Author: M Walsh

Sharks Lose to Coyotes in Shootout

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE–Saturday night, the Arizona Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3. The game went to a shootout giving the Sharks one badly needed point but little else to celebrate. The game’s first and last goals were both scored by Antoine Vermette. The Coyotes’ Devan Dubnyk made 40 saves for the win. For the Sharks, Tommy Wingels, Andrew Desjardins and Joe Pavelski all scored to get the team to overtime.

The Sharks’ first goal of the game snapped a five game pointless streak and a ten game goalless streak for Tommy Wingels. It was an impressive short-handed goal to boot. After the game, Wingels said:

Our penalty kill gave one up early in the game so to get one back was important for us.

You’re not happy when you get scored on the penalty kill, and whether that makes you anticipate better or try harder, psychologically, I don’t know but Goody made a really good play. Both getting it out and on the rush so I just had a the easy job of putting it in.

Andrew Desjardins’ goal was his first of the season.

While many have said that practice is very important, so important that the lack of it may account for some of the Sharks’ recent losses, Todd McLellan did not think it important enough to sit a player who has never practiced with the team. After being traded to the Sharks for Jason Demers, Brenden Dillon arrived in time for the morning skate, but his gear did not. Despite not being able to participate in that practice, he was in Saturday’s game, paired with Brent Burns. Matt Irwin sat out.

The Arizona Coyotes have found ways to lose a lot of games this season. Sometimes they play very badly, other times they just draw the short luck straw. In any case, they quickly tumbled down the Pacific Division standings and have languished there through the first quarter of the season. All of that, next to the Sharks’ recent habit of losing to weak teams, did not bode well.

The Sharks gave up the first goal at 6:08 of the first period, to the Arizona Coyotes power play. The puck trickled out in front of Niemi and Antoine Vermette tapped it through the five hole. The Sharks seemed to have a serious communication failure there, as no one at all was defending Vermette as he loitered in the slot not far from the blue paint.

The Sharks also gave up the second goal, this one a shot from David Schlemko as he skated in fast enough to give himself a clear view of the net. It went just inside the post and out again, almost as if it did not want to rub the two goal lead in.

The Sharks did outshoot the Coyotes in the first, 11-7, despite the penalty. Still, none of those shots could beat Coyotes goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

The Sharks started the second period with some unconvincing play in the offensive zone. They were not very difficult for the Coyotes to push back out.

At 2:46, Andrew Desjardins went to the penalty box for tripping Tobias Rieder. A short-handed excursion quickly followed and gave the Sharks a draw in the Coyotes zone. After the draw, the Sharks again took control and after a couple more tours of the Coyotes’ end, Barclay Goodrow, Mirco Mueller and Tommy Wingels went in three on one to get the Sharks on the board. After such a lackluster start to the game, that brazen attack was certainly surprising.

Tommy Wingels also drew the Sharks’ first penalty, a holding call on Shane Doan at 11:34. The Sharks’ power play had a couple of good chances, most notably an opening for Brent Burns, but he hooked the puck up into the netting and out of play.

At 15:34, Vermette went to the box for boarding Tyler Kennedy. The second Sharks power play looked a lot less dangerous than any of their penalty kills. Then, 19 seconds after the power play ended, Andrew Desjardins found himself with a clear view of the net from the faceoff circle. He also had the puck. He shot it past Dubnyk and tied the game.

By the end of the second period, the Sharks led in shots 25-13.

The tie did not last long. 52 seconds into the third period, during a ferocious Coyote attack on the Sharks’ net, a rebound came out and pinballed around before Shane Doan helped it past Dillon and Niemi. Assists to Sam Gagner and Tobias Rieder.

At 7:12 of the period, Arizona’s Michael Stone went to the penalty box for tripping Patrick Marleau. Just prior to the penalty, the Sharks were showing distinct signs of life. A couple of good passes to get them out of the zone involved McGinn and Dillon, and some clean, composed puck movement from the Thornton line, put pressure on the Coyotes defense.

The power play was a little slow getting started, marked by a number of passes that required some patience. The Sharks waited the Coyotes out, until Couture was able to find Burns at the middle of the blue line with a tidy pass that Burns blasted on net. Joe Pavelski deflected it in to tie the game again.

The rest of the period seemed to be played mostly in the Sharks’ zone, but in the final seconds of the period the Sharks made a very good push, complete with good shots from Joe Pavelski and a zone entry with maneuvers through traffic from Sheppard. That last one, had Sheppard managed to put the puck in the net, would have been a nice addition to a highlight reel. Alas, he did not and neither did anyone else.

1:05 in to overtime, Coyotes captain Shane Doan went to the box for high-sticking Matt Nieto, who went to the bench holding his right hand gingerly. The Sharks’ power play featured an amazing almost goal saved by a Coyote sprawled in the net behind Dybnyk. Nothing else came close. A small pile up in the net at the end of the power play did remind me of this accident. Just like that pileup, everyone walked, or skated away. Unlike that accident, it was over very quickly.

The shootout went all three rounds, with Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Barclay Goodrow shooting for the Sharks. Sam Gagner, Mikkel Boedker and Antoine Vermette shot for the Coyotes. Vermette shot last and was the only shooter to score.

Joe Pavelski led the Sharks in shots with seven. Tommy Wingels led the team in hits. Three Sharks blocked three shots each: Patrick Marleau, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun. Antti Niemi made 22 saves on 25 shots.  Newcomer Brenden Dillon had one shot on goal, four hits and one blocked shot.

Jason Demers, who presumably had his equipment in time for the morning skate, seems to be fitting in nicely with the Dallas Stars.

The Sharks next play at 7:30 on Wednesday the 26th. They will face the visiting Calgary Flames at SAP Center in San Jose.

Troy Grosenick Steals One for the Sharks

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By Mary Walsh

Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes was one of the more compelling games the Sharks have played this season. It was not high-scoring and the Sharks did not outplay their opponent, except in goal. It was Troy Grosenick who made the 2-0 win exciting. He finished his NHL debut with a 45 save shut out. He even had to make one of those saves with Tyler Kennedy’s stick. He was a man on a mission.

After the game, Grosenick said:

It’s kind of a dream come true. It’s kind of like… just like you write it up when you’re a little kid. The guys played great in front of me, I saw so many pucks, not too many difficult ones.

At the other end, Anton Khudobin only faced 19 shots. It was an unusual way to welcome a goalie to the NHL, unless letting him steal a game was the Sharks’ plan. From Todd McLellan’s post game comments, no, that was not their plan:

A lot of guys score in their first games. Did we expect a shutout and 45 shots? No but he played extremely well and we certainly believed he could do that. So to get a young man like that to come in and steal us a game, when we didn’t have our A game yet, I thought as the night wore on we wanted to do it more and more for him and we improved.

All’s well that ends well.

Grosenick was called up last week when Alex Stalock had a knee procedure that will keep him out at least for a few games, but it was not assumed he would start a game.

The Carolina Hurricanes presented a different kind of challenge for the Sharks. They had a very poor start to the season, and suffered a lot of injuries to key players early. Their record so far is lousy but their recent record is much better. Their roster is getting healthy and they are playing well. So they might have looked like an underpowered opponent but they are more capable than that. With the backup to their backup in net, Matt Nieto and Scott Hannan out, the Sharks had some pressure from within if the Hurricanes did not offer enough inspiration.

None of that seemed to help much, as the Sharks started as slowly as ever. Their rookie goaltender had to keep the Sharks in it while his team was outshot 12-3 through the first 15 minutes. Part of that time was spent on the penalty kill but the Sharks did not look much better at even strength.

That penalty was a hooking call to Joe Pavelski at 18:03. It gave Grosenick a chance to get in the game, as he had to make a few saves in quick succession. He looked confident and composed. The Sharks had to kill another penalty, this one to Jason Demers in the last four minutes of the period. The Sharks’ penalty kill featured two different short-handed chances, one from Adam Burish and one from Patrick Marleau backed up by Mirco Mueller.

The pressure they started to generate on that kill outlasted the penalty, when Tomas Hertl gave the Sharks the lead. He took advantage of a miscue by the Hurricanes in the Sharks’ zone, escaping into the neutral zone with the puck. Hertl went in two on one with Joe Thornton with only Carolina’s Andrej Sekera back. Hertl tried to get the puck to Thornton but it hit Sekera. The puck came back within Hertl’s reach as all three skaters converged at the blue paint, so Hertl poked it under goalie Anton Khudobin. The assist went to Barclay Goodrow.

The shots by the end of the first were 16-5 for the Hurricanes.

At 12:08 of the second, the Sharks went on the power play after Barclay Goodrow drew a hooking penalty from Brad Malone. Despite a couple of good chances, the Sharks only got a few shots through the Carolina penalty kill. Khudobin stopped those.

At the end of the period, Grosenick had a chance to really show off when the Sharks got trapped in their zone and several shots came at the Sharks goaltender, rapid fire through traffic. The last shot was at a nearly empty net but Grosenick got across with just enough of his glove to stop it. (Click on that link to see the video of that sequence)

The period ended with the Hurricanes still leading in shots 31-14, 15-9 for the period.

The Hurricanes did not let up during the third period, and the Sharks only managed five more shots. No penalties were called, few stoppages gave relief to the tired teams. Until Joe Thornton broke away in the final seconds to shoot at the empty net, the shutout looked very uncertain.

Six Sharks got credit for two shots, none had more. Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time with 23:22, while Justin Braun led the team with six hits. The Sharks power play was 0/1 while their penalty kill was 2/2.

Nathan Gerbe led the Hurricanes (and all skaters) with seven shots. Three Hurricanes got credit for three hits each, John-Michael Liles, Elias Lindholm and Brett Bellemore. Andrej Sekera led his team in ice time with 27:07.

In the faceoff circle, the Hurricanes beat the Sharks 34-24.

The Sharks next games is against the Sabres in Buffalo, on Tuesday at 4:30 PT.

Sharks Lose to Blue Jackets, Again

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By Mary Walsh

For the second time this season, the San Jose Sharks fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Last time, the Sharks lost 5-4, this time it was 2-1. This was the Blue Jackets’ second win in a row, after a nine-game losing streak, mostly attributable to an unprecedented rash of injuries. The last game they won before that losing streak? October 25, in San Jose. It was the first game back for Sergei Bobrovsky after being out with a broken finger. This second win completes the Blue Jackets’ sweep of the season series between the teams.

After the game, Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said, of his team’s inability to string wins together: “That’s what it’s about, is winning, it’s always frustrating. This little seesaw here, win one, lose one, it’s… it gets old.

Pavelski scored the lone goal for the Sharks. Columbus goals were scored by David Savard and Cam Atkinson. Bobrovsky made 36 saves on 37 shots for the win, Antii Niemi made 26 saves on 28 shots for the Sharks.

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan did not see a lack of effort at the root of the Sharks’ loss:

This one, the effort was an honest one, so we have to live with an honest effort not winning at times. But we had a number of opportunities to put the puck in the net, we didn’t. Had a lot of pucks that were blocked or just deflected at the last second, probably not releasing it quick enough.

Defensively, McLellan saw some positives as well:

Defensively I didn’t think we gave up a lot, we had to open the game up a bit in the third, they had some chances. As far as stringing games together, there’s some frustration there, but the fact that for the most part we had a very competitive night was a positive.

The Blue Jackets scored first, near the end of the first period. Defenseman David Savard took a shot from above the faceoff circle, catching Niemi away from the post with Scott Hannan skating across in front of him. Assists went to Adam Cracknell and Artem Anisimov.

Brent Burns was called for tripping in the final seconds of the first period, putting the Sharks on the penalty kill to start the second. The Sharks took a second penalty 9:10 into the second when Andrew Desjardins was called for goalie interference.

The period ended with the Sharks barely ahead in shots 11-10, and trailing Columbus by one goal.

The Blue Jackets did not get a lot of shots in the period, despite that power play. With just over five minutes left, they only had credit for two shots on goal. The Sharks had eight in the same time frame, and had a power play as well at 11:17.

At 15:14, Mirco Mueller was called for interference and the Blue Jackets went back on the power play. Niemi made some good saves before Columbus beat him again. One cross- ice pass through traffic was followed by another that squeaked by in front of the crease. Cam Atkinson caught that pass and put it in to give the Blue Jackets a two goal lead. Assists went to Jack Johnson and Boone Jenner.

In the final minute of the period, Joe Pavelski broke Bobrovsky’s shut out and got the Sharks back in the game. Carrying the puck into the slot, Pavelski tried a backhand but could not get a handle on the puck. No one took it away from him so he turned around and shot it forehand.

At the end of the second, the Sharks led in shots 21-18.

During the first shift of the third period, Matt Nieto went awkwardly into the boards after a hit from Boone Jenner. He went to the dressing room after a stop at the bench, but came right back out.

Neither team sat back after that, staying even in shots and chances. With five minutes left in regulation, Alexander Wennberg high sticked Scott Hannan and drew blood, giving the Sharks a four minute man advantage. The Columbus penalty killers rose to the occasion and kept the Sharks from ever sustaining an attack. Bobrovsky ate up any chance of rebounds so that the blue paint became something of a dead zone for any puck that got close.

The penalty expired and McLellan pulled Niemi for the extra attacker but the Blue Jackets did not give an inch. The Sharks used their time out with under 30 seconds left. The Sharks did win the faceoff in the Blue Jackets zone, but they could not keep the puck in for long.

Final score: 2-1 Blue Jackets. The final shot count was 37-28 Sharks.

The Blue Jackets won 32 faceoffs to the Sharks’ 22. The Blue Jackets’ power play went 1/3, the Sharks was 0/3. The Blue Jackets blocked 19 shots to the Sharks’ 9.

Jason Demers and Patrick Marleau led the Sharks in shots with four each. Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time at 22:03. Andrew Desjardins led the team in hits with three.

Cam Atkinson led the Blue Jackets in shots with five. David Savard led the team in ice time with 22:42, Nick Foligno led in hits with five.

San Jose’s scratches were Matt Irwin, Tye McGinn and John Scott.

The Sharks next play at 2:00 PT Sunday, against the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Sharks Fall 5-2 in Chicago

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By Mary Walsh

Three quick first period goals from Blackhawks’ defensemen were too much for the San Jose Sharks to overcome in a 5-2 loss Sunday. Two goals from Joe Pavelski gave the Sharks life in later periods but they could not catch the skilled Chicago team.

After the loss, Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic summarized the Sharks’ performance: “We didn’t play well in the first period, we didn’t do anything right and fell behind three-nothing. It’s tough to come back against a team like that.”

Before Sunday, the Blackhawks had lost three home games in a row. Of that fact, Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said:

I don’t care if they’ve won three in a row or lost three in a row, you’re going to get a team’s good game at home and we didn’t get the start we wanted. We didn’t do hardly anything right in that first.

Despite losing by three goals, the Sharks did make a game of it in the second and third periods. That was little consolation right after the game. Of the Sharks’ strong second and third periods, Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi said: “It’s obviously better than losing it all the way, losing it every period but it doesn’t give much satisfaction in the end because we didn’t get any points.”

The first period started out free-wheeling, with turnovers and takeaways preventing either team from setting up or maintaining pressure. Near the half way mark, the Blackhawks took control. Of the first period as a whole, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan detailed the things that went wrong for his team: “We can’t give the puck away like we did, we gave up three on twos, two on ones, we lost faceoffs. We were unengaged the whole period, everybody.”

Between the 12:00 mark and 14:34 of the first, Chicago defensemen scored three even strength goals. The first was a slapshot from Trevor Van Riemsdyk, his first NHL goal. That came off of a pass from Jonathan Toews. The second came from Brent Seabrook, deflecting off of Andrew Desjardins’ skate. Assists went to Brad Richards and Peter Regin. The third goal was from Niklas Hjalmarsson, with assists to Marian Hossa and Marcus Kruger.

The Sharks managed to stop the bleeding with a goal from Joe Pavelski just under a minute later. A Justin Braun shot from the blue line went off the inside of Pavelski’s stick, then bounced off his hip and into the net. The assists went to Braun and Joe Thornton.

At the end of the period, the Blackhawks led the Sharks in shots 20-9, as well as 3-1 in goals.

For the second game in a row, the Sharks had a four minute power play to work with. 2:57 in to the second period, Joe Thornton took a stick to the face that drew blood. Andrew Shaw went to the box for that and the Sharks went to work against the NHL’s leading penalty killers. It took them almost two minutes but Joe Pavelski scored his second of the game to bring the Sharks within one.

In their shift after the power play expired, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun went on a shooting frenzy, firing as fast as the forwards could get the puck back to them. The sequence did not change the score but it seemed to ramp up the momentum for San Jose.

With eight minutes left in the period, Barclay Goodrow had a clean breakaway but he could not beat Corey Crawford. His linemate, Adam Burish, was right behind him and though they did not convert, it was a very good chance for that line and it kept the Sharks’ momentum going.

Chicago is not a team to wilt easily and they came back with their own series of attacks in the Sharks’ zone. Antti Niemi had to be quick and the Sharks had to work hard to push the Blackhawks back out. The last six minutes of the period were a more refined version of the first period, with play going back and forth fast, but without the sloppiness.

The Sharks led the Blackhawks 13-6 in shots for the period.

Early in the third period, the Sharks had to kill their first penalty of the game. Jason Demers went to the box for a high stick to Bryan Bickell. The Sharks’ penalty kill was very effective, with Patrick Marleau spending a good deal of time in Chicago’s end of the ice interrupting their attempts to get through the neutral zone and set up.

Half way through the third period, the Sharks were rescued from a two on one by a late whistle as David Rundblad was called for holding James Sheppard, as Sheppard and his linemates buzzed the Chicago net.

With under five minutes left, the Bryan Bickell escaped Mirco Mueller behind the net and was able to put a quick shot past Niemi to give the Blackhawks a two goal lead. With just over two minutes left, Joanathan Toews scored into the empty net.

A couple of fights followed, one between Kris Versteeg and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the other between Adam Burish and Jeremy Morin. Of his encounter with Versteeg, Vlasic said after the game: “He was just holding my stick. I didn’t know he was going to drop his gloves, he kind of got the advantage on me. But I know what to expect for next game.”

An extra roughing penalty to Adam Burish put the Sharks on the penalty kill for the final minute and a half. During that penalty kill, Brent Burns was called for tripping, putting the Sharks down by two men and three goals. Seconds later, Scott Hannan was called for boarding.

Out of men to remove from the ice, and out of time to extend the power play, officials could only note the penalty in the record. Andrew Desjardins, Justin Braun and Jason Demers had the honor of finishing that penalty kill. It was not the prettiest way to end the game, but killing the five on three salvaged something of the Sharks’ game.

Antti Niemi made 32 saves on 36 shots. The Sharks’ power play went 1/3, their penalty kill was perfect. Joe Pavelski led the team in shots with five. Brent Burns led the team in hits with five. Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time at 22:41.

Corey Crawford made 32 saves on 34 shots for the win. Brandon Saad led the Blackhawks in shots with five. Marion Hossa led his team in hits with three. Niklas Hjalmarsson led his team in ice time at 25:32.

Tye McGinn, Matt Irwin and John Scott were the Sharks’ scratches.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 4:40 PT in Sunrise Florida against the Florida Panthers.

 

Sharks Defeat Stars 5-3, Score 4 Goals in 3rd

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By Mary Walsh

In a 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars, the San Jose Sharks turned some early season habits upside down. So far this season, the Sharks played many strong first periods, only to struggle in third periods. Saturday, despite a hat trick from Tyler Seguin in the first two periods, the Sharks came back with four goals in the third period.

Brent Burns scored twice, James Sheppard scored to extend his goal scoring streak to three games. Patrick Marleau scored, after being without a goal for nine games. Logan Couture earned three assists in the game. Al Stalock made 37 saves on 40 shots for the win, after sitting as backup for five games.

After the game, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan talked about the third period recovery:

We talked between periods about checking well, not giving them anything else, power play being ready in case we got one, it was. We just stuck with it, we didn’t go away. The way the League is this year, we’ve seen it with our group, there is no lead that’s safe, and you’re never out of it when you’re coming from behind.

Not unlike the Sharks, the Stars have been having trouble with third periods. Also like the Sharks, Dallas has a bad record at home this season. They have only one win in eight home games.

In response to the suggestion that the Sharks knew the Stars are vulnerable in the third period, Logan Couture said:

I didn’t know that, no. In this dressing room we’re worried about our own game. We’ve got to start playing better and we know that so we’re not looking at the other team. We believe that if we play our game we’re able to beat any team any night so we’re worried about ourselves in here.

The first Dallas goal started as a shot from Sergei Gonchar at the blue line. The puck bounced off the skate of Adam Burish, then off the chest of Tyler Seguin and past Stalock. About two minutes later, Seguin shot the puck around Matt Irwin and past more traffic in front of the crease.

James Sheppard salvaged the Sharks’ spirits with a hard-working goal after he corralled a rebound at 17:14 of the first period. After the game, Sheppard said:

It really does happen fast, just trying to get pucks on net. Fortunately there was an open net so I didn’t have to beat a goalie, just get it in there. So it was just a good job by our line.

The second period featured two penalties to Tyler Kennedy and a power play goal for the Stars. Kennedy went to the box for goalie interference 12 minutes into the period, then again for tripping at 15:18. On their second power play of the period, Tyler Seguin finished his hat trick, taking advantage of a big rebound and plenty of space.

The third period turnaround started with a power play goal from Patrick Marleau. Marleau came up from behind the goal line to grab a rebound off a shot from Joe Pavelski.

A couple of minutes later, while the teams were playing four on four, Logan Couture and Brent Burns went in two on one to tie the game. Couture chose to pass and Burns shot before Lindback could get across.

With almost ten minutes left, while the Sharks’ third line of Sheppard, Hertl and Kennedy wreaked some havoc in front of the Dallas net, a rebound popped out for Burns, who put it away to give the Sharks the lead.

The last couple of minutes were hectic. The Stars were pressing and Stalock had to make some very impressive saves. Discipline broke down, and in the last 90 seconds overlapping penalties came after Stalock shot the puck out of play and then got hit in the face by Antoine Roussell. A number of scuffles followed, including a cheap shot on Justin Braun. Of the last, McLellan said:

What disappoints me is when a guy is vulnerable and being held and he gets punched. That’s the disappointing thing. I don’t think anybody in our league, the 750 players and coaches want to see that. So, just not a classy moment.

McLellan did not have any more information about Braun’s status.

Regarding the hit on Stalock, Logan Couture said:

I’ll have to see the video, I didn’t really see it. I saw it quickly, Roussell’s kind of known for that, so watch it on the video and see what really happened.

After the referees sorted that out, the teams finished the game four on four. The Stars pulled their goalie for a man advantage but Couture and Thornton escaped through the neutral zone and Thornton scored into the empty net.

The Sharks scored on one of two power plays, and killed four of five penalties. The Stars led on the shot clock through the game and in every period, for a total shot count of 40-29.

Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau led the Sharks in shots with four each, Tommy Wingels led the team with four hits, and Burns led the team in time on ice with 22:21.

Anders Lindback made 24 saves for the Stars. Shawn Horcoff and Tyler Seguin led Dallas in shots with five each, Ryan Garbutt led the team with five hits, and Alex Goligoski led the Stars in ice time with 24:43.

The three stars of the game were Brent Burns, Tyler Seguin and James Sheppard.

The Sharks continue their road trip Sunday at 4:00 PT, against the Blackhawks in Chicago.

Sharks Win 3-1, Score 2 Goals in 3rd

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE–Saturday night, three Sharks lines scored three goals to defeat the New York Islanders 3-1. Additionally, instead of giving up a lead in the third frame, the Sharks picked up the pace, took the lead and stretched it out. This marked a shift away from recent bad habits.

Tomas Hertl and James Sheppard scored the Sharks’ first and third goals of the game. The game winner was a goal from Logan Couture, the second Sharks goal of the night. Even if the lines were switched around a bit during the game, getting goals from three of the four lines had to please Sharks’ head coach Todd McLellan.

While he started the game on the fourth line, Hertl continued to be part of the second power play unit. That is where he was playing when he scored Saturday. After the game, head coach Todd McLellan said of Hertl and the bottom six:

We moved him up a line and rewarded him with that. In turn, Shep gelled with Burr and Desi down the stretch in the last period and a half. So, as it turns out we had a kid line and a veteran group of players that both contributed to the win tonight.

The Islanders struck first almost ten minutes in to the first period. Kyle Okposo scored it. Okposo had spent a lot of time in the Sharks’ zone, he seemed a likely candidate to score first Saturday.

The game to that point had been a tough back and forth affair, with the shot count low but even. Of the Sharks’ lines, the Couture-Marleau-Wingels line seemed to be spending the most time in the Islanders’ zone.

The Islanders’ goal was followed closely by a power play for the Sharks, when Ryan Strome went to the box for high sticking. The Sharks’ first power play unit of Thornton, Couture, Marleau, Pavelski and Burns had some excellent chances but Islanders’ goalie Jaroslav Halak was there every time. A line change brought Tomas Hertl and Tommy Wingels out with Nieto and Vlasic. At 10:23, Tomas Hertl scored his first of the season to tie the game. Assists went to Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto.

After the game, Hertl said of the goal:

Tommy Wingels’ pass was very very nice for me so it was [a] very easy goal.

Tommy Wingels said, of that goal and what it may portend:

It’s good to see him score. I think everyone could see a big smile on his face after. Sometimes it only takes one goal to really get you going and we hope that’s the case with Tomas.

By the end of the first period, the shots on goal had tilted dramatically for the Sharks, 17-6.

To start the second period, the Sharks were missing a defenseman as it was announced that Scott Hannan was questionable to return. At 2:45, Tommy Wingels went to the box for holding. The Sharks penalty kill was efficient and teal jerseys spent some time in the Islanders’ end as well. Matt Nieto blocked a shot that looked painful, and Antti Niemi made some good saves to keep the game tied.

The Sharks were still outshooting New York 2-1, but that lead was getting harder to maintain. By the 15 minute mark, the Sharks only had two shots on goal. McLellan predictably started jumbling the lines. Hertl moved to the third with Goodrow and Tierney, Sheppard down to the fourth with Burish and Desjardins. It looked briefly as if Marleau might have been moved to the Joe line but on the next faceoff, Nieto was still with Thorton and Pavelski.

The second period ended with only 11 shots fired, five by the Sharks, six by the Islanders.

At 1:55 of the third period, Jason Demers went to the box for contact to the head of Cory Conacher. Conacher left the game for about ten minutes of play. He returned to the bench with 9:31 left in the period.

The Islanders used that power play to eat into the Sharks’ shot lead. It took the Sharks several minutes to regain their momentum, but they took the lead for the first time at 11:50 of the period. Logan Couture redirected a shot from Justin Braun. The second assist went to Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The game went from good to better for the Sharks at 15:35 when James Sheppard scored his first goal of the season, off a nice short pass from Adam Burish. A secondary assist went to Andrew Desjardins.

With 3:50 left in regulation, Conacher was escorted from the game by an official with a ten minute misconduct.

At 18:47, Adam Burish was called for holding. The Islanders used their timeout but the Sharks held on for the win.

Final score: 3-1 Sharks.
Joe Pavelski led the Sharks in shots on goal with 7. Brent Burns led the team in hits with 6. Mirco Mueller led the Sharks with 6 blocked shots, Brent Burns also led the team in ice time with 26:29. Antti Niemi made 19 saves on 20 shots.

For the Islanders, the shots leader was Anders Lee with 3, while Cal Clutterbuck led the team with 11 hits. Hamonic, Visnovky and Hickey each blocked 3 shots. John Tavares led the Islanders in ice time with 23:51. Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves on 31 shots.

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The Sharks’ scratches were John Scott, Tye McGinn and Matt Irwin.

The Sharks next play at 7:30 pm on Thursday at SAP Center, against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.

Sharks Can’t Get By Sabres, Lose 2-1

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The Buffalo Sabres scored two quick goals in the third period to beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 Saturday afternoon. After the teams ground out two scoreless periods, Cody Hodgson took advantage of a defensive lapse to open the scoring at 3:43 of the third. Just over two minutes later, Nicolas Deslauriers extended the Sabres’ lead to 2. The lone Sharks goal was scored by Brent Burns less than 30 seconds after that.

Sabres goaltender Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves in the game, and 15 of those were in the third period. That reflects the sharp disparity in the Sharks’ play during the first two periods and the third. Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said the team just took too long to wake up:

Just by looking at their record, 1 and 7, we shouldn’t have lost this game. But they’re a hard-working team, they play a good system. We were too late on waking up in the third.

Saying the Sharks needed to wake up did not entirely account for their defensively clean but otherwise tentative first two periods. Giving up the two goals let something loose for the team. Forward Tommy Wingels described it as a type of useful panic:

We played a more energized game in the third. When we kinda got behind you hit the panic button in a good way. But we’ve got to find a way to get those chances and that energy in our game earlier. It’s a work in process now but we can’t keep saying it’s things we’re going to work on. We’ve got to execute it now and see some changes.

Asked whether it stings more to lose to a team that has yet to win in regulation, Logan Couture said:

I think it stings that we’ve lost four in a row. I mean I could care less what the Buffalo Sabres are doing right now. San Jose Sharks have lost four straight games, two at home, and haven’t played well.

It can be difficult to identify important moments in games that are low in both penalties and goals. It could be little things like a puck passed into skates that snuffs out a nice zone entry, or a pass during a power play that ends up leaving the zone via an empty point. It appears that the team is just failing to communicate, again.

Couture mentioned two disappointing plays that he and Patrick Marleau failed to score on:

I didn’t know he was there until I heard the crowd actually. I was looking back. I heard the crowd so I looked up. He’s so fast it’s tough to get an angle to pass to him. It’s my fault on that one. But the other one, two on one, we’ve got to score on that one.

The team seemed constrained and there were definitely some knocks and pings in the engine.

The lines changed very little, if at all, through the game. James Sheppard started on a line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Joe Pavelski started the game on a line with Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton. Chris Tierney was also back in the lineup, with Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto onhis line. Finally, John Scott, Adam Burish and Andrew Desjardins made up the fourth line.

Of the forward lines, the one that stood out was the third with Tierney, Wingels and Nieto. Of those three, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said:

Unfortunately they were on the ice for a goal but I thought Chris Tierney maybe had his best game for us. Tommy Wingels, Matt Nieto, certainly through the first two periods were our best line.

Through the first two periods, it looked like the team would make it through without giving up too many goals– their stated objective after the last couple of games.

As the first period wound to a close, the Sharks were being outshot 5-6 and the game remained scoreless. The Sharks were winning the faceoff battle 9-3, but there was little else to measure the game by. Neither team dominated in zone time, both were guilty of giving up the puck when they should not have. With 55 seconds left, Andrew Desjardins was called for interference and the Sabres went on a power play.

The Sharks killed off the rest of that penalty to end the period and to start the next one.  By the first tv timeout of the second, the shots were 8-7 Sabres. The Sharks’ game lacked excitement but they were still winning faceoffs and had not given up and goals yet.

The Sharks got their first power play when Rasmus Ristolainen went to the box for interference at 11:51 of the second. That power play featured some judgment lapses and communication failures but the Sharks did create some chances.

Possibly the most exciting chance of the period came when Chris Tierney managed to carry the puck behind the Buffalo net and try a wrap-around. It was close and very authoritative but it did not go in.

Buffalo got another late power play at the end of the second when Scott Hannan was called for tripping Chris Stewart. This time, the Sharks’ penalty kill looked much bolder. Two good short-handed chances punctuated the kill, until the Sabres lost their man advantage with a second left in the period. Tyler Ennis went to the box to set the Sharks up for an early power play in the third.

The second period ended with the shots 14-9 San Jose. The Sharks had won 17 faceoffs to the Sabres’ 10.

Wingels and Tierney started the third period with Vlasic and Braun, as the teams were still four on four. 24 seconds later, Wingels was called for holding the stick. That put the Sharks down a man and negated the power play they were anticipating. Burns, Pavelski and Hannan handled the four on three shift and made it back to four on four.

In the four on four play, Andrew Desjardins had the best chance on a breakaway. Sabres clogged the passing lanes but left him with a clear view of Sabres goalie Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth stopped him. The penalties expired and the Sabres attacked at even strength.

Cody Hodgson scored his first goal. It looked as if the Sharks simply lost track of Hodgson and he found himself alone with an open net. Assists went to Drew Stafford and Zemgus Girgenson.

The second goal was a little like the first. The puck squeezed through Stalock’s glove side and trickled into the blue paint. No one was there to stop Deslauriers from putting it across the line. Assists went to Cody McCormick and Sam Reinhart.

Finally, the Sharks bit back at 13:50. Brent Burns put it past Neuvirth, as unassisted as it gets. Burns avoided Marcus Foligno at the blue line, carried the puck through the slot to the far boards and took a shot that flew through traffic and past Neuvirth. Buffalo did not lie down after that but the Sharks finally looked like they were in the hunt.

By the time Todd McLellan used his timeout with 1:38 to go, the Sharks had taken as many shots in the period as they had in the previous two combined.

Tommy Wingels led the Sharks in shots with four. John Scott led the team in hits with seven in just 5:52 of ice time. Brent Burns led the team in ice time with 22:30. Alex Stalock made 12 saves on 14 shots.

Lineup notes: Jason Demers was out, Mirco Mueller was in. Tye McGinn and Eriah Hayes were out, John Scott and Chris Tierney were in. Matt Irwin was still in the lineup, paired with Scott Hannan, while Mueller was back with Burns.

The Sharks reassigned Eriah Hayes to the Worcester Sharks of the AHL on Friday. Hayes played four games with the Sharks since his recall on October 18.

From a Sharks press release on Friday:

Sharks Defenseman Brent Burns, often recognized by his untamed hair and mountain-man beard, today announced the  return of Burnzie’s Buzzcut for Charity. In an effort to raise funds to support Defending the Blue Line, the Katie Moore Foundation, and the San Francisco Zoo, Burns is going to allow his teammates to give him a buzz cut and shave his beard. From now until November 1st, the Sharks Foundation will be accepting donations at sjsharks.com/buzzcut with the goal of raising $5,000 for each of these worthwhile charities.

 

Sharks Bested By Bruins in Boston

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By Mary Walsh

BOSTON– Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks fell to the Boston Bruins 5-3 at TD Garden. In many ways, the game was uncharacteristic for both teams. While it was a predictably close game, the score did not reflect a game between two defensively exceptional teams. After the game, Joe Thornton said:

The game went back and forth, back and forth. We thought we had it, we had a good chance on the four minute power play. In the end we just didn’t bury it. Tough game to lose.

The shot count was a little high on both sides (34-33), and five goals were scored in the first two periods. It is the third time Tuukka Rask has bested the Sharks, and the Bruins have yet to lose to San Jose with Rask in net.

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said, after the loss:

If we’re comparing it to the last game in New York, it was a much better effort. I don’t know if that’s a wise thing to do or not but we have to take steps forward so that’s a positive. We still got to get better. We’re giving up four games a night we’re not going to win very many games at all doing that.

The Sharks did improve their power play numbers, scoring once in two tries, or once in three tries if you count the second as two since it was a four minute power play. Either way, better than before the game. Beyond that, the game was a step back in most areas.

After the 5-3 loss, Logan Couture said:

We needed to get at least a point. We kind of let that one slip away. With this team you can’t be doing that. So we need to get a lot better.

The first whistle for more than icing came with just under seven minutes left in the first period. That whistle blew to send Brent Burns to the box for tripping. It was a peculiar sort of trip, more of a shoving the feet from behind, but he did interfere pretty overtly with Seth Griffith’s feet and cause him to fall.

Seconds in to the power play, 17 and 47 drew attention to themselves by cycling the puck around a bit. When Brad Marchand took control of the puck near the point, 17 and 47 had the Sharks penalty killers slightly out of position. Marchand’s shot went cleanly over Niemi’s blocker to put the Bruins on the board first.

At 15:56,the Sharks got their own power play when Marchand went to the box for cross checking Justin Braun. After the second faceoff of the power play, Patrick Marleau took a shot from the point and Logan Couture redirected it in from his spot just in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Marleau and Burns.

The Sharks came out with a little more punch to start the second, earning a couple of good chances on the first shift for Logan Couture’s line with Patrick Marleau and Tommy wingels. The fourth line of Adam Burish, Eriah Hayes and John Scott, however, could not hold the zone and then got trapped in their own zone for too long a spell. The Sharks were lucky to escape without giving up a goal.

That second line was by far the most effective through the first seven minutes, consistently getting shots and giving the Bruins defense grief.

Almost seven minutes in, Desjardins went to the box for tripping Loui Eriksson. This time, the Bruins did not do much cycling before Torey Krug put the puck past Niemi, again from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Milan Lucic and David Krejci.

Tomas Hertl followed Desjardins to the box for tripping, less than two minutes after the Bruins’ second goal. The Sharks managed to kill that penalty off.

With just 3:45 left in the period, that second line came back with some fight. Patrick Marleau got to the net and Wingels got the puck to him. Marleau’s back was to Rask and a Bruin was in his face but he held  his ground and the puck until Couture came in to help out. He helped out nicely and put the puck in the net.

Seconds later, the top line followed suit and gave the Sharks their first lead. Joe Thornton scored that one, assisted by Joe Pavelski and Justin Braun.

To start the third period, James Sheppard was on a line with Eriah Hayes and Tomas Hertl. A line of Adam Burish, Andrew Desjardins and Tommy Wingels foolowed that. Then Thornton came out with Pavelski and Nieto for a touch of normalcy.
Seth Griffith, David Krejci and Milan Lucic for the Bruins came out against Couture, Marleau and Hertl, and tied the game.  The goal was Griffith’s first NHL point. Assists went to Lucic and Torey Krug.

The Bruins’ fourth goal came after Vlasic failed to control the puck (his stick slipped from his hands as he tried to catch a pass from Braun) and Paille got control along the boards. Unfettered by any Shark, he was able to shoot. Two other Bruins were crowding the crease and the puck slid through them and under Niemi. One of those was Gregory Campbell. He got credit for the goal, so evidently it touched him on the way through.

After that goal, the Sharks’ lines fell back into a more familiar order, with Hertl on a line with the Joes, and Nieto with Marleau and Couture. Hayes joined Sheppard and Wingels. This seemed to be working pretty well, and then Justin Braun took a stick to the face, putting the Sharks on a four minute power play. That would give the Sharks most of the rest of the game with a man advantage. Unfortunately, it also sent Braun to the dressing room for repairs. He was gone for over two minutes of play.

The Sharks pulled Niemi with about a minute left to play, but that did not work out. Instead, the short-handed Bruins scored an empty net goal with 24.5 seconds left. Goal scored by David Krejci.

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John Scott only played five minutes. Whether or not he allows goals or shots against, if he cannot skate more minutes than that, his teammates have to make up the difference, in minutes and line adjustments. The Sharks, like most of the top teams right now, are moving to a more balanced four line system. Having a player they cannot or will not use evenly seems like a terrible handicap. That handicap is no less of a problem for being entirely predictable before the season started.

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Scratches: Tye McGinn, Mirco Mueller, Chris Tierney.

Sharks next face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday October 23, at SAP Center.

Sharks Suffer First Regulation Loss of Season

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By Mary Walsh

Sunday, the San Jose Sharks were shut out by the New York Rangers, 4-0.  It was the first time since 1993 that New York shut out San Jose. As they were playing their second game in less than 24 hours, it was not surprising that the Sharks looked fatigued by the latter part of the second period.

It was the first time the Sharks gave up the first goal this season. That goal was a killer, since the Rangers have one of the best goalies in the business. The game went from bad to worse from there, with a team-wide collapse.  Everyone not named Joe finished the game with a minus after their name on the stat sheet.

After the first period, Eriah Hayes said the team still needed to “Get more shots on net. I think we only had five there, so, funnel pucks to the net and crash away on the rebounds.” The Sharks did shoot more in the second but that was all they accomplished.

The Sharks went from wobbly in the first half of the second, to utterly gutted in the second half. They looked tired and overwhelmed. In retrospect, they were lucky to get as far as they did without giving up a goal. They finally gave up three in the last seven minutes of the period. Though being badly beaten in the faceoff circle and looking beat all around, the team managed to get credit for 15 shots to the Rangers’ 17 during the period.

With 6:59 left in the second, Karl Hagelin took a shot from the blue line, then skated in with Mueller and Burns flanking him, to pick up his own rebound and put it past Stalock. The assists went to John Moore and Dominic Moore.

The second goal came in a jam at the Sharks’ net, when the puck trickled under Stalock. Martin St. Louis, despite the efforts of several Sharks to push him back and out, kept after the puck until it went in. The goal was reviewed as it seemed close to the whistle, but the call stood up.

After the review and a consultation at the bench, play resumed and went right back to the Rangers. Rick Nash dumped the puck in off the face off. Nash chased it in and barely touched it, putting it through the five hole before Stalock could get ready. An assist went to Dominic Moore.

The third period started with an early fight between Tanner Glass and Andrew Desjardins. That seemed pretty hard on Desjardins, since he fought Saturday night as well. The Sharks were stuck with an additional two minute penalty to Desjardins, for cross checking Kevin Klein. The Rangers did not convert on their first power play of the game.

The Rangers followed up the failed power play with another goal, off a failed pass in the Sharks’ zone. Kevin Hayes scored it, his first NHL goal.

The Sharks had two power plays after that but could not break Henrik Lundqvist’s shutout. Patrick Marleau had a chance off a neat pass from Joe Thornton, but his shot hit the post. A short handed break for Rick Nash followed that but Stalock stopped it and held on.

The final shot count was 33-29 for the Sharks. The Sharks’ power play went 0-3, their penalty kill went 1-1. The Sharks won just 21 of 61 faceoffs.

The Sharks made some roster adjustments for Sunday’s game. Defenseman Jason Demers was back in the lineup, while Scott Hannan sat. Al Stalock was in net, consistent with the team’s every other game rotation for goalies so far. Forward Eriah Hayes was also in the lineup, as he had been the day before, in lieu of John Scott. Demers was paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Justin Braun played with Matt Irwin.

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

Sharks: So Far, So Good

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By Mary Walsh

Joe Thornton scored his 1,200th point into an empty net against the New Jersey Devils Saturday. It was a hope killer for the Devils, putting the game just out of reach with just over a minute remaining. The win improved the Sharks’ record against teams on opening night 2014-15, to 2-1.  They don’t have any more opening nights to spoil this season, and they saved their own with a win. All in all, the young season is going pretty well for the Sharks, with just one loss in five games.

Their wins lack consistency, but this is to be expected in the first ten games or so. What has been consistent is the goalie rotation, and the performance of those goalies. I did not expect Antti Niemi to respond well to a great big question mark being stuck to his back, in the form of an every other game rotation with Al Stalock. I think was wrong. I think he has responded just fine. Stalock’s good play is more predictable since he is the young challenger. This is not to say either has been perfect, but they have certainly not performed less well for the schedule. Neither has played a game that made me think he should not play the next.

This raises a question I have wondered about. Goalies like to play more than less, it is said that they all play better if they play more, until they get worn out from all that playing. Why not quit while you are ahead? Why not play every other game instead of six or ten in a row until you have a few bad ones and then get replaced to mull over your mistakes? I suppose it seems risky to give a hot goalie three or four days off instead of one or two, but is it any more risky than playing them until they fail from fatigue? I suppose if goalies are motivated by the promise of getting more games than the other guy, it would be counter productive to tell them they can not hope for that privilege.

Yet if everyone on the team were truly committed to the idea of group success and finding the most efficient use of all assets, maybe both goalies would be fine with such an arrangement. They all claim to be, they recognize that it is sensible to want everyone to play as well for as long as they can. But the mindset of a competitor might be more competitive than sensible.

All players have off games, and some of the Sharks’ top guys have had conspicuously poor games so far, but just one each. It is kind of peculiar, the way Thornton (v WPG), Marleau (v WSH) and even Vlasic (v NJD) have had a game where they made uncharacteristic mistakes, more than once. Luckily, they never had the same bad games, so the team carried on. Really, it is a very efficient way to have bad games, one guy at a time. If only they could stick to that system, this would be a very fine season indeed.

The power play that was so freakishly bad on opening night, going 0-8 against Winnipeg, is creeping back to life. On this road trip, they have scored four power play goals in eight opportunities. That is a very hopeful sign, even with such a small sample size.

James Sheppard was sent to Worcester on Thursday, for a conditioning stint. He had an assists on Petter Emanuelsson’s goal in the Sharks’ win over Providence Friday. He should be back with San Jose quite soon. Eriah Hayes was called up Friday and played Saturday on a line with Andrew Desjardins and Adam Burish.