the Sharks’ fourth goal. Braun was in the box for slashing. Matt Duchene took a shot from the face off dot and Bobby Ryan pushed it in. The official waved it off and did not even stop play. On later review, the NHL concluded that the puck had not crossed the line before Vlasic swept the puck back out.

The final power play of the game came when Alex Burrows used the butt end of his stick to bloody Dylan DeMelo’s face. Burrows was ejected with a fighting major and a roughing minor. DeMelo received roughing minor as he went to the dressing room to be patched up. Tomas Hertl scored after catching a bouncing puck off of Erik Karlsson’s hand. Assists went to Brent Burns and Logan Couture.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 6:00 pm PT against the Minnesota Wild.