Author: Matthew Harrington

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) in front of the net throws a shutout against the New Jersey Devils as the Devils Sergey Kalinin (51) and the Sharks Paul Martin tangle for the puck at SAP Center on Monday night

SAN JOSE, Calif. – After a six-game road trip, there’s no place like home for the undermanned San Jose Sharks. In their first game since a 3-3 road swing, the Sharks dominated the New Jersey Devils to the tune of a 4-0 win. Joe Thornton collected his 900^th point as a Shark while Chris Tierney scored a short-handed goal. Martin Jones picked up his second shut-out of the season with 26 saves.

The Sharks jumped out to the early lead in surprising fashion 1:59 into play. Just 15 seconds earlier, Matt Nieto was sent to the penalty box for goaltender interference, but the shortage in man-power didn’t slow down San Jose. Chris Tierney plucked a puck from the slot and raced down the left side of the ice unabated. Once he reached the New Jersey faceoff dot, he ripped a shot over goalie Keith Kinkaid’s glove for his first goal of the season.

“That was a big start for us,” said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. “We took a penalty. I thought we had good jump all night.”

Just under four minutes later a line born out of necessity struck for the Sharks second goal. With Tomas Hertl facing minor surgery on his balky knee, Patrick Marleau skated on the top line with the Joes, Pavelski and Thornton. Marleau scored the second goal of the game after taking his own rebound and batting it past Kinkaid for his fifth goal of the season. Pavelski and Paul Martin assisted on the goal.

“(Coach) Pete (DeBoer) put him with us in the third period against Arizona,” said Thornton of Marleau. “He looked so powerful. Tonight he was powerful again.”

“It’s good playing with those guys,” said Marleau. “One thing they do is they work hard. You have to pull your weight.”

With Hertl expected to miss a few weeks, the Sharks hope the trio of Pavelski, Thornton and Marleau will continue to produce.

“Usually when you win a couple games in a row, things stick,” said Thornton. “Hopefully we can get in a grove and Patty stays with us.”

Logan Couture helped push Joe Thornton to a milestone after beating Kinkaid 10:33 into the middle period. Thornton picked up the primary assist, his 11^th of the season to push him to 900 in the teal of San Jose.

“I’ve been here a long time,” said Thornton. “I’ve played with some good players, that’s what it comes down to. I’ve been lucky to play with Jonathan Cheecho, Patrick Marleau, so many different guys, so many great players. Thank you to all those guys.”

The Sharks final goal of the game came courtesy of a misplay by Devils defender Kyle Quincy. Burns shot rattled around the Devils crease before Quincey inadvertently batted the puck into the
New Jersey net to trail 4-0 with 7:38 gone in the period. Burns was credited with his seventh goal of the year.

Two Sharks players took bumps in the contest but ultimately would return to the ice. Chris Tierney took a shot to the face in the third and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic was cross-checked into the boards. Both went down the tunnel for a period of time but saw ice time after their injuries.

The Sharks continue the four-game home stand by facing the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday before a pair of games at home Friday and Saturday night.

By Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl skates past the Columbus Blue Jackets bench after scoring a third period goal his second of the contest on Thursday night at SAP Center

The San Jose Sharks continued their winning ways at home Thursday night, topping the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 for a third home win in as many tries this season. Tomas Hertl scored two goals, Joonas Donskoi netted his first and David Schlemko picked up two assists in the win. Martin Jones made 24 saves. San Jose was a perfect two-for-two on the power play.

Donskoi beat Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky 12:59 into the first, taking Schlemko’s cross-ice pass in the slot and roofing it over the goalie’s glove. The Sharks wouldn’t score again until the third period, but that doesn’t mean the contest wasn’t without its intrigue.

With 2:42 remaining in the second period, the lights at the SAP Center went out. The officials decided to call the period early, head to intermission and play the final 2:42 out before switching ends of the ice to start the third.

The start of the third also brought a delay with Brendan Dillon seemingly scoring his first goal of the year just over six minutes into the period. After a challenge and lengthy review, the play was ruled offsides and the goal nullified. The Sharks would ultimately get the goal back, with Hertl netting a power play strike at the 12:05 mark. Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Schlemko assisted on the goal.

Columbus answered back after a mishap by the Sharks trying to exit the zone. Scott Hartnell beat Jones for his sixth goal of the year at the 17:10 mark. Hertl would score the empty netter with .8 seconds left for his 2^nd goal of the game and 4^th of the year.

The Sharks face the Nashville Predators in a rematch of last year’s second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The contest will be Saturday night, with the Sharks looking to pick up a fourth straight win at home.

By Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Marc-Edouard Vlasic scores sliding on is left knee on Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson on the glove side to break the deadlock for the OT game winner on Tuesday night at SAP Center

The San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night at the Sap Center. Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored the game-winner 1:24 into overtime and Joe Pavelski scored the game’s first goal on the power play. Martin Jones 19 saves in the Sharks net.

Pavelski posted the first goal of the game on the man advantage 7:58 into the game. Patrick Marleau took a shot in the slot that bounced off starting netminder Jonathan Bernier, bouncing to Pavelski’s stick.

The Sharks captain tried tapping it in, with a Duck’s skate ultimately helping the puck over the line for a 1-0 lead. Joonas Donskoi also assisted on Pavelski’s third goal of the year. Anaheim answered with a late strike, with Chris Wagner scoring his second goal of the year with 2:11 left in the period.

The Ducks lost starting goalie Jonathan Bernier after the first period, with the offseason acquisition exiting the game with an upper body injury. John Gibson relieved him, making 24 saves, including helping to kill off three Sharks penalties. San Jose ended the night 1 for 5 on the power play. Anaheim was 0 for 4.

Vlasic scored the game-winner in the three-on-three sudden death session after receiving an outlet pass up the boards from Pavelski after Pavelski broke up a backdoor play. Vlasic had no Ducks in front of him except Gibson, managing to beat the netminder on a breakaway back-hand-to-forehand goal. It was Vlasic’s first goal of the year.

The Sharks take the ice Thursday looking to stay unbeaten at home. They face the Columbus Blue Jackets before welcoming the Nashville Predators, opponents in last season’s second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Saturday night.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Logan Courture (left) and Brett Burns (88) celebrate Burn’s third period goal against the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center on Wednesday night

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks raised the franchise’s first Western Conference Championship banner Wednesday night then crowned the 2016-17 season with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Logan Couture tied the game in the first period and Brent Burns scored the game winner in the third period for the Sharks (1-0-0). Martin Jones made 21 saves while Kings net minder Jonathan Quick allowed one goal on 15 shots before departing the game with a lower body injury after just one period.

The Kings (0-1-0) scored the first goal on a power play in a bizarre sequence of events, with Tyler Toffoli scoring his first goal of the season after a break out campaign last season. The 31-goal scorer plucked a puck off the boards and fired it from a low percentage angle. The puck originally appeared to go out of play with the goal light not coming on. The Los Angeles skaters all celebrated the shot though, with the referees agreeing that Toffoli indeed picked Jones’ top corner for a 1-0 lead 1:22 into the game.

The lethal first power play unit (1 for 3 on the night) for the Sharks helped the hosts draw even after after Joe Pavelski’s pass into the slot landed on Logan Couture’s stick. Couture ripped the one-timer past Quick with 5:55 left in the first.

Pavelski, always playing until the whistle, made sure Couture’s shot went in. He tipped the puck back into the net, drawing the ire of Quick. The former Vezina Trophy winner bolted from his crease to confront Pavelski, injuring himself in the process. Backup Jeff Zatkoff opened the second period in net with Kings fans concerned about the long-term health of their workhorse goalie.

The Sharks, however, aren’t concerned about their masked man. Jones looked sterling in net to build of his phenomenal previous season. His performance allowed Burns, a Norris Trophy finalist last year, to net the game-winner off Zatkoff. In total Zatkoff faced 16 shots, turning aside 15.

Burns was the beneficiary of hard work from center Couture and a perfect feed from Joonas Donskoi 3:20 into the third. Couture dug the puck free along the boards, kicking it to Donskoi on the wing. Donskoi slid the puck cross-crease from Zatkoff’s right to Burns for the tap-in. Couture picked up his second point of the night, assisting on the goal.

After getting their first win at home, the Sharks hit the road for a five-game road trip beginning Saturday in Columbus. Last season, the Sharks won a league-high 28 road games while struggling at home with only 18 wins.

By Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonathan Bernier stops a shot from the San Jose Sharks left winger Mikkel Boedker in the first period of Wednesday night’s exhibition game at SAP Center

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks perfect preseason ended Wednesday night with a 2-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at the SAP Center. Jonathan Bernier made 22 saves for the shutout and Corey Perry netted a goal for the Ducks as part of a two-goal second period.

Twice the Ducks victimized the Sharks third defensive pairing of roster hopefuls Mirco Mueller and Tim Heed. Corey Perry was the first to do so, netting his first preseason goal 7:42 into the period. Joseph Cramarossa, looking to crack the Ducks roster after playing for their AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls last season, scored his first exhibition goal just over 1:30 later for the 2-0 edge. In total, Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 20 saves on 22 Ducks shots.

As is expected, the game became rather chippy, with the California foes combined for 24 penalty minutes, including a fight between San Jose’s Micheal Haley and Anaheim’s scrapper Jared Boll. In total, San Jose went on the penalty kill four times, holding the Ducks scoreless each time. The Sharks failed to convert on their lone attempt.

The Sharks wrap up the games that don’t count with a contest Friday at the Arizona Coyotes then Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks. After that, they open play next Wednesday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Kevin Labanc (62) is mobbed by teammates following scoring a game winning overtime goal to beat the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night at SAP Center in the first pre season game

SAN JOSE, Calif. — In their first taste of action on SAP Center ice since game six of the Stanley Cup Final a mostly unfamiliar San Jose Sharks squad beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in overtime. The Sharks, without five starters due to the World Cup of Hockey and icing a roster mostly of rookies and training campers received goals from familiar faces Barclay Goodrow and Tommy Wingels but rookie Kevin LeBanc would score the game-winner just 1:05 into overtime. In total, San Jose was without Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Thornton, Mikkel Boedker, Brent Burns and Logan Couture due to World Cup obligations while other regulars also sat.

San Jose needed a clutch tally with the net empty from Wingels to force overtime before giving the fresh face his moment. Netminders Troy Grosenick (8 saves), author of a 50-save shutout in his rookie season, and Mantas Armalis (7 saves) each allowed a Canucks goal as they battle frontrunner Aaron Dell for the right to back up Martin Jones with the big club.

Vancouver got on the board early, striking at even strength when Bo Horvat knocked in a rebound 2:06 into the Sharks preseason. Horvat was waiting to Grosenick’s left as winger Jake Virtanen fired a shot from the netminder’s right side. Grosenick made the save but the puck bounced to the opposite side for the easy Horvat conversion.

Goodrow’s first strike of the exhibition season game late in the second period, with the winger taking a shot pass from Kevin Labanc in the slot with his back to the net. The left-hand shot then turned on his backhand to face up goaltender Michael Garteig before sliding the puck into the Canucks net. Goodrow, a veteran of two NHL seasons, is looking to break camp with the Sharks after playing just 14 games with the Sharks last year before a demotion to the Barracuda of the AHL. He excelled there, finishing third on the team with 20 goals.

Vancouver would add what appeared to be the game-winner at the 8:24 mark of the third period. The Sharks comeback would make the Sven Baertschi tally just another meaningless preseason stat though once Wingels set in motion the theatrics.

Wingels, playing on a line with fellow NHL lock Chris Tierney and top prospect Nikolay Goldobin, managed to salvage the contest by beating Garteig for the tying goal with just 22 seconds left in regulation. The winger is looking to stay healthy after scoring the lowest goal total (7) in his last three seasons.

Vancouver opened the three-on-three overtime frantically, but a breakout the other way led to LaBanc skated down the wing uninhibited. The greenhorn beat Garteig top shelf, setting off what he hopes will be the first of many celebrations on a sheet of NHL ice. It was LaBanc’s second point after assisting on Goodrow’s goal. Offseason acquisition David Schlemko also had two points after assisting the final two Sharks goals.

The result reflected the body of work the Sharks established throughout the contest. San Jose peppered starter Richard Bachman and Garteig with 33 shots, but seemed stuck on just the one tally. The home team was 0 for 3 on the power play but killed of all five of Vancouver’s man-advantages for the victory.