Author: smallforce

San Jose Sharks Tuesday game wrap: Dell-ivery for Dan–Sharks announcer calls his 2000th game; Dell stops 30 shots against Arizona

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~ Photo credit: Darin Stephens @SharksStats

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Aaron Dell made 30 saves in his first shootout and radio play master Dan Rusanowsky announced the San Jose Sharks’ 3-2 win versus the Arizona Coyotes in his 2,000th NHL game Tuesday.

The ‘Desert Dogs’ took another tough loss, this one also beyond regulation, after climbing back from a 2-0 deficit.

This quick rematch between the two teams was not as crazy as the last meetup in terms of the amount of goals scored. However, it was still a tight one and went beyond last game from overtime into a shootout.

Joe Pavelski scored the game-winner on the Sharks’ first try and the team is now second in the Pacific Division.

San Jose also moved to 15-0-2 after leading past two periods. Before this win, the team had lost the second game of their last four back-to-backs.

For Arizona, it was their third straight loss beyond regulation, third straight shootout loss and fourth straight overall loss.

The Coyotes’ Brad Richardson had a goal and assist and for the Sharks. Both Joe Thornton and Mikkel Boedker reached three-game point streaks with their second goals in as many games.

Christian Dvorak took a costly penalty at 4:21 of the first as Thornton scored midway to make it 1-0. Logan Couture took Thornton’s pass instead of the intended recipient Pavelski and Thornton cleaned up Couture’s rebound. Tomas Hertl collected the second assist. Thornton now has five points in three games with three goals.

San Jose duplicated their lead just 34 seconds into the second, as Boedker scored on his fifth shot in two games. Joakim Ryan transferred the puck across the far blue line to Brent Burns who slid the puck to Boedker in the neutral zone. Boedker then raced to the net on a 2-on-1 and picked the side of the net with a defender right in front of him.

Arizona took a bit of the edge off when Jordan Martinook redirected Jason Demers’ shot from the point to make it 2-1 at 16:05. The goal came half a minute after the Sharks killed off a too many men penalty. Brad Richardson acquired the second assist. It was Martinook’s first goal in 2018.

The second period was also an efficient one, as the goals came from only five shots per team.  

The Coyotes nearly had their own 30 second opening goal in the third, but Dell was able to hold Nick Cousins’ puck at his doorstep. He later stopped a 2-on-1 versus Richard Panik.

Arizona remained undeterred and finally scored the game-tying goal at 6:10. Oliver Ekman-Larsson passed across the blue line to Cousins who aimed at Dell. It was Richardson’s turn to score as he took the rebound off Dell and slid around to score. Richardson’s goal was part of an 8-1 shot advantage for the Coyotes.

After a period of inert offense for San Jose, Burns, Chris Tierney and Justin Braun had shots in just over a minute. Neither team could stop each other from going to their fourth overtime game of the year though.

Dell and the Sharks killed off a 4-on-3 penalty in overtime.

Game notes: Antti Raanta was in net this game for Arizona. He made 20 saves and suffered his third straight loss, two of them beyond regulation.

Up next: San Jose will complete their three-game road trip Thursday at 6pm versus the Colorado Avalanche.

Rivalry game: Sharks solid in 4-1 win over Kings on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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~ Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES — The San Jose Sharks had their defense and offense clicking as they held onto their lead throughout the game against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center Monday.

San Jose goalie Martin Jones rebounded with his best showing since the last time the Sharks played the Kings, with a .972 save percentage against 36 shots. He had a shutout until 12:42 of the final frame.

Before the Kings’ goal, the Sharks and Jones had also scored seven straight unanswered goals versus Los Angeles, dating back to November 12.

On playing the Kings, Jones addressed the media, “It’s easier to prepare for games against these guys or any division games. Those are obviously big four-point games for us. We know what the standings are like, and we know how difficult it is.”

Meanwhile, the Kings, now on a four-game slide, matched a season-long losing streak from November, which occurred at the same time they faced the Sharks.

Darcy Kuemper was in net for Los Angeles the first time since December 16. He had his first regulation loss (5-1-3), as he made 29 saves.

The Sharks’ offense was led by the third line of Mikkel Boedker, Chris Tierney and Joonas Donskoi. Boedker had a goal, Tierney had a goal and assist and Donskoi had two assists. Dylan DeMelo, who returned from injured reserve, also had two assists. He and teammate Brenden Dillon finished +3 for the day.

On contributing right after his return, DeMelo uttered, “I think it just starts in the D-zone and just playing hard and whenever you got an opportunity you got to try and make the most of it the best you can. It’s not going to work every time, but at least you’re getting up there and being aggressive.”

Tierney made it 1-0 with the second shot of the game as DeMelo saved the puck from going out at the point before shooting. The puck then went to Donskoi, who circled around before passing across to a wide open Tierney. The Kings’ Christian Folin, Kuemper and Kurtis Macdermid were preoccupied with Donskoi.  

“Joonas with a no-look pass, kind of just fed it backdoors…he’s been doing a lot of those lately, so not too surprised, but just happy that he found me,” replied Tierney. Donskoi now has five points in two games.

With 10:29 still left, San Jose had built a 9-1 shot lead–Tierney with two shots and the rest all different players.

Sharks’ coach Pete DeBoer commented, “Yeah…you know when you come in here, you have to be ready to play. The history in here is they they’ve usually taken it to us, the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game…wanted to make sure we were ready. I thought we were great right from the drop of the puck.”

Los Angeles had a similar game plan, but “we didn’t play good at all for 60 minutes tonight. We have to go back and look at some things and try to be better tomorrow,” answered forward Adrian Kempe.

The Kings looked a lot better in the second with 13 shots, but still went up by another goal. Dillon passed to DeMelo in the neutral zone, who shot at net from beyond the left faceoff circle. Melker Karlsson missed the rebound but Barclay Goodrow backed him up with a quick shot past Kuemper at 8:52.

Kyle Clifford tried charging the net with 7:30 left, but Jones stood his ground.

Tomas Hertl tried a shot around sprawled out Kuemper, but Folin made a foot save with 17 seconds left and also blocked a shot from Kevin Labanc with one second remaining.

Following their game trend, San Jose made it 3-0 in the third when Boedker took the puck from Donskoi’s skate up front in to another wide open net at 9:11.  It was Boedker’s first goal since November 24. The play started in the opposite ice end as Tierney got his second point of the game.

On Boedker’s play, Tierney mentioned, “He had a lot of chances, thought he was skating well and getting to the net. When he’s going to the net and using his legs, he usually creates a lot of offense…”

Los Angeles’ Trevor Lewis scored into the open right side of the net from Marian Gaborik and Kempe at 12:42. The Kings put themselves out there in the third, outshooting the Sharks 17-5, to overall outshoot them 36-33.  

San Jose re-established their three goal lead with 19.4 seconds left when Joe Thornton put in an empty netter with 20 seconds left in the game. The defensive pair of Justin Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got the assists.  

Regarding getting the team on the same page, Kings’ coach John Stevens replied, “We regroup. It’s one hockey game. I thought we had some good efforts from our key veterans but they cannot do it on their own. You go to your lineup, there’s young guys getting an opportunity to play more, young veterans getting an opportunity, more responsibility in the lineup…we have to get our team reset on both sides of the puck, and…play with a little urgency that’s necessary. We should be looking at each team like it’s a playoff game right now.”

Game notes: Lewis now has six points in his last six games.  Sharks’ right wing Joel Ward also returned, out since January 7. He had a +2 rating with 13:21 of ice time.

Up next: San Jose heads to the second game of their three-game road trip, a back-to-back, as they face the Arizona Coyotes once again on Tuesday at 6 pm PT. 

Clippers get back to .500, complete sweep over Kings

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Pearl Allison Lo

LOS ANGELES — Despite their injuries, the Clippers worked back to an even-steven record in a towering 126-105 win over the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center Saturday.

The last time Los Angeles was at .500 was on November 7. Along with a four-game win streak, the Clippers completed a four-game sweep over Sacramento, sweeping the team for the first time since the 2013-14 regular season. This blowout continued a trend of close then blowout games between the teams.  

Los Angeles was facing the Kings for the second game in a row. Thursday was when the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan got injured, and to be safe, Jordan (ankle) missed his first career game due to injury in 10 years.

Willie Reed, who started instead of Jordan, got his first double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-tying 13 rebounds.

Los Angeles’ Lou Williams led all scorers with 26 points. Sacramento’s Willie Cauley-Stein had a double-double of 23 points and a game-tying 13 rebounds. Teammate De’Aaron Fox also had a double-double of 17 points and a game-high 10 assists.

Clippers’ forward Blake Griffin’s thoughts on them being a fun team to coach were, “…even with all the injuries and having to be on the sideline. This team really bonds with each other, really vibes well with each other. I think we just play hard…I agree with [Doc Rivers] that this is a really fun team and we have kind of a special bond.”

Los Angeles led ever since 9:39 left in the first when it was 5-4.

The Kings started off with a 4-0 run but then the Clippers surpassed them with a 10-0 run, initiated by Reed’s triple. Sacramento either missed or lost the ball, as they missed three 3-pointers. Griffin accounted for half of the 10 points, as he and Milos Teodosic both hit threes. Garrett Temple was able to score four points, but Williams was able to score three free throws from one of Sacramento’s fouls with 6:08 left.

The Kings could not connect on more than two possessions as Los Angeles went to the line four times. The Clippers shot 58.8% from the field while Sacramento shot 36.4%. Los Angeles’ Tyrone Wallace led all scorers with six points. Reed had five rebounds and two steals.

On the turnover troubles and taking care of the ball, Kings’ head coach Dave Joeger replied, “It’s just bad passes and bad ball-handling. It’s just individual work and guys just got to improve their individual skills.”

Fox mentioned, “…It happens, that’s the cost of playing fast. We’re still getting used to it and trying to cut down…”

In the second, the Kings never got closer than 13, but improved greatly in getting their biggest run so far at seven points, Cauley-Stein with four points and Vince Carter hitting a three with 6:07 left. Sacramento also went to the free throw line and scored from beyond the arc for the first time and shot 45.8% from the field.  The Clippers reached their highest lead of the game at the time, 21 points with 19.3 seconds left, but Buddy Hield pulled up for a first half score of 64-45. Williams led in the second with 10 points and three steals, Fox had seven points and four assists and Cauley-Stein nabbed six rebounds.

Cauley-Stein pointed out, “Our energy didn’t really come until the second-half, so by then they already got us in a hole and you got to try to chip away. You can’t make any mistakes if you want to play like that.”

The Clippers’ dominance continued to hold as the Kings were held at least 14 points away. The Clippers’ lead reached a high of 23 points when Jawun Evans, after heading to the basket, dropped the ball back to Montrezl Harrell, who followed up with a jam into the net.

In the final quarter, Los Angeles’ lead grew to 25 and the closest Sacramento got was 15. This was the only time the Kings were able to outscore the Clippers, 37-35, when Sacramento shot 75% from the field.

Regarding growing pains, Cauley-Stein suggested, “…it’s got to come from us holding each other accountable. Like enough is enough. I think coach is at that point where he’s not going to play you if you’re not doing the right thing and I think that’s how it should be. Kind of like a college team…we’re also young and a lot of us just came out of college too…”

Game notes: Los Angeles’ C.J. Williams continued his absence with a sprained right ankle.

Up next: Sacramento will finish their two-game road trip versus the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday at 5 pm PT.

Clippers lose Griffin and game to Warriors 121-105, Curry scores season-high 45 points

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~ Photo credit: @warriors

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES–The Stephen Curry show led the Golden State Warriors to a 121-105 rout over the Los Angeles Clippers as Curry scored 45 points in three quarters at the Staples Center Saturday.

Though the Warriors had a bit of a slow and poor shooting start, Curry scored 17, 12 and 16, respectively. He also had a career-high 15 free throws along with his seven three’s on 11-of-21 shooting, as Golden State’s lead stretched as high as 30.

Regarding feeling pretty good, Curry replied, “Yeah, just trying to start off the game right. It’s obviously weird playing a 12:30 game…you got to find a little bit of energy and something to build momentum…obviously unfortunate to see Blake (Griffin) go out. I hope he’s alright.”  

Los Angeles was within three after the first quarter, but Blake Griffin never returned to the game, after suffering a concussion with 2:11 left in the first. He received an elbow to the forehead from JaVale McGee, which knocked him down and one could see his right hand shaking. Luckily, he was able to get up later with help. For the already depleted Clippers, it was their second blow in a row as Milos Teodosic did not play after leaving the last game.  

The Warriors ended with a 3-0 road trip as part of a four-game win streak, averaging 121 points a game. It was their 12th win versus Los Angeles and 10th straight road win. The Clippers fell just shy of garnering 106 points their last nine games.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr commented, saying the game “was mainly about Steph tonight.”

The leading scorers on Golden State after Curry were McGee and Nick Young with 11 apiece and David West and Klay Thompson with 10 apiece. On a poor shooting night for Thompson, 4-of-16, Thompson doubled his five points in the first half in the third. Draymond Green almost had a double-double with nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Andre Iguodala had seven assists too.

Lou Williams led the Clippers with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, rivaling Curry in the first with 13 points in the opening quarter. Next after Williams was DeAndre Jordan with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, Tyrone Wallace (his first NBA game) with 13 points, Jawun Evans with 12 points and seven assists and Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell with nine points apiece, Harrell also with 10 rebounds.  

The Warriors did not get their second bucket of the game until 8:06 left in the first, when Curry was fouled and scored a pair of free throws. That led to a turnover by Griffin and resulting Green dunk shot.  Curry made his first three with 6:55 to go, giving Golden State their first lead until the second with under five minutes to go.

Later Curry drove to the basket before passing out for an assist and got the ball back outside the three point line. He put his arms up and drew the foul to make three free throws.

It then became the Warriors and threes led by Curry versus Williams, as Golden State built a 10-point lead. Williams scored three straight baskets, but Green and Curry combined for three three’s with Curry making a second chance three as well.

Los Angeles went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter, with William scoring the last five points with a three to make it 28-31. Curry tried to replicate on the other end but missed at the buzzer.

The field goal percentage at the end of the quarter was Warriors (33.3%) and Clippers (47.6%).

With the majority of the second period close, the max lead at six and within one four times, Sam Dekker tied the game at 50 apiece at 3:30. This held until Iguodala made the first of two free throws 31 seconds later and Golden State never looked back.

It was the Warriors’ turn to end the quarter as they went on a 12-5 run. Curry made his first three of the second with 2:14 left. With 1:06 left, Thompson hit his first three, then Curry had the last six points from the line and runs to the basket twice, until Williams scored with .2 seconds left. Golden State ended with a nine-point lead, 64-55.

The shooting percentage leads reversed after the third quarter, with the Warriors shooting 52.2% and Los Angeles shooting 33.3%.

Golden State went on an 11-4 run, started by Curry’s first three, another three by Thompson and culminating with three free throws from Curry with 5:49 left to go for an 18-point lead.

The Warriors’ lead reached its 30-point high with under a minute left after a 22-6 run. That was sparked by a three from Curry and also included a pair of three’s from Young.   

When asked if it would be fair to say every time Steph shot a three, it seemed to spark Golden State’s runs, Kerr replied, “I would say it was fair. It’s fair to say that. When he gets going like that, he sparks the whole building.”

Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers message to the team was, “Golden State are the world champions. We have 90 points of offense sitting in street clothes. I thought their offensive assault affected us…You back up to no one ever…If they’re better, let them be better, but make them be better.”

With Curry on the bench, the fourth quarter was the best and worst for Los Angeles and the Warriors points-wise, 29-18.

Game notes: On playing all 13 of his players, Kerr expressed, “it just felt like one of those games you play everybody, old school, like YMCA with the kids. Everybody has to play, and it was a good day for that.”

Due to Los Angeles’ need for guard help, Wallace was signed, while Jamil Wilson was waived January 5th.

Recent injuries from the past for both teams continued with Kevin Durant out again for Golden State.

Green got his 11th technical for arguing a non-call on the play after Griffin’s injury.

Up next: The Warriors head back home for two games now to play the Denver Nuggets Monday at 7:30pm and then the Clippers again.

Joe Thornton loses beard, Kevin Labanc gets shootout goal, but Leafs edge Sharks 3-2 in shootout

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Photo credit: @JonnyRoot_

By Pearl Allison Lo

The San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thornton lost a piece of his beard to kick off the game and the Toronto Maple Leafs ended the shootout in the sixth round to win, 3-2.  

Thornton and Nazem Kadri got feisty right from the start, dropping the gloves just two seconds into the game. Kadri pulled out a piece of Thornton’s beard, which was a sight to see on the ice and in Sharks goalie Aaron Dell’s glove.

Toronto’s Auston Matthews scored in the beginning of the shootout, Kevin Labanc tied it at two in the third round and Tyler Bozak went up high to score the game-winner in the shootout.

Both goalies were stellar. Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for the Sharks and Frederik Andersen made 33 in a losing effort for the Leafs. The fact that Andersen’s final stop of the game was against Chris Tierney was the cherry on top, as Andersen had previously turned over the puck to Tierney in the second, resulting in a goal.  

The Sharks were more known for their penalty kill, but the Maple Leafs’ continued to look top-shelf, shutting out their last three opponents: 0-for-3, 0-for-3, and 0-for-5, respectively.

Toronto not only ended their three-game losing streak, but a 10-game one against the Sharks.

Though, not as swift as the beard fight, the two first-period goals also occurred in quick fashion at the end of the period.

Matthews scored his team-leading 18th goal at 18:37, redirecting Connor Carrick’s point shot. William Nylander got the second assist.

Brenden Dillon scored his first of the year 31 seconds later off a faceoff win. Brent Burns and Timo Meier set up Dillon’s play.

Toronto’s special teams worked on both ends. Despite the Sharks drawing three straight penalties, Kadri scored the first and only special teams goal of the night at 12:40 of the second during a four-minute high-sticking minor against Burns. It was Kadri’s first goal since November 30. He had also just missed two games prior to his return last game. Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly contributed to the goal.

San Jose re-tied the game when Tierney, a Keswick, Ontario native, was gifted the puck. After a faceoff, the puck went straight to Andersen, with Tierney hearing straight down the slot as well. It was a well-timed push as Andersen’s second touch went away from him and then Tierney scored to Andersen’s left.

One of Andersen’s saves included a point blank save versus Joe Pavelski on the tail end of a bit of a 2-on-1 with Thornton in the third.

Jones made three saves within 22 seconds, two of them just five seconds apart with less than five minutes left.

The last regulation shot came from the Maple Leafs’ Jake Gardiner with three seconds left on the clock.

In overtime, Marner’s high stick on Tierney ramped up the intensity as the Sharks got a four-minute power play of their own at 3:10. Pavelski, Burns and Logan Couture each had overtime shots on goal with Pavelski taking a wide shot as well.

In the shootout, after Matthews, the turns went to Burns, Couture, Marner, Pavelski, Labanc, Nylander, Joonas Donskoi, James van Riemsdyk and former Shark Patrick Marleau. Like Bozak, Tierney also shot up high, but his puck hit the crossbar.

Game notes: San Jose had five games in December that went beyond regulation.

The Sharks won faceoffs (52%-49%), hits (30-16), blocks (13-12) and giveaways (8-17).

Up next: San Jose will try to get full points when they face the Ottawa Senators Friday at 4:30 pm PT.

Timo Meier scores twice, Aaron Dell makes 30 saves; Sharks beat Canadiens 3-1

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By: Pearl Allison Lo

The Montreal Canadiens paved their way back into the game, but the San Jose Sharks’ Timo Meier scored the game-winner to put the game away, 4-1, at the Bell Centre  Tuesday night.

The Sharks recovered from a lopsided loss, 6-0, to the Dallas Stars, with a dominant victory of their own.

After entering the Stars game in relief of Martin Jones in which goalie Aaron Dell received a no decision, Dell continued with the wins. Before the no decision, Dell had five straight wins.

Though there were five penalties in the first period, Thornton scored the sole goal on a 5-on-5, aided by Justin Braun and Vlasic.

Shots were 11-10 in favor of the Canadiens, but the Sharks led 1-0 after the first.

Montreal native Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his fourth goal of the season at the 11:27 mark of the second period. Mikkel Boedker and Kevin Labanc provided the assists on Vlasic’s goal.

Brent Burns was given a delay of game penalty with 4:11 left in the second. Then, Andrew Shaw scored on the power play for his 10th goal of the season, and the Canadiens cut the Sharks’ lead in half 18 seconds later.

However, Timo Meier responded on the Sharks’ behalf for a 2-1 lead just 10 seconds left in the second. Labanc and Chris Tierney picked up the assists on Meier’s power play goal–his seventh of the season. Joe Morrow was initially called for high-sticking Meier.

Meier struck again in the third period for his eighth goal of the season and second of the game, which was assisted by Burns and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks took a 3-1 lead just 1:13 into the third.

The Sharks went on to beat the Canadiens 3-1. Dell made 30 saves for San Jose.

Meanwhile, Carey Price made 29 saves in a losing effort for Montreal, whose woes continue with their fifth loss in a row. Their scoring during their losing skid has been limited to a goal or less per game.

 

Game notes: Vlasic’s six shots were second only to Pacioretty’s seven.

Up next: The Sharks continue the Canadian part of their road trip vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday at 4 pm PT.

 

Harrell leads efficient Clippers over Kings 122-95

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~ (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Los Angeles’ Montrezl Harrell had a season-high in points and rebounds as Sacramento endured a bigger drubbing than last Tuesday, 122-95.

The Clippers shot 55% from the field, compared to 41.7%, had almost double the amount of threes, and went to the line 27 times.  

Harrell scored 22 points with eight rebounds. In the fourth quarter, he scored 12 points, got seven rebounds and went to the line four times.

The Kings meanwhile continued a WW-LL pattern. Sacramento’s opponents have scored over 100 points in the Kings’ last eight losses and Los Angeles has scored over 100 points in each of their last four games.

No one on the Kings scored over 10 points except for Willie Cauley-Stein. He had 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Lou Williams added 21 points for the Clippers, Milos Teodosic had a season-high 10 assists and teammate Austin Rivers was held to eight points. It was Rivers’ lowest total  since he returned from a concussion, ending a four game double point streak.

Both were close in the beginning with 30 apiece in the first quarter, but then the discrepancy grew to 18 as scored Los Angeles scored 41 and Sacramento 23 in the second. The first half points allowed matched a season record for the Kings.  Sacramento’s last lead came with 10:30 left in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Milos Teodosic had six points and five assists while the Kings went to the free throw line five times. Starting with 7:26 left, the Clippers extended their lead to double digits with 11. Los Angeles’ Sam Dekker’s touch into the net with 5:05 left (also an 11 point difference) would be the closest the Kings got for the rest of the game.

Los Angeles stretched a 12-0 run in between the third and fourth quarters.

Sacramento’s Justin Jackson got the score to within 19 points after a three with 2:45 left to go, but then the Clippers scored the last eight points. Meanwhile, after the Kings’ Malachi Richardson was blocked by Willie Reed, Sacramento missed their last five shots with three attempts by Georgios Papagiannis.

Game notes: Sacramento plays the second of back-to-back games Tuesday at 7pm hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a six-game homestand.

Oilers’ two-goal deficit was too big to overcome for Sharks 5-3

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~ Photo credit: (Jason Franson / The Canadian Press)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Though the San Jose Sharks came to within one twice, two was the decisive number as an early scoring lull gave the Edmonton Oilers a 5-3 win at Rogers Place Monday.

The Sharks scored first, but then gave up three unanswered goals. Edmonton was able to re-establish two-goal leads after San Jose’s attempts to come back. Moreover, right before the Oilers’ third and fourth goal, the Sharks had good and/or close moves at the other end.

San Jose, who was playing without Logan Couture, has now scored three goals in each of their last six games. However, goalie Martin Jones, and the team have given up at least four goals in his last six starts, the last three resulting in an 0-1-2 record. The Sharks were riding a five-game point streak heading into the game.  

Kevin Labanc and Brent Burns assisted on San Jose’s first two goals.  

For Edmonton, Ryan Strome had two goals, Patrick Maroon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist apiece and Leon Draisaitl had two assists.

It was a more than welcome win for the Oilers as they had lost three in a row at home and a nine-game loss-win pattern overall.

Both teams had power plays early in the first less than a minute apart. It was the Sharks who were productive on special teams though, with a shot on goal shorthanded and their sixth straight game with a power play goal. Burns passed cross ice between two defenders to Kevin Labanc, who from goalie Cam Talbot’s left, shot at Talbot while Joe Pavelski, on Talbot’s right, sent Labanc’s rebound past the goalie at 6:15.

The second half of the first produced better results for Edmonton after a delay of game penalty to Tomas Hertl, which was not called right away. Two seconds after their power play expired, Mark Letestu scored at 14:42, after Draisaitl faked a shot and Oscar Klefbom provided the second assist.   

The Oilers then took the lead with just over a minute left in the period. A wide open far side Strome scored at 18:51, aided by Draisaitl and Jujhar Khaira.

In the second, Jones made three saves in less than a minute which included Connor McDavid as part of a 2-on-1 followed by a shot from McDavid. However, less than a minute after the latter save, Nugent-Hopkins moved Drake Caggiula’s shot in at 13:24, Maroon with the second helper.

San Jose halted the scoring beginning in the opposite end with Burns. He passed to Labanc and Hertl received Labanc’s pass in the neutral zone. Timo Meier blocked Talbot while Meier was in between two defenders as Hertl scored at 8:32 to make it 3-2.

Tripping caused the puck to switch sides quickly as the Sharks’ second power play was cut short when Pavelski was called for the penalty.  Within less time than before though, San Jose went on a now 4-on-3 power play as Strome committed the same offense.

Back-and-forth scoring continued in the third as not long after Tim Heed hit the goalpost, Maroon responded with a goal to pull Edmonton further ahead again. He was assisted by Nugent-Hopkins at 8:32.

Marcus Sorensen took the Sharks’ turn back with his second in as many games, a wraparound goal at 11:58 to make it 4-3. He was aided by Justin Braun and Melker Karlsson.   

Strome notched the 5-3 goal with an empty netter at 19:52, helped by Matt Benning.

Game notes: Couture, who left San Jose’s last game, is day-to-day with a concussion. The Sharks welcomed back Mikkel Boedker, who skated for 8:17 and had a giveaway and a takeaway. The Oilers also welcomed back Adam Larsson who skated for 21:55, had five hits, four blocks and four giveaways.

Up next: San Jose conclude their three game road trip with a 1-1-1 record and will pick back up with a three game homestand before and after Christmas, starting with the Vancouver Canucks again Thursday at 7:30pm.

Joonas Donskoi scores two goals, Sharks edge Flames 3-2

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San Jose Sharks’ Joonas Donskoi, center, from Finland, celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ In his first game back from injury, San Jose Sharks’ Joonas Donskoi scored twice as the Sharks doused their division rival Calgary Flames 3-2 Thursday.

Donskoi’s game-winner came at 17:12, less than three minutes before overtime, as he made sure a loose puck under goalie Mike Smith went into the net. Joe Thornton and Justin Braun aided Donskoi as Thornton scored his sixth point in five games. Donskoi was playing for the first time since November 28.

Goalie Aaron Dell earned his third straight win as he made 32 saves back in his hometown of Calgary.    

Both teams came in tied for third in the division off shootout losses as each team scored in the opening and closing periods. The Sharks improved to 11-0 when leading after two periods.

San Jose’s Timo Meier and Donskoi had at least one goal and an assist apiece.

The Flames’ Michael Frolik picked up Tim Heed’s turnover in the Sharks’ end to score off Dell at 4:42 of the first.

Meier tied it later at 16:07, aided by Chris Tierney and Donskoi.

Special teams did not start off well for the Sharks. Their first power play in the opening period was cut short and  they then had a less than ideal first penalty kill in the second, in that it was cut short to where they were down 5-3. San Jose however had two shorthanded shots during the two-man advantage and another after. Logan Couture also had a chance which resulted in a power play for his team.

It was on the Sharks’ third man advantage they finally scored a power play goal for the fourth game in a row to make it 2-1. Tierney scored his first on the man advantage as he was helped by Meier and Kevin Labanc at 10 minutes of the second.  The play initially began back near the blue line when Brent Burns passed to Labanc and then Meier pushed the shot from Labanc back away after it hit goalie Mike Smith’s stick.  

San Jose re-tied the game at 7:39. The Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic lost the puck battle at the far blue line and Johnny Gaudreau converted on a 2-on-1 from Garnet Hathaway.

Game notes: Gaudreau had a game-high six shots. San Jose continues their three game Canadian road trip against the Vancouver Canucks Friday at 7pm.

 

Sharks get Capitalized 4-1 Ovie scores game winner

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~ (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s goal propelled him to 20th on the NHL goals list as well, in a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks Monday.

4-1 was also the score the last time Washington beat San Jose in regulation, back in 2009.

The Capitals capitalized as Ovechkin turned a miscue into a breakaway at 7:11 of the second. With an assist later in the game, it was his third point in two games, after a goal last match.

Washington has scored and the Sharks have given up their their third power play goal in two games.

In each of their last two games, the Capitals have scored four goals while San Jose have given up at least four goals since goalie Martin Jones came back from injury.

Both teams dominated in shots in different halves of the first period. Washington scored in their half as Devante Smith-Pelly made it 1-0 aided by John Carlson and Jay Beagle at 16:49.

Timo Meier got the Sharks back into the game helped by Justin Braun, the boards and Joe Pavelski on defense at 11:32 of the second.

At 18:00 though, Brenden Dillon was called for high-sticking.

It was a physical game of checking and it brought out frustrations as the Capitals were gunning for Sharks captain Joe Thornton after he hit T.J. Oshie with a upper body injury at 3:27 in second period and then the gloves dropped at 2:14 in the third period after the Caps had the second intermission to think about the Oshie hit.

“If someone were to grab Joe in the heat of the moment after the play because they thought a liberty was taken, then I’ve got no problem with that,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “But to go into the dressing room, think about it, come out in the first shift and do that premeditated crap is just garbage.”

Brett Connolly also scored his second goal in two games, assisted by Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov at 19:08.

With two attempts on net though, one from Ovechkin after, there was uncertainty though whether there were actual goals or just clangs off goalposts. After Connolly’s goal was confirmed, DeBoer issued an offside Coach’s Challenge, the goal was upheld and San Jose went back on the power play.

The Capitals made it 4-1 with another power play goal when Jakub Vrana was assisted by Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov.

Game notes: Washington’s T.J. Oshie left during the second with an upper-body injury after a hit by Joe Thornton. The Sharks’ Marcus Sorensen, who was called up due to injuries, had one shot on goal in 14 minutes of ice time. San Jose concluded with a 2-2 road trip. They play the first of a three game homestand Thursday versus the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30pm.