Author: M Walsh

Sharks Earn “Good Point” in 4-3 Loss to Blackhawks

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: nhl.com San Jose Sharks Marc Edouard-Vlasic

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime Sunday. It was the Sharks’ second loss in a row on this road trip, but it was a much better performance from the Sharks than we saw on Friday. Without several key players, the Sharks took the lead twice and hung in there against a formidable opponent. With this loss, the Sharks fell to 3-7-1 in their last 11 games against Chicago.

Sharks goals were scored by Joonas Donskoi, Tommy Wingels and Joe Pavelski. Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his 200th career point in his 700th career game. Blackhawks goals came from Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane, Andrew Shaw and the game winner was scored by Jonathan Toews. Chicago’s Corey Crawford made 33 saves on 36 shots.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

We gotta stay with it. We gotta stay with it ’cause we played a pretty good game. You know, it wasn’t good enough, that’s a good team over there and they find ways and we needed to find a way tonight and we didn’t.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

That’s a good point for us, considering the circumstances. Coming in here, Karlsson went down just before the game, so we’re a little shorthanded. Played a lot of, you know, gave the young guys a lot of good minutes and they held up.

Of the team’s resilience after the second tying goal, he said: “We played a real solid game, I was real proud of our group and the effort top to bottom.”

The Sharks went into the game without forwards Joel Ward and Melker Karlsson. Joel Ward’s injury occurred in the final minute of Friday’s game in Ottawa, when Mark Borowiecky pushed him into the boards. Ward has historically been a very durable player, so for him to be injured bodes ill. After the game, DeBoer said that Karlsson had the flu.

Of Ward’s absence, Tommy Wingels said:

He’s a guy that plays big minutes for us, big situations, plays power play, penalty kill and a lot of five-on-five minutes. I think the guys did a good job of filling his minutes but we’ll see and we hope that he’s ready to go for the next game.

Still without Logan Couture, the team dressed seven defensemen after sending Barclay Goodrow back to the AHL Sunday. Just off of injured reserve, Ben Smith was in the lineup to face his old team. Dylan DeMelo was also dressed to fill out the bench, though the Sharks were still short one forward.

Of all the missing players, DeBoer said:

It’s not just Joel Ward. You know, Joel Ward’s a big missing piece, but when you add Couture and Karlsson to that, it’s a… you know… a second… first/second line for us that’s out of the lineup. It’s a big hole for us but I thought everybody stepped up and did a good job.

The Blackhawks were without forward Marian Hossa and had played the night before.

The Blackhawks took an early lead when Paul Martin lost the puck much too close to the Sharks net. Martin was hooked, causing him to bobble the puck instead of clearing it out of danger, but the officials did not agree. Really, Patrick Kane used his stick in such a way that had the hook on MArtin’s hands been missed, it could have beena tripping call since the stick that touched Martin’s hands was also between Martin’s legs, prying up one knee. The goal went to Artem Anisimov at 4:18.

Joonas Donskoi tied the game just over three minutes later, Patrick Marleau won a faceoff in the defensive zone, kicking the puck to Marc-Edouard Vlasic by the goal line. Vlasic tapped it to Justin Braun, who gave it right back as Vlasic went behind the net. Vlasic carried it around behind the net and sent a pass almost to the Chicago blue line, where Donskoi caught it for a breakaway. Donskoi escaped two pursuers and drew Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford out of position, then put the puck home to tie the game.

At 8:25 of the period, Mike Brown and Brandon Mashinter had a scrap. While they sat in the box, Andrew Shaw was called for interference, giving the Sharks the first power play of the game.

The first unit of Marleau, Pavelski, Hertl, Burns and Thornton did not have much luck, but the second unit of Donskoi, Wingels, Vlasic, Nieto and Marleau gave the Sharks a lead. A pass from Vlasic at the point got to Vlasic aboe the faceoff circle. Wingels sent a shot through traffic, including a good screen by Donskoi, right into the top corner. Assists went to Vlasic and Donskoi.

The lead did not last long. Under two minutes later, Duncan Keith took a shot from the Sharks’ blue line. Martin Jones stopped it, and then stopped another shot from Dennis Rasmussen. He could not stop Patrick Kane as he picked up the puck by the post and bounced it gently off of Jones’ back, into the net. The Sharks challenged the play as offside, but the goal held up and the Sharks lost their timeout. Assists went to Rasmussen and Keith.

The first ended with some minutes of back and forth, all chances being snuffed out early. Neither team managed to get very close to the other’s net.

About six minutes into the second period, Joonas Donskoi blocked a Duncan Keith slapshot with his right kneee and was slow to get up. He stayed on the ice, finally got to his feet and moments later blocked a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot with his left ankle. That got the puck out and he was finally able to get off the ice.

After that, Tomas Hertl took a shift in Donskoi’s spot on a line with Marleau and Nieto. Hertl turned up on various lines throughout the game, as the most-moving piece with only eleven forwards available.

With 5:15 left in the second, Paul Martin took a shot from the blue line, which Joe Thornton slowed down with a touch of his stick. The puck carried on towards the net, where Joe Pavelski stopped with his stick. This aloowed him to slide the puck around the goaltender for his seventh point on the road trip. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Paul Martin.

During the last 12 seconds of the period, Patrick Marleau was called for interference after he skated backwards into Corey Crawford.

The Sharks killed off the penalty, most of it in the third period. 2:15 into the third, Matt Nieto drew a holding the stick penalty. The Sharks did not convert on the power play, and had another chance at 4:35. Patrick Kane went to the box for high-sticking Vlasic, as he followed Vlasic into the corner.

Again, the Sharks did not score and just seconds after the power play expired, Andrew Shaw tied the game. After thwarting a three on one, the Sharks saw Shaw escape Paul Martin in the corner and then put the puck up over Jones’ shoulder.

The second half of the third period was so fast as to make overtime seem redundant. They went to the three-on-three session anyway, since no one scored in the mad scramble that was then end of regulation.

The overtime period was a good one. Where the first overtimes were helter-skelter, and some of the later ones have been too conservative, this one struck a nice balance of speed and defensive awareness. It was still a setting for unexpected situations, like the one that ended the game. The period saw several two-on-ones at both ends, until finally Matt Nieto was the one against Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Kane had just come on the ice as Toews crossed the blue line. The pair made two passes to get around Nieto and then Toews beat Jones on the far side.

Joe Pavelski led the Sharks in hits with 11. Patrick Marleau led in shots with 9. Martin Jones made 28 saves on 32 shots.

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

Sharks Fall to Senators 4-2

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo Sens Kyle Turis pushes the Sharks Marc Edouard-Vlasic during first period battle for the puck in Ottawa

The San Jose Sharks lost the third game in their current road trip, falling to the Ottawa Senators by a score of 4-2. As they had the night before in Toronto, the Sharks scored first and then gave up the lead. Unlike the Toronto game, they followed up on a weak second period with a worse third. The Sharks gave the swift Senators too many opportunities, odd-man rushes and power plays. That translated into four goals, three scored in the third period. Those goals were scored by Bobby Ryan, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris Wideman and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks’ goals came from Joe Thornton and Brent Burns.

The first period went by scoreless, with just two penalties called in the final five minutes. Both went against Ottawa, but their penalty kill kept the Sharks off the board. In their first power play, a hooking call against Kyle Turris, the Sharks recorded no shots. The closest they came was a Thornton shot that went off off Joel Ward in front of the net. The second power play carried over to the second period, the result of a tripping call against Mark Stone at 19:18. It is worth noting that the penalties were drawn by Joonas Donskoi and Melker Karlsson. After the first period, the Sharks had a slight lead in shots at 13-12.

Ottawa and San Jose both tend to win when they score first, so the first goal was eagerly anticipated, if misleading. It came 29 seconds into the middle frame, during the carry over penalty time. Though they lost the opening faceoff, the Sharks regained control quickly. The top power play unit established themselves in the offensive zone and a quick pass from Brent Burns near the right faceoff circle found Joe Thornton on the opposite side. Thornton’s shot was quick and went through the traffic cleanly into the net. Assists went to Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski.

Just over a minute later, Tomas Hertl was called from tripping, giving the Senators the first of three power plays in the second period, including a five on three. The Sharks killed the penalties but gave up an even strength goal at 4:46. Justin Braun caught a puck in the defensive zone and seemed to be trying to pass it off the boards to Marleau. Bobby Ryan was quicker to the puck than Marleau. He skated in and around Braun and then beat Stalock to tie the game.

It was a bad spot in Stalock’s game, which did have some bright spots. Near the end of the second period, Brent Burns had a puck jump by him on the Senators blue line, allowing Ottawa defenseman Dave Dziurzynski and forward Alex Chiasson to go the other way, with only Paul Martin in position to defend. Martin stayed with Dziurzynski but could not prevent his pass below the faceoff circle. Alex Stalock read the play perfectly and came to the top of his crease to reach out and block the pass with his stick. He caught the puck up and tapped it in the direction of Brent Burns, who by now had come back to help out. It was a good indication of alertness and confidence from a goaltender who has not played a lot of games this season.

The game remained tied through until 8:19 of the third period. After a shot by Diurzinsky went off of Stalock’s mask, Pageau picked up the rebound and put a shot through Stalock. Stalock sensed that it was behind him, and turned to try to catch it, but it got by. Assists went to Dziurzynski and Cody Ceci.

Stalock made a quick trip to the bench after, where heStalock got a new mask. Evidently the shot to the head did some damage to his armor.

The Sens stretched their lead with just over seven minutes left. Dennis Wideman took a shot from the blue line, while Chris Neil blocked Stalock’s view. Two Sharks and another Senator were also in the goaltender’s line of sight, so he probably did not see the shot at all as it flew by into the top corner. Assists went to Curtis Lazar and Shane Prince.

Ottawa added to the lead when some offensive zone action from the Sharks left the ice open for another two on one against, this time by Karlsson and Hoffman, with Brenden Dillon trying to defend. Hoffman drew Stalock to the right, then sent a pass around Dillon to Karlsson. 4-1 Senators. Assists went to Hoffman and Bobby Ryan.

With 2:24 left, Brent Burns got one back for the Sharks. Hertl, Goodrow and Wingels got the play started and Burns skated in to finish it up with a shot from in front of the net.

The Sharks had a 20 second power play when Mark Borowiecki was called for boarding Joel Ward. It was not long enough to make a difference.

Final score: 4-2 Senators.

Goalie Craig Anderson made 31 saves on 33 shots for the Senators. Alex Stalock made 31 saves on 35 shots for the Sharks.

Brent Burns led the team by a significant margin with seven shots on goal. Joel Ward had four hits and four shots. The Sharks were outshot by the Senators 35-33.

Some of the Sharks lines looked different Friday. Dainius Zubrus skated with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski again, while Tomas Hertl skated with Barclay Goodrow and Tommy Wingels. Measuring by ice time, that second group made up Friday’s fourth line. Matt Nieto was promoted to the line with Marleau and Ward. As previously mentioned, Chris Tierney centered Melker Karlsson and Joonas Donskoi. Despite their stats in Friday’s game, that line looked pretty good. They drew penalties and showed promise as a unit.

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

Wild Hand Sharks Sixth Straight Loss

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: espn991.com Minnesota Wild Zach Parise

SAN JOSE–The Sharks lost their sixth in a row to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Generally, the game was close, with the 2-0 score including an empty net goal during the final minute of play. The goals were scored by Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu. Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves in the shutout, while the Sharks’ Martin Jones played an excellent game too, making 28 saves on 29 shots.

As the Sharks attempted to end their losing streak, head coach Peter DeBoer mixed his forward lines, with more frequency than he has done this season. Every single line was different from the last game, and all but one line changed within the game. It did not change the result, as the Minnesota Wild handed the Sharks their straight loss.

Minnesota recorded their first shot almost five minutes into the first period. It was a good, clean shot from the faceoff circle that Jones gobbled up without any fuss. The Sharks had four shots by then, but they looked like a team working out new lines, which they were. During the first period, the forward lines were: Pavelski-Hertl-Marleau, Wingels-Thornton-Karlsson, Donskoi-Tierney-Ward, and Brown-Carpenter-Zubrus. Every single line had been changed since the loss in Edmonton.

The Sharks had a power ply at 9:35 of the period, when Mikael Granlund went to the box for holding. The power play did not accomplish much, as the Sharks could not stop turning the puck over in the neutral and offensive zones.

At 16:06, some negligence from the Sharks defense allowed Tomas Vanek to get out of the neutral zone with the puck, and make a break for the Sharks’ zone. Jones stopped the shot and kept the game in a scoreless tie. Jones had to make another, tougher save in the final two minutes on Mikko Koivu, who also had too much time to plan and take his shot.

As the period wound down, the shots were tied as well, and the Minnesota took the lead. It was not on the scoreboard but it was a symptom of a momentum shift. The Sharks did have a few moments of offensive zone time at the end of the period, but Minnesota seemed to be getting stronger while the Sharks idled.

The Sharks’ Patrick Marleau drew a tripping penalty early in the second period, a result of a much stronger start for the Sharks. Their power play looked a little more organized as well, with more passes connecting and a very good chance for Joe Pavelski in the slot.

Coach DeBoer mixed up the lines a bit in the second, moving Karlsson to the Tierney-Ward line, and Donskoi to the Thornton-Wingels line. The latter had one of the best chances of the period, when Wingels and Donskoi followed a Thornton shot to the net and caused a pile up in the paint that the officials had to untangle after the whistle.

At the end of the period, Thornton, Pavelski and Marleau made an appearance on the ice together, suggesting yet more line juggling from the coach.

With 1:45 left in the second, Mike Brown was called for boarding, giving the Wild their first power play of the game. During the penalty kill, Joel Ward blocked a shot and was a little slow to get up.

The Sharks trailed in shots by just one at the end of the second, with the score still 0-0.

To start the third, Thornton was on the ice with Wingels and Pavelski. Then Marleau, Donskoi and Karlsson came on as a line. Then Ward, Tierney and Hertl. Only the fourth line remained intact, as it had throughout the game. To the credit of that line, they had been very effective at gaining the zone and creating chances, just not enough so to score.

The Wild finally broke the tie, after Jones had already made several tough saves. Zach Parise was left wide open in front of the net. Donskoi was the only Shark skater in the vicinity and he was a little too slow to react. Assists went to Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville.

An empty netter for Mikko Koivu put the game away, but not until the final minute.

The Sharks’ shot leader was Joonas Donskoi with four. The hits leader was Tommy Wingels with seven. Wingels also had three shots to go with those hits.

The Sharks made a number of roster moves before Saturday’s game. Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup, but Logan Couture was out again, this time with a small arterial bleed in his upper leg. There is no new timetable for Couture’s return, but in a press release, Doug Wilson said: “At this time, there is no projected time frame for his return to the ice but we do not expect this to be a long-term recovery. Fortunately, this injury is completely unrelated to his previous ankle injury.”

Dylan DeMelo played as Brenden Dillon’s partner. Forward Ben Smith was assigned to the San Jose Barracuda on a conditioning assignment. Forward Ryan Carpenter was called up. Matt Tennyson and Matt Nieto were scratches.

One other note: the Shark head stayed in the rafters Saturday. The Sharks did not skate through it on their way onto the ice.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday, December 15, in Montreal at 4:30 PT.

Lightning Strike Early And Often, Beat Sharks 4-3

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: AP of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov skates as he scored twice aginast San Jose Saturday night

SAN JOSE: The San Jose Sharks finally scored a power play goal at home. They scored three, but lost 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Tampa Bay’s 20th place penalty kill probably jumped up a couple of ranking spots after killing seven penalties on Saturday night. Or maybe not, since they also gave up three power play goals. The first one was to Matt Tennyson, who broke the cursed power play scoring drought for the Sharks. The second went to Joel Ward, and the third to Brent Burns.

Al Stalock made 16 saves on 20 shots for the Sharks, while Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop made 24 saves on 26 shots before leaving the game with an injury. His replacement, Andrei Vasilevskiy made seven saves on eight shots. Tampa Bay goals were scored by Eric Condra, Nikita Kucherov (two) and Brian Boyle. There were some bright spots in the Sharks’ game, but not enough.

Tampa Bay wasted no time getting the scoring started. Just 2:19 into the game, Nikita Kucherov was able to skate through the slot, avoiding one Sharks defender and using the other as a screen, to put a shot right under Stalock. An assist went to defenseman Victor Hedman.

Near the halfway mark, Joe Pavelski was called for high sticking. Really, the infraction occurred as much as a minute before the time of the penalty, as Tampa Bay tried to make something of the delayed call, skating at length with their net empty. Despite their efforts, they were unable to launch an attack until the power play was under way. Even then, they only recorded one shot with the man advantage.

It was not until after that power play expired that the Lightning struck again, this time with a pass from the wall, near or below the goal line, that seemed to bounce off of a well-placed stick in front of the blue paint. The goal went to Eric Condra, with assists to Andrej Sustr and J.T. Brown.

The Sharks drew a hooking call with 3:27 left in the period. Brian Boyle was the culprit. The Sharks had some difficulty getting their power play in order, and Tampa Bay’s penalty killers were aggressive.

Karlsson, Donskoi, Hertl, Braun and Martin took the ice with less than 30 seconds left in the penalty. The first power play unit was made up of Thornton, Pavelski, Ward, Marleau and Burns. The power play expired and the Sharks went into the first intermission down by 2-0. The Sharks were also trailing on the shot clock, with just four to Tampa Bay’s six.

The Lightning took another penalty, this time for too many men on the ice, but Tommy Wingels was called bout 30 seconds later for goaltender interference.

During the four on four time that followed, the Sharks kept the Lightning hemmed in their zone, and put a few shots on net to boot.

Around the seven minute mark of the second, the Lightning overwhelmed the Sharks’ fourth line of Chris Tierney, Dainius Zubrus and Mike Brown. The Lightning did not score, but the Sharks were trapped in their zone for too long.

The Sharks had another try on the power play at 9:20, when Braydon Coburn was called for holding. Tommy Wingels drew that call. The Sharks recorded a few shots during the power play but did not get anything past Bishop.

At 12:55, the Sharks seemed to have scored after a wild scramble, but the goal was called off as the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle before the puck crossed the line.

That was followed by a holding call to Andrej Sustr, and again the bulk of the power play time was given to the top unit. They could not do anything with that time, but the second unit, if indeed that is what they are, did score. Matt Tennyson’s shot from near the point got by Bishop, with assists to Justin Braun and Tomas Hertl. The other skaters on the ice were Donskoi and Karlsson.

With just over five minutes left, Chris Tierney went to the box for tripping. The Sharks were doing a great job killing the penalty, often stopping the Lightning at the blue line. Half way through, Joel Ward was called for tripping as well, putting the Sharks down by two men for 50 seconds. The Sharks held them off for 30 of those seconds but Steven Stamkos and Kucherov took advantage of the Sharks being a little too far from their goal and found a 2 on 1 chance. A late pass from Stamkos set Kucherov up perfectly. He picked a corner over Stalock’s shoulder and gave Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead.

At the end of the second, the shots were 18-14 Sharks, the score 3-1 Lightning.

The Sharks’ belaguered power play had another shot 40 seconds into the third period, when Tomas Hertl drew a tripping call on Anton Stralman. Donskoi, Hertl and Karlsson started this one, but had no luck. The Ward-Marleau-Thornton unit came out for the second minute of the power play. No joy there either.

DeBoer put the third line out after the power play expired, with Wingels, Hertl and Nieto. They started well but Brian Boyle broke away with Brown in a two on one. Stalock stopped Brown’s shot but lost track of the puck. As it sat there behind his skate, Boyle tapped it in.

Jason Garrison went to the box next, 5:42 in, for interference. That power play started with a two on one chance for Tampa Bay. Burns and Stalock stopped them from scoring but the Sharks never gained any traction.

Victor Hedman went to the box at 8:13 for cross-checking Chris Tierney. Thirteen seconds into the power play, Brent Burns’ shot went off Joel Ward and by Bishop. Marleau was acting as a screen, and Bishop claimed there was some interference but the goal stood up after a review. Assists went to Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski.

With 11:10 left in regulation, Ben Bishop took a stick through the mask and left the game, being replaced by Andrei Vasilevskiy.

With the penalty count becoming ridiculous, Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn went to the box for boarding Brenden Dillon.

Brent Burns was clearly on a tear as he took control of the power play, caught a puck at the point, skated backwards around the Lightning zone to pick his spot, and shot it over Vasilevskiy’s shoulder from the faceoff circle.

The Sharks had a couple fo chances after that but even with an empty net they could not truly control play in the offensive zone and no more goals were scored.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 6:00 PT, a road game against Calgary.

SJ Sharks Saturday game recap with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks Win 5-2 At Home

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit CSNBA of the SJ Sharks Tommy Wingels

SAN-JOSE- The San Jose Sharks played the Calgary Flames Saturday, and won 5-2. As if in honor of Ryane Clowe night at SAP, the Sharks played a strong, physical, wily game. Tomas Hertl probably had the most rough and tumble game of his career. Mirco Mueller went to the box with a fighting major. Tommy Wingels, the team’s habitual hits leader, changed things up and was the Sharks’ shot leader for the game.

The first two goals of the game, and the first and third stars of the game, went to the second line of Tommy Wingels, Tomas Hertl and Matt Nieto. Two-thirds of that line was benched in the third period of their last game, so it was rewarding for all involved to see them play so well Saturday. After the game, head coach Pete DeBoer said:

They were a key part of the game tonight, set the tone with the forecheck, got us those two first period goals, key part. We need those guys. Great response game by them and now we need to continue to build on it.

The Sharks won the game without the help of one of their top four defensemen. Justin Braun missed the game and is likely to be out for longer with an infected elbow. The last time the Sharks lost the services of a top defenseman, they struggled badly.

Asked after the game how the defensive corps made the adjustment, Marc-Edouard Vlasic said:

We played well as a team, we didn’t turn pucks over, good support in the d-zone. Good forecheck… I mean, you can be missing two of your top d-men but if you play the way we did tonight you’ll win.

The win seemed a long time coming, as the Sharks’ road record is much better than their home record lately. Additionally, The Flames have been struggling this season, especially in the area of special teams. They posed a perfect storm as a visiting, struggling team that the Sharks should be able to beat. That sort of opponent has long been poisoned bait for the Sharks. That the Sharks prevailed in a big way could mean that the team is breaking some bad habits.

While the shot clock showed the teams even, the first half of the first period found the Sharks more often in the Flames zone than vice versa. Obviously, the Flames had enough time to take their share of the shots, but the Sharks seemed to have the edge to start the game.

There were a couple of near fights, one near each net. Everyone got involved, leaving few skaters not in the fracas, but no penalties were handed out, no one got knocked down, and the game went on.

The line combination of Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels had started the game with a lot of jump, and at 9:03 of the period, Tommy Wingels opened the scoring with a tipped shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Assists went to Vlasic and Tomas Hertl.

The second goal was Hertl’s, a beautiful wrist shot from the bottom of the circle. Brenden Dillon caught puck on its way, kept it in, and made a quick pass to Hertl for the shot. The only assist went to Dillon.

The period ended 2-0 Sharks with the shots at 11-10 Sharks.

Patrick Marleau was called for holding just 1:31 into the second, giving the Flames the first power play of the game. The Sharks had a lot of trouble clearing the puck in the first minute, and Jones had to scramble. Once the Sharks did get the puck out, they were able to handle the rest of the kill.

At 4:23, Mirco Mueller was called for charging. The Sharks executed the second penalty kill handily, but remained trapped in their zone for some time after it was over.

The sharks had their own turn on the power play at 8:16 of the second. Derek Engellund knocked Nieto down a bit late near the net, which moved Hertl to jump into the fray and just miss being called for something himself. Engellund went to the box for roughing.

Beforew the power play was over, was called for high-sticking Hertl. Hertl protected his face with a hand but the hand seemed to suffer the consequences. Hertl recovered and the Sharks had a short five on three power play.

Seconds into it, Joe Thornton sent a neat little pass across to Joel Ward, who was standing undisturbed in front of the net. Ward was able to tap it in past Hiller.

While the second penalty was still playing out, Patrick Marleau took a shot from the left circle and beat Hiller with the help of some traffic in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns.

The period came to an end with the Sharks leading by four goals and five shots.

Just before the middle of the third period, Mirco Mueller and Joe Colborne had a very brief scrap that landed them both in the box for five minutes. It was very brief, but may have had the desired effect, on the Calgary Fames. 41 seconds later, Marcus Granlund skated into the Sharks zone and took a wrist shot that beat Martin Jones. It was his first goal of the season. Assists went to TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano.

25 seconds after that, Tommy Wingels and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored on a rush the other way. Vlasic took Wingels’ pass from the half boards and shot the puck under pressure from a Flames defender. Vlasic did fall in the end, but the puck went in. Assists went to Wingels and Nieto.

During a scramble around the net at 11:40, Brenden Dillon was called for hooking. The Flames did not score there but, with 1:17 left in the period, they did. After playing the puck behind the net and hastily returning to his net, Martin Jones stopped a couple of shots as Flames skaters moved in, but Michael Ferlund’s shot trickled by him. It was Ferlund’s first of the season, and an assist went to David Jones.

Final score: 5-2 Sharks.

The Sharks’ newest player, Dainius Zubrus, played 13:15 minutes on a line with Mike Brown and Chris Tierney, and 2:02 minutes on the penalty kill. He had two blocked shots and two hits to his credit.

Due to an injury to Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon was paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, while Matt Tennyson and Mirco Mueller made up the third pair. They played 14:13 and 11:47 respectively.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at SAP Center, against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:30 PT.

Six Win Road Trip First In Sharks History

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks ended a perfect six-win road trip on Sunday, with a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was the first time the Sharks swept a road trip longer than four games, and the first time they won six games on a single trip.

Al Stalock got his first start since November 10, making 28 saves on 31 shots. Sharks goals came from Patrick Marleau, Brent Burns, Brenden Dillon, and two from Joe Pavelski. It was Brenden Dillon’s first goal of the season and the game winner. After missing Saturday’s game for a personal matter, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer was back behind the bench in time for the game.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said the team did not set out on this trip thinking of a win streak:

We didn’t talk about it. We talked about one day at a time. You look back now, it’s just a long time from then. Six in a row. You know, it’s good but it’s… we need that. It’s what we expect. We expect to win on a nightly basis and give ourselves that opportunity. Once we’re here it’s “take the good from it and now we gotta translate it back home.”

The Sharks started the game well, out shooting the Blue Jackets 10-5 in the first period. Each team had a power play in the first but the only goal scored came at even strength from Patrick Marleau. Joonas Donskoi took a shot that resulted in a small rebound. Marleau was in front of the blue paint, where he could tap the puck under Sergei Bobrovsky and into the net. Donskoi and Ward got the assists.

Micheal Haley and Mike Brown both fought in the first period, within four seconds of each other, against Dalton Prout and Gregory Campbell respectively.

The Blue Jackets pushed back early in the second period, out shooting the Sharks 7-1 in the first five minutes. Their efforts paid off when Ryan Johansen, surrounded by Sharks in front of the net, poked the puck between his feet and through Stalock. Assists went to Kerby Reichert and Josh Anderson.

Seconds later, the home team took the lead with a goal from Boone Jenner. An odd-man rush drew Stalock to the left, and a cross-ice pass left an open net for Jenner to shoot at. Assists went to William Karlsson and Brandon Saad.

The Sharks’ struggles continued through the first half of the period, until they got some respite from a power play. Joe Pavelski took a stick to the face from Rene Bourque at 8:57. The power play was short-lived as Brent Burns was called for interference just a minute in. Half a minute later, Justin Braun was called for holding.

The Sharks survived the brief four on three and the five on three that followed. Some seconds of five on four followed but the Sharks weathered it.

The Sharks got another chance on the power play at when Dalton Prout was called for cross-checking Mike Brown. The Sharks did not score but it was still an improvement over the previous attempt. By the end of the second, Columbus had the 2-1 lead on the scoreboard, and a 19-7 lead in shots for the period.

Late in the period, Tommy Wingels went to the dressing room. He had blocked a couple of shots earlier and seemed to be suffering the effects. He was back on the bench for the third period.

The Blue Jackets put the puck in the net at 2:23 of the third. DeBoer challenged the goal, as Scott Hartnett was standing in the blue paint for some time before the goal, impairing Stalock’s ability to move freely. Donskoi was blocking Hartnell’s exit, if he wanted to make one. The challenge came up empty, giving the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead. The goal was Cam Atkinson’s, with assists to Nick Foligno and Hartnell.

The Sharks cut the lead to one goal, with a Justin Braun shot from the blue line, deflected in by Joe Pavelski at 6:13. The assists went to Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks then tied it up with a power play goal. Joel Ward was at the point and gave every indication he was looking for a shot. Brent Burns was lurking in the circle on the other side of the ice. Ward sent a quick pass through the penalty killers to Burns, who knocked it in before Bobrovsky could get across.

1:50 later, San Jose’s Chris Tierney won an offensive zone draw and Brenden Dillon caught the puck on its way to the blue line. He took a shot that Bobrovsky probably could not see, as Tierney was screening him as he made his way to the net.

The Blue Jackets pulled Bobrovsky with less than two minutes left. Seconds later, Pavelski stole the puck from Boone Jenner in the offensive zone and scored into the empty net.

Scott Hartnell picked up a misconduct in the final minutes, putting the Sharks on a power play for the final 1:16 of the game.

The final shot count was 31-29 Columbus, the final score 5-3 Sharks.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Marleau Scores 1000, Sharks Win Streak At Five

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: tjcnewspapers.com Patrick Marleau skated to his 1000th career point vs. Pens 11-21-15

In a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau earned his 1000th career point, and his 1001st. Former Penguin, now Sharks defenseman Paul Martin scored his first goal of the season, and the Sharks extended their winning streak to five. Brent Burns scored two goals and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 38 of 39 shots. The Sharks did this despite the absence of head coach Peter DeBoer, who was away due to a personal matter.

The win holds added promise as the team changed their lineup somewhat from the group that won the last game in Philadelphia. Defenseman Matt Tennyson was in, Mirco Mueller was out. Nikolay Goldobin was in, while Micheal Haley was out. This was also the first game of this road trip that the Sharks won by more than one goal. It was a step forward in an already excellent road trip. After the game, Patrick Marleau described the team’s success on this road trip:

I think when we haven’t been our best, there’s different guys stepping up and playing key roles. Jonesy’s been playing great, but finding a way  to get those points, those wins is big. You’re not going to have it every night, and I think last game against Philly we saw that and we still found a way to get it in overtime. I think tonight we played a pretty strong sixty minutes against a very powerful offensive team with a  lot of good players over there.

The first power play of the game went to the Penguins, after a hooking call against Melker Karlsson. The Sharks penalty killers kept the Penguins at bay and only allowed one shot to get through to Martin Jones. The penalty ended in a two on one for Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Marleau opted to shoot, but he hit the near post.

The penalty kill seemed to energize the Sharks. After the break, they spent three long shifts in the offensive zone. During the third one, Brent Burns picked up a rebound from a Ward shot and put the puck in an open net. The second assist went to Marleau.

The assist was Marleau’s 1000th career point. When this was announced, the Pittsburgh crowd gave Marleau an understandably subdued but gracious round of applause.

The Sharks had to kill a second penalty when Mike Brown was called for kneeing at 12:40. The Sharks killed that off and had two unsuccessful power plays of their own before the first period ended. At the first intermission, the shots stood at 12-9 Pittsburgh.

The Sharks took another penalty early in the second. Joe Pavelski was called for high-sticking Rob Scuderi at 6:39. The stick drew blood so the Penguins had four minutes with a man advantage. It took the Sharks 90 seconds to clear the puck the first time. On a third zone entry, Phil Kessel found some space and tied the game. The goal came just shy of the two minute mark, so the Sharks had to kill the second minor despite the goal.

The Sharks regained the lead at 13:06 when Burns took a shot from the point just as Ward cruised across in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. The puck clipped Scuderi enough to change direction and make the Penguins goalie’s job harder. Assists went to Paul Martin and Patrick Marleau.

The Penguins had another power play at 17:21. when Paul Martin was called for high-sticking. Pittsburgh had an early shot but the Sharks kept them out of the zone for most of the penalty.

San Jose failed to convert on yet another power play early in the third, but some good chances set the tone for a strong period. 8:27 into the third, Paul Martin extended their lead to 3-1. His shot from the blue line went through traffic and Fleury after a great shift from Matt Nieto, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi. While Nieto and Hertl wreaked some havoc near the Penguins net, Donskoi sent the puck up to Martin for the shot. An assist went to Donskoi.

By the end of the game, the Penguins had a shot lead of 39-29 but the score was still 3-1 Sharks.

Logan Couture skated on Saturday in full gear. Couture explained that this was part of the process, and that he still had no specific return date: “I don’t plan that far in advance, I didn’t plan this whole trip in advance, like I said it’s kind of a day by day thing. All how it reacts.”

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 2:00 PT, in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. It will be their second meeting of the season. The Blue Jackets defeated the Sharks 5-2 on November 3 at SAP.

Sharks Break Buffalo Curse With 2-1 OT Win

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit AP Sharks Joe Pavelski scores first period goal vs. Red Wings

The Sharks finally defeated the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, breaking a ten year losing streak with an overtime win. Before Saturday, the Sharks had only won one game in Buffalo and that was in 2005. After the win, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

It’s a good feeling. It’s a big weight to carry around: ten years. I didn’t know it was that long until kinda dug into it here today, so I think the guys were happy to get that monkey off our back. It was a hard fought game, we pushed out early and they came back at us. Both goaltenders I thought were excellent. It was a good game.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski picked up his 500th NHL point. It was just the second time that Sharks goaltender Martin Jones played in back-to-backs, and the second time he won both games. It was just the second time the Sharks went to overtime this season, and they won both games.

The game was remarkably even, though each team had moments of dominance. The shots were 32-31 Sharks, faceoffs were 31-29 Sabres. Each team had three power plays, and the Sharks scored on one. The teams were within one on giveaways and takeaways, and the Sharks blocked eleven shots to the Sabres’ eight. It was only fitting that such a close game go to overtime.

The Sharks drew a penalty in the first minute of play, when Tommy Wingels skated into the Buffalo zone and was slashed by Jake McCabe. As a result, the Sharks took the lead on a power play goal from Marc-Edouard Vlasic, at 1:48. Patrick Marleau screen Buffalo goaltender Chad Johnson. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. It was Pavelski’s 500th career point.

The Sharks took their first penalty at 8:26, for having too many men on the ice. Just 34 seconds into that, Marc-Edouard Vlasic made contact with Ryan O’Reilly’s upper body, and was called for tripping. Martin Jones, Paul Martin, Joel Ward and Brent Burns weathered some close calls during the five on three time. Pavelski, Dillon and Hertl went out for the second part of the kill, and finished it off.

With 1:36 left in the period, Joe Pavelski was called for tripping Jake McCabe. The Sharks had a steady penalty kill, leaving the Sabres with just 26 seconds left of power play to start the second period. at the end of the first, the Sharks held a 9-8 lead in shots as well as the 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.

The Sabres took their second penalty at 7:34 of the second period. Carlo Colaiacovo was called for tripping Joe Pavelski. San Jose’s second power play was much less effective than their first. The Sabres penalty killers not only kept the Sharks out of the zone, but backed them into the defensive own zone and took a shot or two.

In the final four minutes of the period, Mike Brown went to deliver a check on Tyler Ennis. Ennis seemed to lose his footing before being hit and fell backwards awkwardly into the boards. He appeared to be shaken up but he did not leave the game.

The Sabres dominated play in the final minutes of the period, but could not beat Martin Jones. Except for the one penalty, the second period was quite even. The shots were tied at nine each for a total of 18-17 Sharks.

Early in the third period, coach DeBoer started adjusting his lines, moving Matt Nieto into Goldobin’s spot and alternating others with the fourth line. Late in the second period, Goldobin lost track of the puck at an inopportune moment, allowing a dangerous scoring chance for Buffalo. That seemed like a forgivable offense but in general his play had not been as strong as prior games Saturday.

At 4:33, Buffalo defenseman Cody Franson left the game after sliding into the boards feet first.

While Goldobin’s second period miscues did not result in a goal against, the new second line was on the ice at 6:27 when Ryan O’Reilly won the puck away from Paul Martin near the Sharks blue line. O’Reilly had time to take a clean shot past Jones on the far side. Assists went to Rasmus Ristolainen and Josh Gorges.

At 14:35 of the third period, Tommy Wingels lined up Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons for an open ice hit, but Girgensons seemed to duck and Wingels sailed over him. Wingels may have caught Girgensons in the head with a knee as he fell over his target. Girgensons stayed down. Colaiacovo went after Wingels, and was called for the roughing. Girgensons went to the dressing room.

The Sharks power play started pretty well, and Brent Burns had a chance one on one with the goalie, but his shot caught the edge of the goalie’s pad and wound up hitting the post. The Sharks spent the rest of the power play in the offensive zone but could not score.

In the final 20 seconds of regulation, Jack Eichel took the puck and skated end to end around every Shark that tried to get in his way. Eichel did get a shot off but Jones stopped it. The Sharks that had been chasing Eichel almost ran over Jones as he tried to corral the puck. He did keep it out.

The teams headed to overtime three on three. DeBoer opted to start with Thornton, Pavelski and Burns. The Sabres started with Ristolainen, Gionta and O’Reilly. Hertl, Vlasic and Marleau went next for the Sharks, then Vlasic, Wingels and Karlsson. Cody Franson had to defend all three Sharks skating into the zone, and opted to fall over Wingels’s stick to prevent a shot or a pass.

With 2:10 left in overtime, Tomas Hertl had the puck along the boards. He fell but held on to the puck and managed to turn and skate into the slot to take a shot. The rebound started a flurry of shots from the Sharks. Vlasic took a slap shot from the blue line that created a rebound for Marleau to pick up near the net. He put the puck over Johnson for the game winner.

Patrick Marleau led the team in shots with five, Tommy Wingels led in hits with six. Martin Jones made 30 saves on 3 shots for the win.

The only change to the Sharks lineup was on defense, where Mirco Mueller got a look, in Matt Tennyson’s spot with Brenden Dillon. Mueller and forward Nikolay Goldobin, both rookies, skated very limited minutes in the game but neither were on the ice for goals against.

Zemgus Girgensons led the Sabres in shots with five, and Josh Gorges led the team in hits with four. Former Shark Jamie McGinn had three shots and three hits. Chad Johnson made 30 saves on 32 shots.

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

Sharks Start Road Trip With 3-2 Win in Detroit

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Detroit Red Wings on Friday by a score of 3-2. It was an excellent start to a six game road trip. Sharks goals were scored by Matt Nieto, Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson. Five Sharks defensemen had points in the game, and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win. For the Red Wings, Dylan Larkin made an excellent impression skating in his first NHL game. He set up the Tomas Tatar for Detroit’s first goal. The other Detroit goal came from Teemu Pulkkinen in the final minute of the game.

The Sharks gave up the first goal early in the game, something they have been doing a lot lately. Despite giving up the first goal yet again, Martin Jones had a good bounce back game. After the win, he said:

I’ve got to find a way to come up with a save early in the game. That’s a lot of games in a row that we’re coming from behind here so… It makes it tough on us. You know, the guy makes a good shot but I’ve got to find a way to come up with a save early.

The most noteworthy change to the Sharks lineup was that Patrick Marleau moved to center the second line, with Joel Ward and Nikolay Goldobin on the wings. Melker Karlsson started on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Tomas Hertl centered the third line with Tommy Wingels and Joonas Donskoi. That left a fourth line centered by Chris Tierney with Matt Nieto and Mike Brown.

For the Red Wings, Pavel Datsyuk entered the lineup for the first time this season.

The Red Wings opened the scoring at 3:13 of the first period. A three on two was slightly aided when an official got in the way of Joe Thornton. Dylan Larkin carried the puck into the zone, then made a pass to Tomas Tatar on the wing. Tatar took the shot from above the circle and beat Jones on the far side, in the top corner. The goal went to Tatar with assists to Larkin and Niklas Kronwall.

Nikolay Goldobin earned the Sharks a power play by falling down and having it mistaken for a trip. It took Detroit almost a minute to clear the puck the first time. Later in the power play, Tommy Wingels was called for holding Darren Helm. That gave the teams 33 seconds of four-on-four play before the Red Wings power play. The Sharks penalty kill stopped the Red Wings from getting set up and gave them very little time to play in the offensive one.

Just as the power play ended, Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson passed the puck out of the Sharks zone to Joe Thornton in the neutral zone. Thornton carried it in, pushed a weak shot at the net, then retrieved it behind the net, fighting off Drew Miller and Mike Green. As Thornton slid the puck back around in front of the net, Melker Karlsson arrived and popped it over Jimmy Howard’s pad to tie the game. Assists went to Thornton and Tennyson.

The Sharks survived another Detroit power play at 8:56, when Joel Ward was called for tripping. It was the first penalty of the season for Ward.

The Sharks took the lead late in the first, when Matt Nieto caught the puck on the left side of the net, carried it behind the net for a wrap around try, which did not go. He was ready for that, caught the rebound and put a shot up under the cross bar. The assists went to Brenden Dillon and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Nikolay Goldobin was still on the second line to start the second period. The way he was pulled off the first line in earlier games, his continued presence on the second line suggests that his coach is gaining confidence in him. The first half of the second period was relatively uneventful. There were no penalties and no goals.

Just past the halfway mark, The Sharks looked like they were getting set up in the offensive zone. Paul Martin saw an early opening and took a shot from the blue line as Joe Pavelski was skating across in front of the net. Pavelski turned and skated backwards to get his stick in position, then deflected the shot perfectly past Howard. The assists went to Martin and Justin Braun. The goal put Pavelski one away from 500 career points.

With less than a minute left in the period, some rough stuff in front of the Red Wings net put Joe Thornton and Luke Glendening in the box with two minutes each for roughing. Actually, it sent them to the dressing room since there were only 56.7 seconds left.

At the end of the second, the shots were 22-11 Detroit, the score 3-1 San Jose.

The third period rolled along without penalties or additional scoring. The Sharks only got credit for three shots during the period, but they limited the Red Wings to just six in the period.

With their goaltender pulled and 1:52 left in the game, the Red Wings closed the gap. With all of the Sharks and a couple of Red Wings lined up in the slot, Tomas Tatar passed the puck to Jakub Kindl at the point. Kindle passed it along the blue line to Teemu Pulkkinen, who slapped it into the top corner. Assists went to Kindl and Tatar. After that, the Sharks pushed back a little harder and tried, unsuccessfully, for the empty net.

Final score: 3-2 Sharks.

None of the Sharks had more than two shots, and those with two were Brent Burns, Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto. Justin Braun and Melker Karlsson led the team in hits with four each. Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time with 26:54.

Pavel Datsyuk led the Red Wings in shots with four. Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader led the Red Wings in hits with four apiece. Jimmy Howard made 11 saves on 14 shots.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 4:00 PT in Buffalo against the Sabres.

Ducks Defeat Sharks With Ferocious Start

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost a hard-fought game to the Anaheim Ducks Saturday. They lost by just one goal, the only goal scored in the game. The Sharks remain without a power play goal at home, despite having four chances on Saturday. That one goal was scored by Corey Perry.

The Sharks did not come out with intensity to match a desperate Ducks team. After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I thought the first ten minutes, they obviously had the jump on us. We were standing around watching, I don’t know why. But from that point on I thought we played a hell of a game. I thought our goalie was great, we put a lot of pressure on them, put a lot of pucks on the net, had a lot of opportunities. Obviously our power play didn’t click but it’s not like we’re not establishing possession, getting in, looking dangerous, getting chances. So we just got to stick with it, and know that eventually those are going to go in for us.

Ducks goaltender Anton Khudobin made 30 saves for the shutout win. Martin Jones made 16 saves on 17 shots for the Sharks. That the Sharks could limit the Ducks to so few shots after the first period was a feat, but not enough to change the outcome.

The only line change from the previous game was to the fourth line. Thursday, that line included Matt Nieto, Bryan Lerg and Michael Haley. Saturday, it was Mike Brown, wearing a cage, instead of Lerg. The power play also saw a couple of changes, with Marc-Edouard Vlasic moving to the top unit, and Joel Ward moving back to the second.

The Sharks looked quite outmatched for the first five minutes of the game. The Ducks had played the night before, but they started with more jump than the Sharks.

At the 4:56 mark, Corey Perry escaped detection as he lurked along the boards, then darted through the neutral zone. He received a pass from Ryan Getzlaf just outside the Sharks’ blue line and skated in to beat Martin Jones. Assists went to Getzlaf and Patrick Maroon.

By the midpoint of the period, the Sharks were being outshot 7-2.

Four minutes later, the Sharks had added a couple of shots, but the Ducks had added four more. With 6:09 left in the period, Sharks goalie Martin Jones had to make not one but three stops in a row as Ryan Kesler and Chris Stewart shot the puck at will.

With 4:42 left, Tommy Wingels drew a penalty as Jakub Silfverberg was called for interference. The new first power play unit (Vlasic, Burns, Marleau, Pavelski and Thornton) held the zone and took a couple of shots but at the first stoppage were replaced with the second unit: Braun, Burns, Wingels, Ward and Hertl. Evidently, as Brent Burns is already leading the team in ice time, he will play all the power play time too. The second unit also took a couple of shots, though they got ousted from the zone before the penalty expired.

What the power play did, and the Sharks did for the final minutes of the period, was stop the Ducks from shooting. When the first 20 minutes expired, the teams were tied at 11 shots each.

The Sharks came out with a lot more energy in the second period. Early, the fourth line had an excellent chance but Matt Nieto was moving too fast as he came to the net. He just missed a chance to put the puck in as it bounced around in front of the blue paint.

Another excellent chance came at 7:28, when Tommy Wingels broke through the neutral zone and beat the Ducks defenders to the circle. He took his shot from there, which Anton Khudobin slowed down but did not stop. The puck twirled through the air, hit the corner of the crossbar and came out again. The goal light went on, everybody cheered and the official review took it back.

The Sharks got their second power play at 11:20 of the second. Kevin Bieksa went for interference. The power play lasted 13 seconds before Joe Thornton was also sent away for interference. For the ensuing 4 on 4, Hertl skated with Donksoi, Vlasic and Braun. Goldobin and Pavelski replaced Hertl and Donskoi before the penalties expired.

As the second period wound down, the Sharks had taken a 16-13 lead on the shot clock, had not allowed another goal, and in general were showing more energy. With 3:22 left, Clayton Stoner took Joe Thornton down with what may have been a slew foot. It was at least the second time he bothered Thornton, and Michael Haley took issue with that. A fight ensued, and then another between Brendan Dillon and Chris Wagner. Wagner and Dillon both received game misconducts along with fighting majors.

Shortly after play resumed, Justin Braun was called for slashing. The Sharks penalty killers kept the Ducks at bay and during the few seconds left after the penalty expired, San Jose did take the game to the other end. At the end of the second, the Sharks still led on the shot clock 18-15.

They say that, in the case of back-to-back games, a team does not really feel it until the third period. As the third began, the Ducks still did not look especially tired. They closed the gap in shots and kept the Sharks off balance for the first five minutes of the period.

During the next five minutes, the Sharks looked more promising. They even mustered a breakaway for Marleau, and Khudobin had to scramble to stop him from scoring.

Coach DeBoer has not done a lot of line juggling during games this season, but to start the third period, he moved Matt Nieto up to the third line with Tommy Wingels and Nikolay Goldobin. That moved Tierney down to the fourth line. By the middle of the period, Tierney was back on the ice with the third line. By necessity, the defense pairs were a mix and match, since the Sharks were without Dillon.

The Sharks had some good chances in the second half of the third, but Khudobin fended them off with some impressive saves.

With almost five minutes left, Andrew Cogliano tripped Thornton near the boards and Thornton went down for a spell. He did get back up and was on the ice to start the power play. The Sharks got another chance at 17:36 due to a delay of game to the Ducks. Despite pulling their goaltender and having two more skaters than the Ducks had, the Sharks still could not get a puck by Khudobin. They finished the game leading in shots 30-17 but still trailing by that lone goal scored back in the first.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at SAP Center, against the New York Islanders. Puck drop shortly after 7:30 PT.

It was hard to ignore the trade rumors about Patrick Marleau that were buzzing around before the game. The presence of several scouts at SAP Center spurred those rumors. Whatever Patrick Marleau’s future, the day’s NHL-AHL double-header gave scouts a chance to see Sharks and Ducks prospects all in action. There were a lot of players for them to look at Saturday.

Of course the question came up post-game. Asked if he had heard the rumors, Marleau observed jovially that they were “starting early this year.” Asked whether the Sharks had asked him to waive his no-trade clause, he said no. Beyond that, he would not confirm or deny the possibilities that he may or may not be willing to consider a trade.