Author: M Walsh

Todd McLellan at Top of Oilers’ List

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By Mary Walsh

There is good reason to suppose that Todd McLellan will be the next coach of the Edmonton Oilers. At the end of the season, McLellan stated that his immediate focus would be his job as coach of Team Canada at the World Championships, so it is reasonable to assume he won’t announce a decision before that job is done. He did meet with the Oilers during the tournament, and there have been no reports of in person meetings with any other team.

McLellan has had a chance to work with some of the Oilers (Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle) this month. He has also been coaching some Flyers (Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier) and other players on NHL teams that are looking for new coaches. One could imagine that announcing his choice before the end of the tournament could be a distraction for his players. That would be regrettable, as the team is having a better tournament than they have had in years. Saturday, they defeated the Czech team 2-0 for a spot in the gold medal game Sunday. It was Canada’s first shutout of the Czechs in the world championships since 1958.

Coaching Team Canada has been just the ticket for McLellan. He anticipated a positive experience, and he is having one. He told the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones:

When I went through my departure with the Sharks in San Jose it was emotional and it was empty. To come here, it was like getting refreshed again. With a different coaching staff, different people, a different approach, and a different country has been a really good experience.

As for what comes next, back in Aprils McLellan explained what he is looking for in his next head coaching position:

I would like to coach a great group of hockey players next year. And Connor McDavid, everybody is talking about him and his ability to come and have an impact. I’m assuming that the Oilers will pick him number one. But. one thing that I have learned: you can have the best player and still not have the best team. It’s about team, it’s about a group, it’s about the whole organization, the culture of the organization and Connor is going to be a very exciting player to watch, again I’m assuming in Edmonton, and he’ll have an impact on the league for years and years to come. But it’s often bigger, the bigger story is the group as a whole.

Edmonton may not seem like everyone’s idea of an ideal destination, but McLellan might be the coach to turn that around. The Oilers have a lot of forward talent and they have a new arena in the pipeline. Edmonton is also a little closer to California and McLellan’s family is staying in San Jose for the time being. Being a time zone or two closer to home can make a difference.

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Also in Prague this weekend, defenseman Brent Burns was named one of Team Canada’s bext three players of the tournament. Claude Giroux and Mike Smith were the other two. Ben Smith has two goals for Team USA in the tournament. Tomas Hertl has been conspicuously absent from the Czech bench, twice listed in the lineup only to not play. He was listed in the lineup for the games against Latvia on May 2nd and on May 14th against Finland, but saw no ice time in either game. In the bronze medal game Sunday, Hertl was not in the lineup.

Playoffs Over For Sharks, World Championships Underway

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By Mary Walsh

The dust has settled around the Sharks’ 2014-15 season, Todd McLellan will be choosing another team to coach, Doug Wilson will continue as San Jose general manager. Brent Burns was named a finalist for the NHL Foundation Player Award, for his work with Defending the Blue Line. The Sharks are negotiating an extension with the City of San Jose, so rumors that the team plans to leave town should die down.

The Worcester Sharks played their final game on Friday against the Hershey Bears. The Sharks lost in fairly spectacular fashion, giving up ten goals to the Bears while scoring four. Barclay Goodrow, Nikolay Goldobin, Daniil Tarasov, Brian Lerg and Chris Tierney were all on the playoff roster for Worcester. In the series, Tierney had a goal and two assists, Tarasov had three assists, and Goodrow and Lerg each had one assist. Rookie goaltender Aaron Dell started three of the four games, while Troy Grosenick started one. It was a regrettable final appearance for the Worcester Sharks. Next season, they move to San Jose to play at SAP Center as the San Jose Barracuda.

Sharks owner Hasso Plattner published a statement of confidence in his GM, in which he addressed the fans directly. Plattner also expressed disappointment with the team’s recent failures. The letter came soon after Doug Wilson’s press conference, where he was asked if Plattner would be available to the media. Someone did suggest Plattner might address fans directly, maybe the letter was a response to that. In any case, Plattner continues to have little interest in discussing his decisions with the press.

Offseason changes that Sharks fans can expect will probably include a new starting goaltender. That Niemi was not resigned before the end of the season is strong evidence of that. Hardly any Sharks veteran gets this close to free agency and returns to the team.

In the choice of a new coach, Wilson has said that he will take the time he needs. It is odd that he did not even suggest he would like a new coach before the draft. He might not necessarily need his head coach’s input for drafting prospects. What one would expect the coach to participate in would be trade activity that happens around the draft. Perhaps Wilson has no intention of making any trades for players. Some might consider that an ill omen for next season.

Todd McLellan is currently in the Czech Republic coaching Team Canada at the world championships, with Brent Burns on his roster. For those wondering, Burns is listed as a defenseman for Canada. Canada has played two games so far, winning 6-1 against Latvia and 10-0 against Germany. Burns had an assist in the game against Latvia, and against Germany.

Tomas Hertl and Ben Smith are there too, playing for the Czech Republic and the USA respectively. The Czechs lost 6-5 to Sweden and defeated Latvia 4-2. Hertl had a goal in the game against Sweden.  The USA has won their two games, beating Finland 5-1 and Norway 2-1.

Sharks prospect Nikita Jevpalov was named to the roster for Latvia. Poor Latvia has not won yet, losing to the Czechs and the Canadians as listed above. Jevpalov has not played yet.

Sharks and McLellan Agree to Part Ways

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By Mary Walsh

After seven season, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were parting ways with head coach Todd McLellan. From Monday’s press release:

The San Jose Sharks and Todd McLellan have mutually agreed to part ways.

In related moves, Assistant Coaches Jim Johnson and Jay Woodcroft, and Video Coordinator Brett Heimlich have been relieved of their duties. Associate Coach Larry Robinson moved into his full-time role of director of player development at the conclusion of the 2014-15 regular season.

‘I want to thank Todd and his staff for their years of service to the San Jose Sharks organization,” said Wilson. “Sometimes a change is best for all parties involved but nothing will take away from what Todd and his staff ccomplished here over the last seven seasons.’

It seemed like time for Todd McLellan to move on last summer, so it is hardly surprising that he is doing so now. It is equally understandable that the Sharks did not ask him to go last season. The Sharks have the more difficult work ahead: finding a new coach will be harder than finding a new situation for McLellan. His options are probably not limited to those teams that have already fired their coaches likeToronto, Philadelphia or Buffalo. Several teams might consider firing their current coach if they can convince McLellan to join them.

In a conference call Monday morning, McLellan was asked if he has given thought to where he will go next:

Today is an emotional day, as I mentioned, with family, and my mind is in a lot of different places right now. I think finishing off what was happening here in San Jose, and getting ready for a new adventure is something I’ll be looking forward to. I don’t know what will happen over the next week but I do know Friday my son and I are getting on a plane … and Jay Woodcroft I should include in that, are going to get on a plane and we’re going over to Europe to make a real strong committment to Team Canada and its effort over there. I look forward to meeting new players, new people, new staff. I think it’s exciting and a little bit refreshing or invigorating for me to be doing that now. Where I go from here, I guess I somewhat control but there’s other people out there that have to make decisions. I’m comfortable with my career as a coach so far, I don’t have any regrets here in San Jose and I feel good moving forward.

Was this really a mutual parting of the ways? Did the Sharks ask McLellan to leave? “I participated in the decision, I definitely did.” He continued:

The hardest part for me was the players and the staff, because they’re like family members, and then at home, my family. At the end of the year I mentioned that I have to come home and discuss it with my family, get my family together. When we sat down it wasn’t about loading up the moving truck and leaving. We like San Jose, we’re passionate about the community, we have a lot of good friends here. My youngest son is deeply entrenched in his high school and is involved in a number of programs there. So our discussion was can we do this being apart from each other, not packing the moving van but can we be apart. That was a huge priority for me. So my wife and two boys sat down and we really talked about it and we made a decision that we thought we could do this.

McLellan was asked by various reporters about his next destination. I thought that the most telling answer was to Edmonton’s Jim Matheson. Matheson asked if he would like to coach Connor McDavid:

I would like to coach a great group of hockey players next year. And Connor McDavid, everybody is talking about him and his ability to come and have an impact. I’m assuming that the Oilers will pick him number one. But. one thing that I have learned: you can have the best player and still not have the best team. It’s about team, it’s about a group, it’s about the whole organization, the culture of the organization and Connor is going to be a very exciting player to watch, again I’m assuming in Edmonton, and he’ll have an impact on the league for years and years to come. But it’s often bigger, the bigger story is the group as a whole.

No News is News for the San Jose Sharks

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- Sharks head coach Todd McLellan summed up the final media access session well when he said: “The answers you guys are looking for today, I’m not going to be able to give them you. I need a little more time, I’m sure the organization needs a little bit more time.”

News of changes to the Sharks will have to wait a little longer. End of season reviews will be done on a schedule much like the schedules of seasons past. Why the media had to wait for several days after the last game is unclear, especially as the end of the season was known in advance, a situation the franchise has not been in for a decade.

The media had a chance to talk to several players and Doug Wilson as well as Todd McLellan. Since the head coach is the name most likely to change when a team takes a nose dive, he is the best starting point for the year end review. Asked whether his message was getting through to the room, McLellan said:

That’s a question that I have to ask myself and that’s a question that the players will have to answer, and management. The messaging is organizational-wide. I have to make sure that I have support throughout the whole organization and that everybody believes in the message and not just the players. I feel very good about coming into the locker room and addressing the group and moving forward. Do we have to do things better? Without a doubt, we’re a staff that has to review everything like we do every year, we have to look at where the game is going and look at some changes and make a difference there. That’s the responsibility that we take on.

McLellan did say that he thinks the team will have news before the start of the IIHF World Championships begin, where he will be coaching Team Canada. He was asked why he decided to take the job of Team Canada coach. He said:

I think it’s a great opportunity. I think when your country calls you, you answer. that sounds a little bit militaristic but it isn’t. It’s really good people that are involved in it. I’ve known Jim Nill now for many many years and I respect he and his staff immensely. I think it’s a great opportunity for growth for me individually, to interact with other high end coaches, to get to know some young players in the league, to spend time with my family, if they make the trip over there, in another country. There’s so many positives about it. On a year that didn’t end real well for our team maybe we can make something of it over there and end on a positive.

If I had to guess what McLellan is thinking about his future, I would focus on his use of “our team” to refer to the Sharks, but I would also pay attention to those positives he listed above. He is cognizant of his options elsewhere, but

For me, this is home. This is, this is home. This is where the kids, this is where their roots are and this is where they come home to. So there’s a strong tie to the people in San Jose. I can’t tell you how well my family has been treated here during my time. So that’s something that is real important to me and to my kids and certainly to my wife, so that part of it goes into the equation and my decision. This is home for us.

McLellan does not sound like someone eager to leave but that does not mean he will stay. More later.

Sharks Lose 5-1 in Final Home Game of Season

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– In their last home game of the season, the San Jose Sharks fell to the Dallas Stars 5-1. Before the game finished, both the Sharks and Stars were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild, putting the Jets out of reach for Dallas or San Jose. The Los Angeles Kings obliged the Sharks by losing in overtime to Vancouver. That makes it just possible that the Sharks could have the opportunity to play spoilers to the Kings’ last minute scramble into the 2015 playoffs. Probably that is not much motivation for the Sharks today. It is not clear what would motivate the Sharks at this point.

Joe Thornton scored the Sharks’ only goal on Monday. Jamie Benn scored the game winner for Dallas. Jason Demers was roundly applauded by the Sharks fans when he was featured on the jumbotron. The Sharks gave away a lot of signed jerseys and gifts for fan appreciation night. It is possible that those last two facts are more significant than the first two.

It did not matter, as far as playoffs go, who won Monday. Still, one team was more eager to win than the other.

28 seconds into the game, Jason Demers took a shot from the blue line. Al Stalock stopped it but kicked it out to Colton Sceviour, who was waiting, unmolested, between the blue paint and the faceoff circle. Sceviour scored, assists went to Demers and Vernon Fiddler. A few seconds later, Mike Brown and Antoine Roussel fought. They both went to the box and the score was still 1-0 Stars.

The Sharks took the first penalty of the game, a tripping penalty to Melker Karlsson. The Sharks killed the penalty off and by the midpoint of the period, they were near even on the shot clock.

At 9:51, Mike Brown was called for charging Trevor Daley, a call that did not go over well with the crowd or Brown. The hit was a beat late but Daley did just release the puck. The hostile encounter with Roussel just after the hit on Daley could have been called roughing, but the ref opted to go with the hit on Daley. The Sharks killed that penalty too.

The Sharks finally got a power play when Shawn Horcoff went to the box for holding the stick at 14:21. The power play generated some good chances but did not change the score.

The Sharks went back on the penalty kill with just 2:50 left in the period. Barclay Goodrow was in the box for elbowing Tyler Seguin. While everyone was mulling over that call, the Stars scored. They had some help from a couple of Sharks skaters who crowded their own goalie and did not help him out. Patrick Eaves had a clear shot at the net, though Logan Couture did try to impeded him from behind. Eaves got the goal, with assists going to Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza.

At the end of the first, the score was 2-0 Stars, with the Stars leading on the shot clock 11-9.

The Sharks made it to 6:12 of the second period without taking another penalty or giving up another goal. This time, Joe Pavelski went to the box for hooking. Al Stalock was not happy about the call, since he had just gotten a shoulder to the face from a falling Dallas Star. Perhaps the officials felt the hook caused the fall. In any case, back to the penalty kill went the Sharks.

With 46 seconds left in that penalty, Brent Burns joined Pavelski in the box for slashing. It was a fairly blatant slash, breaking Eaves’ stick.

Logan Couture, Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon and Al Stalock managed to kill 26 seconds of the five on three, but with 20 seconds left, Jamie Benn scored from the faceoff circle. Assists went to Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza.

At 11:29, Shawn Horcoff went to the box for interference. The Sharks power play looked stymied by the Stars’ penalty killers and spent too much time chasing rushes the other way. In the final two seconds of the power play, one of those short handed rushes trapped two Stars in the Sharks’ zone while Chris Tierney went the other way with the puck. He dropped it to Thornton at the Stars’ blue line and charged ahead one on two to add to a screen in front of Jhonas Enroth. Joe Thornton followed him in and shot through the three-man wall to put the Sharks on the board. The assist went to Tierney.

At the end of the second period, the Stars led 3-1 and 20-15 in shots.

Just over four minutes in to the third period, the Sharks showed some life on a delayed penalty, maintaining control of the puck in the Stars’ zone for over 20 seconds before the whistle blew and their power play officially began. They did not score on that power play.

Tommy Wingels went to the box for boarding at 9:15. The highlight of that penalty kill, possibly the second best Sharks play of the game, was a short-handed breakaway by Barclay Goodrow and Chris Tierney. They didn’t score but they looked very dangerous.

Their efforts did not go unnoticed. A shift from the Thornton line followed and they looked rejuvenated. That was not enough to change the course of the game, but it did help slow the Stars down.

The Sharks held the Stars scoreless for 15:08 of the period. With 4:52 left in the game, Patrick Eaves evaded Brenden Dillon along the boards in the Sharks zone. He was clear just long enough to get a pass to Jamie Benn, who was loitering below the faceoff circle. 4-1 Stars.

With the three-goal lead, Ryan Garbutt decided it would be a good idea to elbow Matt Irwin in the neck as the Sharks defenseman skated into the Dallas zone. The Sharks power play did not score.

Ryan Garbutt did score at 18:00, on a breakaway with a backhand.

The Stars took another penalty with 37.3 seconds left in regulation. Shawn Horcoff went to the box for the third time, this time for goaltender interference.

Final score 5-1 Dallas. Shots 25-24 Dallas.

Matt Irwin led the Sharks in shots with six. Mike Brown and Tommy Wingels led the team in hits with four each. Karl Stollery and Brenden Dillon led in blocked shots with four each. Al Stalock made 20 saves on 25 shots.

Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn led the Stars in shots with four each. Antoine Roussel led the Stars in hits with three. Jyrki Jokipakka led in blocked shots with four. Jhonas Enroth made 23 saves for the win.

The Sharks next play in Edmonton on Thursday at 6:30 PT.

Sharks Defeat Coyotes 3-1

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– In their continuing quest to remain in the playoff hunt, the San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-1 on Saturday. Of the last couple of wins, Joe Pavelski said “We just haven’t had the big turnovers, that’s the biggest thing, through the middle of the ice. It’s allowed us to go forecheck, and when we forecheck and roam around that o-zone that’s effective for us.”

Early in the first period, the game looked like it was setting up to be a rout. The Sharks scored their first goal 58 seconds into the game. By the middle of the period, the Sharks had a two goal lead and were ahead in shots 11-1. The pace had to slow down, and it did. By the end of the period, the Sharks had not scored again and had added a paltry five shots to their tally, while the Coyotes had trebled theirs.

The Sharks did not regain that first period dominance but never let the Coyotes draw even in any aspect of the game. Sharks goals were scored by Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Matt Nieto. Antti Niemi made 20 saves for the win, while Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue made 34 saves for the Coyotes. The lone Coyote goal was scored by Marc Arcobello.

After taking control of the puck in the neutral zone, Patrick Marleau found Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture on their way into the Coyotes’ zone. Hertl drew the defender to him, and was able to get a pass to Couture despite the Coyote stick in front of him. Couture caught the pass with his skate and shot it quickly to open the scoring 58 seconds into the game.

A couple of minutes later, B.J. Crombeen was called for hooking against Brenden Dillon. The Sharks racked up some shots on that power play but did not score until a minute after it expired. Couture sent the puck to Marleau near the goal line, who passed it back up to Pavelski, who was waiting just below the faceoff circle. Pavelski shot it into the top corner with emphasis.

The Coyotes got the puck past Niemi at 5:51, but it was called no goal as David Moss pushed the puck into the net with his hand, while falling over Niemi.

At the ten minute mark of the first period, shots were 11-1 Sharks.

With 3:52 left in the first, the Coyotes went on the power play and Matt Nieto went to the box for a high stick. One of the Coyotes’ better chances on the power play was foiled when Martin Erat mishandled the puck and could not get a shot off though he had some room to do it. The Sharks did not allow the Coyotes any shots on their power play.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks still led 2-0 and a 16-3 lead on the shot clock.

The Sharks added a shot to that count in the first minutes of the second but it was the Coyotes who scored on their fifth shot of the game. Marc Arcobello sent the puck at the net where Tobias Reider was waiting to knock it in. Reider did not get the chance as the puck went off of Brent Burns past Niemi to make it 2-1.

By the middle of the second period, the Coyotes had clearly stopped the bleeding. They were keeping with the Sharks on the shot clock at six apiece. The shot count for the period was 10-7 Sharks.

The Sharks’ third period was no return to their first period dominance, but they did achieve some symmetry at the half way mark, when the shot clock read 31-13 Sharks. Beyond that, the period was fairly uneventful.

The teams played four on four at when Brenden Dillon and Tye McGinn went to the box with matching roughing minors.  Before that was over, Matt Nieto extended the Sharks lead with an impressive backhand shot while being pressured by two Coyotes in front of the net. Assists went to Chris Tierney and Matt Irwin.

Seconds later, the Coyotes reduced their numbers by one, giving the Sharks a seven second four on three power play. Michael Stone took a seat next to McGinn in the penalty box, for high sticking.

The balance of the Sharks power play was spent chasing down a lot of short-handed chances, but the Coyotes did not score on any of them.

Karl Stollery led the Sharks in hits with four. (He also had three shots and two blocked shots and a takeaway), Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture each had five shots on goal and Taylor Fedun led the team in blocked shots.

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Lineup notes: Mike Brown made a return to the lineup after missing 47 games with a leg fracture. Rookie Karl Stollery made his San Jose debut on the blue line after being called up Thursday. It was his eighth NHL game over two seasons. The Sharks acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche at the March 2 trade deadline.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mirco Mueller and Scott Hannan were all out of the lineup with injuries. John Scott was a scratch.

The Sharks play the Coyotes again on Saturday at 6:00 PT in Glendale, Arizona.

 

Sharks Finish Road Trip With Shootout Loss to Penguins

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By Mary Walsh

For the second time this season, the Sharks and the Penguins went to a shootout to resolve a tied score. This time, the Penguins prevailed, jumping over the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Sharks earned a single point but despite having a four on three power play for most of overtime, they could not grab the extra point that they urgently needed to keep fighting for a playoff spot. On the bright side, Al Stalock was featured in the NBC save of the game. Stalock was starting the second of back to back games, after playing Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

The shootout winner was scored by Pittsburgh’s David Perron. Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz also scored for Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves on 32 shots for the win. Ben Smith and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks and Al Stalock made 31 saves on 33 shots for the Sharks.

The Sharks were without defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, so Taylor Fedun was called up to fill the empty spot on the blue line. The Penguinswere also missing some key players. They only had five defensemen after Kris Letang sustained a concussion on Saturday.

The Sharks held their own for the first minutes of the game, but gave up two goals in a 56 second span mindway through the first period. At 7:08 of the first, Patric Hornqvist opened the scoring off his own rebound. After some tenacious play behind the net, Daniel Winnick got the puck ahead of the goal line. Hornqvist and Sidney Crosby were hovering around in front of the blue paint to make something happen. They did. Assists went to Winnick and Ian Cole.

33 seconds later, Taylor Fedun took Evgeni Malkin down with a hook. It was difficult to see why Malkin fell, but the hook was called and the Sharks went on the penalty kill. The eighth ranked Pittsburgh power play did not take long to score. In less than 30 seconds, the Penguins had the Sharks moved out of position and heavy on the right side. This gave Crosby plenty of time to draw Stalock to the left and then pass to Kunitz on Stalock’s right. Crosby’s pass went under Brenden Dillon’s stick as the Sharks defenseman attempted to help his goalie out. The goal was scored by Kunitz with assists to Crosby and Derrick Pouliot.

The Sharks stopped the bleeding for the rest of the first, and ended up outshooting the Penguins 12-9. Melker Karlsson was hit in the hand by a shot from Brent Burns late in the period but he was back on the ice for the second period.

The Sharks cut the lead in half when Barclay Goodrow controlled the puck on the half boards long enough to pass it to Justin Braun at the point. Braun took a quick shot that Ben Smith deflected past Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder and in. Assists went to Braun and Goodrow.

The Sharks had their first power play opportunity at 11:06 of the second when Maxim Lapierre was called for hooking. The Sharks did not get a shot on goal during the power play. They had another chance at 14:53 of the same period when Ben Lovejoy was called for cross-checking Chris Tierney. This time, Logan Couture made the most of the situation and scored at 15:38. After one failed zone entry, the Sharks regrouped quickly and Brent Burns’ neutral zone pass caught Patrick Marleau, who was able to hand it off cleanly to Couture who was moving to the net. Assists went to Marleau and Brent Burns.

At the end of the second, the Penguins had edged ahead of the Sharks on the shot clock 20-19.

The Sharks had another power play early in the third period when Crosby tripped Brent Burns in the Sharks’ zone. Brent Burns created one good chance carrying the puck into the zone and getting it in front of the net, but the Penguins’ penalty killers did not give the Sharks any room to work. The score remained tied.

The Sharks took the next penalty, a high-sticking call against Tommy Wingels at 12:51 of the third. San Jose’s penalty killers were more effective this time, clearing the puck more than once and, obviously, not allowing another goal against.

A penalty against Pittsburgh followed right on the heels of their power play, when Nick Spaling went to the box for holding. The Sharks could not take the lead with the power play and the next best scoring chance went to the Penguins’ David Perron but the buzzer sounded.

A play by Justin Braun almost ended the game early in OT but Marleau could not get his stick on it before the Penguins cleared it away from the crease and out. The Sharks came back in quickly. In a battle along the boards to keep the puck in, Hornqvist caught Brent Burns in the mouth with his stick. He did look remorseful, as he had been trying to lift Burns’ stick and not cut him in the face. In any case, Hornqvist went to the box for a four minute power play.

The Sharks started the four on three power play with a Thornton shot off the post. Pavelksi shot next, then Couture opted not to shoot. That was probably the tidiest part of the extended power play. The Penguins seemed to find their rythm and pushed the puck out a few times. One interesting hiccup came when the puck looked like it was going out but Burns kept it in with his body. Unsure whether it had been kept in, several players loitered near it as if expecting a whistle.

Sharks coach Toddd McLellan used his timeout to rest his players after the next stoppage, instead of changing his four man power play unit. The strategy did not pay off and the Penguins killed the penalty. Their fans gave them a standing ovation for their efforts. The final shot count after overtime was 33-32 Penguins.

David Perron went first in the shootout. After a careful hesitation, he beat Stalock with a backhand to give Pittsburgh the lead. Melker Karlsson shot next but lost the puck after faking a shot.

Sidney Crosby shot second for the Penguins and scored. Logan Couture shot second for the Sharks but hit the post.

Final score: 3-2 Penguins.

Logan Couture led the Sharks in shots with seven. Brent Burns led the Sharks in hits with three and ice time with 26:08. Brenden Dillon led the team with three blocked shots. The Sharks had a slight edge in the faceoff circle, winning 36 to the Penguins’ 33. Tommy Wingels had the best faceoff win percentage on the team with 60%, but he only took five faceoffs. Joe Pavelski won 9 of 16 for a win percentage of 56%. Pittsburgh’s Maxim Lapierre beat pretty much everyone most of the time, winning 93% of 14 faceoffs, against a variety of opponents.

The Sharks return home to play at 7:30 PT on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.

Sharks Start Strong Again, Win 3-2 in Philly

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost two defensemen and had to go to a shootout after outshooting the Philadelphia Flyers 44-18, but they won 3-2. The shootout winner was scored by Brent Burns. Matt Irwin and Joe Pavelski scored the regulation goals for the Sharks, while Michael Raffl and Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. Goaltender Al Stalock made 16 saves on 18 shots from the win, while Steve Mason made 42 saves on 44 shots for the Flyers.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic sustained a lower body injury during the first period and is not expected to play in Pittsburgh. Scott Hannan was also injured later in the game and is also likely to be out Sunday. Of finishing the game after so many injuries, head coach Todd McLellan said:

When you get to four, it’s pretty easy, you just keep saying “next.” You know, at five, which happened fairly early in the game, I thought our D did a really good job and our forwards protected them. We played enough in the offensive zone to not have them too taxed in our end. Where we ran into trouble is a little bit on the penalty kill against a very good power play but we managed the game well once they got hurt.

As they did in Detroit on Thursday, the Sharks had a very strong first period in Philadelphia. On those good starts, Joe Pavelski said:

We had a good practice the other night in Detroit. The same thing happened, we were pretty good all night, we weren’t really … it wasn’t that taxing of a game I don’t think in our own end and I think that probably helped a little bit.

The Flyers took an early penalty that let the Sharks warm up with a power play, but it was not until that power play had expired that Matt Irwin put the Sharks on the board. Jakub Voracek made an ill-advised clearing attempt up the middle, which Irwin caught and threw right back at the net. Assists went to Chris Tierney and Tommy Wingels.

The lead only lasted a couple of minutes. The Sharks had spent a long shift in their own zone when they finally cleared the puck. Unfortunately, Flyers’ Nicklas Grossmann brought it back in more quickly than expected. The tired Sharks defenders could not stop a shot from the blue line that hit a couple of players on the way in. The goal went to Michael Raffl, with assists going to Grossmann and Voracek.

Grossmann went to the box at 15:06 for holding. The Sharks power play held the zone pretty well, and the Flyers had to thwart several shots from the blue line. With 21 seconds left on the power play, Joe Pavelski threw the puck at Steve Mason from behind the goal line. The puck went under Mason and then trickled into the net. The referee blew the whistle early, and a review in Toronto deemed the whistle to be “irrelevant to continuous play.” No one had touched Mason and he did not seem to realize the puck was underneath him. Assists went to Logan Couture and Brent Burns.

During the first period, the Sharks lost Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who was deemed questionable to return at the start of the second period. At the end of the first period, the shots were 15-7 Sharks. By the middle of the second period, the Sharks had added five shots to their tally, while the Flyers had added one.

The Flyers got their first power play at 9:45 of the second, when Matt Nieto went to the box for interference. The Flyers had one shot during the power play, and Logan Couture ate up some time with a short-handed breakaway in the second half of the power play. Mason stopped the back-hander without much trouble but the Sharks got an offensive zone faceoff out of that.

With six minutes left in the second, Philadelphia’s Ryan White hit Tommy Wingels from behind and a little high. Wingels was slow to get up and White went to the box for boarding. The Flyers again handled hard shots from the blue line, and made plays near the net very difficult for the Sharks. The Sharks did manage three shots but they could not extend their one goal lead.

The second period ended with the Sharks leading in shots 22-12 and in faceoffs 26-20.

The Flyers mustered some good offensive pressure to start the third period, but despite a couple of close calls they were still being outshot 2-1 in the first five minutes.

Scott Hannan went to the box at 7:00 for hooking. The Flyers started their power play with a couple of chances at an open net when Stalock was caught out of the blue paint. They missed and it looked like the Sharks’ penalty killers had dodged a bullet. When the Flyers next attacked, Claude Giroux tied the game. He caught a cross-ice pass from Voracek and beat Stalock from the faceoff circle. Ryan White and Brayden Schenn were both screening Stalock and it is surprising that the puck did not touch either of them. Assists went to Voracek and Michael Del Zotto.

A scrum stopped the action with 7:23 left, after Nick Cousins hit Scott Hannan, sending the Sharks defenseman into the boards. Cousins’ hit seemed to catch Hannan’s arm from behind, so that Hannan could not protect himself as he might have. He went face-first into the glass. Hannan left the game and Oliver Lauridsen went to the box. The penalty was a result of the scrum, not the hit. Lauridsen then went to the dressing room, as did John Scott, both with ten minute misconducts.

At 15:43, Joe Thornton was called for tripping Jakub Voracek. The hit could have been called kneeing, as the players connected knee to knee when Voracek skated past Thornton at the Flyers’ blue line. Though they were missing Thornton and two defensemen now, the Sharks killed the penalty off.

Each team had good chances in the final minute. The Flyers’ Voracek gave the Sharks a scare when he skated into the zone and evaded three defending Sharks. At the last moment, Matt Irwin knocked the puck away from him and sent it to Matt Nieto, who took it the other way. Chris Tierney and Nieto gave the Flyers some grief that ended with Justin Braun getting a shot that just went wide of the net. With that, regulation time expired.

The Sharks started overtime well, with a lot of offensive zone time for defensemen. Braun, Dillon and Irwin all spent some time below the faceoff circle, supporting the forwards. It was in the Sharks’ zone, however, that Matt Irwin took a hit from Brayden Schenn and put the Sharks on the power play. The power play looked very good, and the Flyers had a tough time trying to clear the puck. At one point, Brent Burns seemed to be everywhere on the blue line, keeping a couple of pucks in that looked bound to get out. The Flyers did finally get the puck out just past the minute mark of the power play, but the Sharks were back in quickly. The Flyers had to work very hard for that kill but they got it.

The Sharks had a couple more chances and near misses but time expired before anyone could score.

Jakub Voracek shot first for the Flyers and scored with a late shot from almost at the goal line. Logan Couture shot next but hit the post.

Claude Giroux shot second for the Flyers but Stalock caught his slapshot. Joe Pavelksi shot next but his shot went off of Mason’s skate.

Matt Read tried some misdirection followed by a shot through the five hole but Stalock was not fooled. Melker Karlsson followed with some stick handling and a shot to the top right corner. He tied it up.

Sean Couturier shot next but Stalock stopped his backhand shot. Patrick Marleau shot low but Mason stopped him.

Vincent LeCavalier lost the puck before getting a shot off. Brent Burns went next for the Sharks. Skating in at a moderate pace, he faked to the right then shot backhand into the top left corner for the win.

The Sharks led the game in faceoff wins 38-35. Joe Pavelski led the Sharks with seven shots, and Logan Couture came in second with six. John Scott and Tomas Hertl led with three hits each. Brent Burns led with four blocked shots. Burns also led the Sharks in ice time with 27:33.

Claude Giroux led the Flyers with three shots. Zac Rinaldo led his team with eight hits. Nick Schultz and Chris Vandevelde led their team with four blocked shots each. Michael Del Zotto led the Flyers in ice time with 30:18.

The Sharks next play at 4:30 PT on Sunday against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Sharks Fall 2-0 in Montreal

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

It took the Montreal Canadiens four games but they finally scored against the San Jose Sharks. It may have been the worst possible time for them to do that, as far as the Sharks are concerned, but the Sharks can not say they did not put a strong effort into the game. Montreal Candiens goalie Carey Price was trying to catch the Penguins’ Marc-Andre Fleury’s league leading nine shutouts on the season. Montreal broke their Shark shutout streak at 18:46 of the first period, and Price caught Fleury with the 2-0 win over the Sharks. It was a well played game all around, with neither team clearly dominating the other. Montreal goals were scored by Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher. Except for how calamitous any loss is for the Sharks right now, it is worth noting that San Jose played a very good road game.

The was very even from the start, and in the end the shot count was 29-29. Joe Pavelski was asked whether the Sharks had taken a peek at the Winnipeg game going on at the same time. He said no:

The guys in here did a tremendous job just focusing, I think we played hard up and down the lineup, guys handled the puck pretty well, Nemo was good for us when he had to be. So, obviously we’ll look at the games now but it really doesn’t matter whether they win or lose, we’ve got to win, we didn’t do that.

Through the first period, shots favored the Candiens 13-8, but the Sharks had some very good looks. Penalties were minimal, with only matching minors being assigned to Justin Braun and Brendan Gallagher for holding and embellishment respectively. Six different Sharks had shots on goal, with two from Brent Burns. The rest of the game was the same, making it easy to think the Sharks would tie it up. As Joe Pavelski put it: “It felt like we were going to get it, it felt like we were going to get it all night. There really wasn’t a time when it didn’t feel like that for us on the bench or in the locker room.”

With just a minute and 14 seconds remaining in the first period, Montreal entered the Sharks zone after taking the puck and leaving the Sharks forecheckers at the other end. The Canadiens outnumbered the Sharks four-on-two and a half as they came across the blue line toward the net. The Sharks defenders were a little disorganized, but not terribly so. Had Justin Braun not gotten his stick hung up in Niemi’s pad, he would have been in the right place to stop the shot from Tomas Plekanec. Assists went to Alex Galchenyuk and PA Parenteau. The Canadiens went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

3:39 into the second period, the Sharks got the first power play of the game when Tomas Plekanec was called for slashing. The power play was thwarted by a couple of giveaways by Patrick Marleau. His third pass found its mark which led to a good chance for Logan Couture but Montreal goaltender Carey Price was there. The next chance the Sharks had went awry when Joe Thornton missed an open net. In all, the Sharks had three shots on their first power play.

Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi had to be very sharp, especially in the second period. Finding pucks through trffic and making some fairly acrobatic saves, he was not the reason the Sharks lost. The second period was scoreless, but not for lack of trying. The Canadiens again won on the shot clock, 12-10. Matt Irwin and Brenden Dillon added their shots to the count.

Midway through the third period, Matt Irwin handled a two on one against Parenteau and Pacioretty, adding to what was a very solid game for him Saturday. His stats sheet only showed one shot and one hit but the two takeaways were more indicative of his performance. He is thriving with the additional playing time.

At 11:53 of the third, the Sharks went on the second power play of the game after Devante Smith-Pelley went to the box for slashing. This power play did not feature giveaways by the Sharks, but several shots turned into hard rebounds that San Jose could not control.

With under two minutes to play, the Sharks made a nice clean entry into the zone, and a hard shot from Brent Burns went just off the post. The game was very close to being tied. The Sharks pulled Niemi after a timeout and a neutral zone faceff win. The Sharks then had one of their better empty net shifts of the season, with multiple chances to score. But as the clock ticked down, the puck was finally went out when a hard Burns shot went wide. The Sharks could not get back in. After three tries, the Brendan Gallagher scored into the empty net to make it 2-0. Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec picked up the assists.

The Sharks’ playoff chances are fading by the minute, with Winnipeg, Minnesota and Calgary all winning their games today. Vancouver beat Los Angeles but that is small consolation for the Sharks. The Dallas Stars are closer to catching the Sharks than the Sharks are to catching Calgary. Today’s loss let Colorado get ahead of San Jose too.

The Sharks’ forward lines Saturday were the same as they were Thursday in Toronto, with Patrick Marleau playing with Chris Tierney and Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture playing with Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto. Daniil Tarasov was in the lineup again, with Ben Smith and Barclay Goodrow. As is now usual, Thornton had Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson as his wingers. The defensive pairings were also unchanged: Marc-Edouard Vlasic with Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon with Mirco Mueller, and Brent Burns with Matt Irwin.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Ottawa at 4:30 PT.