Author: smallforce

Alashe salvages game after Quakes’ own goal

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~ Photo credit: San Jose Earthquakes

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

CARSON– Late goals in the California Clasico highlighted the already intense competition between San Jose and the Los Angeles Galaxy in a 1-1 draw.

It was the largest crowd of the year at the StubHub Center, a 27,167 standing-room-only sellout.

As Thuc Nhi Nguyen mentioned, another Sebastian Lletget cross turned into an own goal, after a deflection by Marvell Wynne in the 83rd minute.

The own goal came after a flurry of shots against goalie David Bingham, several handled directly by him. Robbie Keane had a breakaway in the 78th minute and Giovani dos Santos followed with another breakaway in the same minute. Robbie Rogers also missed with a close chance in the 81th minute.

For the second goal, Shea Salinas put the ball towards the net from the right side. Goalie Brian Rowe was able to get a hand on it and Chad Barrett got to the ball after it landed on the grass on the left side. Barrett hung on to the ball, was blocked, played with his defender and then sent the ball in from the left side. Fatai Alashe finished with an equalizing header past Row in the 87th minute.

It was the fewest goals for Los Angeles since April 2.

Bingham was called on to make three saves in his 50th start for the team.

The Earthquakes had the majority of the possession in the first half, even in the early minutes, including a sequence for a while, that involved two corner kicks by Matias Perez Garcia leading up to the 9th minute.

Then Keane bounced a header wide in the 10th minute, during the Galaxy’s next opportunity.

Alashe had San Jose’s first shot in the 11th minute and forced Rowe to make his first save.

Rowe made his second save when the Earthquakes’ Chris Wondolowski made a shot from right outside the goal box after a collision with his defender caused him to go parallel in the 14th minute.

San Jose’s Shaun Francis had a nice takeaway from Mike Magee in the 20th minute.

The Earthquakes’ Alberto Quintero & Rogers made contact twice in a row in the 22nd & 23rd minutes. The second one ended with the game’s only yellow card to Quintero.

San Jose’s Victor Bernardez left the field temporarily after a kick in the face by Jelle Van Damme in the 24th minute.

Van Damme was able to avoid a yellow when he tripped Simon Dawkins outside the box in the 34th minute, resulting in a free kick.

In the 38th minute, Wondolowski with Daniel Steres behind him, hit the crossbar kicking from a left corner angle.

The last attempts in the first half came in stoppage time. Bingham made his first save when dos Santos shot at 45:24 and Wondolowski shot in the 46th minute.

Keane was the only one with multiple shot attempts for Los Angeles in the first half. Alashe, Perez Garcia and Dawkins all had two shots apiece. Wondolowski led all with three.   

In the first half, the Earthquakes had more passes, passing accuracy and possession with the Galaxy winning duels. In the second half, it was the opposite.

There were several upsetting challenges on both sides.

Los Angeles had its own missed opportunity off the crossbar when dos Santos’ shot bounced off in the 72nd minute. Giovani had a crossbar shot

San Jose’s Cordell Cato came on for his first MLS action of the year in the 77th minute. After being injured in the preseason, Cato played in the Earthquakes’ previous friendly game against La Liga Side Real Sociedad.
Game notes: The Galaxy now have a nine-game unbeaten streak and San Jose now three. Los Angeles’ is now 3-0-3 versus the Quakes at Stubhub since the 2012 playoffs. The Galaxy’s Nigel de Jong returned to play 88 minutes. Teammate Alan Gordon came in during the 90th minute. San Jose next plays FC Dallas Saturday at 7:30pm.

Arvidsson keeps Nashville alive

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~ (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Nashville’s Colin Wilson 33 celebrates after scoring on San Jose goalie Martin Jones in the third period of game six

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Viktor could not have chosen a better time to score his first career playoff goal, as he lifted his team from elimination to Game 7 Monday, in a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.

The third period buzzer conjured up thoughts of another extended overtime, but Arvidsson capped the game 2:03 beyond regulation as he went top shelf. Goalie Pekka Rinne and Miikka Salomaki had the assists. Melker Karlsson could not handle the puck at the blue line and Marc-Edouard Vlasic could not get enough of the stick on the puck to create a stop.

With the series tied 3-3, the Predators are in a familiar place, having won Game 6 after being down in their last series. Meanwhile, the Sharks have already played a game more than their last series, and both teams a lot more so, considering the triple overtime game. With no more room for losing though, both teams will need to give it their all if they hope to advance to the third round of the playoffs.

San Jose had a 2-0 lead in the first, but the lead lasted less than half a period.

Nashville both outshot (32-18) and outhit (39-23) the Sharks by a margin of 16. They were outshot 14-4 in the second and 11-5 in the third.

The Sharks’ Chris Tierney scored two goals less than two minutes apart. It was the first time in his career with a two-goal game.

Goal one came at 9:55. Vlasic shot at net from the left point and Tierney deflected the puck, as he moved to the center of the left faceoff circle. The goal went under video review to see if it deflected under the crossbar, but the call on the ice stood. Tomas Hertl had an assist.

At 11:51, Burns shot from the right point and Matt Nieto tried to put the puck in off the deflection. Then Tierney raced in from the other side to put the rebound in behind Rinne, who was facing the opposite way.

Roman Josi cut the lead in half at 15:27. The Predators got the puck in neutral zone and Josi’s shot made it bounce funny as it went in above Jones’ head.

Vlasic and Craig Smith were called for roughing at 19:45, setting up a 4-on-4.

Ryan Johansen, who had two chances, capitalized to tie the game at 1:25 of the second, during the continuation of the 4-on-4. During his first chance, he lost the puck to Logan Couture. Second time around, after a pass from Ryan Ellis, Johansen faked a shot in front of Justin Braun and then went around him to shoot right before Couture caught up with him.

Couture put San Jose back up with the game’s only power play goal at 10:04 of the third. He was aided by Burns and Thornton.

Wilson re-tied the game though, less than three minutes later. He was helped by James Neal and Mike Ribeiro.

Game notes: If the home team winning trend continues, the Sharks are in luck. Both teams head back to SAP Center Thursday, time TBA, for a pivotal Game 7.

Morris gets through over Wondo

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~ PC: San Jose Earthquakes

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ In a game with a lot of close chances, the Seattle Sounders won over San Jose 2-0 Saturday.

Both Jordan Morris and Chris Wondolowski had three close chances, but the one that went through put the game away.

As a rookie, Morris tied a MLS record with his fourth goal in as many games.   Silva first MLS start

The Quakes lost to Seattle for the first time since May 17, 2014 and went scoreless for the first time in 23 straight matches.

Sounders goalie Stefan Frei faced his least number of shots and saves since October 25th, 2015.

San Jose goalie’s six saves was the most he had since July 5, 2015.

Morris led with four shots, two of them were saved and one hit the post.

Clint Dempsey broke the deadlock in the 26th minute, aided by Erik Friberg and Morris. It was his first goal since April 2. It was Morris’ first assist.

Wondolowski lost his footing right in front of Frei in the 37th minute.

The Quakes’ Simon Dawkins hit the crossbar in the 59th minute.

Wondolowski had a high header in the 80th minute.

He then missed a rare penalty in the 84th minute. Wondolowski’s shot hit the post, just his second miss since 2014 and second miss in his last 12 penalties. He has now gone two straight games without a goal for the first time this season.

After two shots being saved and hitting the post throughout the game, Morris put the game away in the 89th minute, helped by Osvaldo Alonso. With a lot of players before Morris, he shot as defenders closed in from 25 yards out.  It was his first two point game and his most shots in a game (three).

There were four minutes of stoppage time. The last chance for San Jose came in the 91st minute, when Adam Jahn missed right with a header.

Game notes: The Quakes’ Matheus Silva made his first MLS start and had one shot. San Jose next plays the Houston Dynamo Wednesday at 7:30pm.

Sharks lose in triple overtime

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~ (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The Nashville Predators’ Mike Fisher’s second goal was the game winner at 111:12 minutes, as they evened the series 2-2 Friday morning Nashville time, with a 4-3 win over San Jose.

Game 4 was the Predator’s first playoff overtime win at Bridgestone Arena and their longest game. It was the Sharks’ second longest in playoff history.

Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm shot the puck at goalie Martin Jones. Fisher then corralled the loose puck, as he maneuvered his way around the front of Jones to score.

Looming large would be the controversial call made in the first overtime. This was the second review of a goal, this one coming with 12:26 left. The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski scored after running into Pekka Rinne, but his argument was that he was pushed by Paul Gaustad. It was ruled goalie interference, though the initial call on ice was that Pavelski gloved thepuck.

San Jose had power plays at 17:57 of double overtime and 7:59 of triple overtime, but were unable to convert. The final stanza was the only one in which the Predators did not have a power play.

Each team started on point with their first shots on goal.

Nashville got back to scoring just 41 seconds into the game. Ekholm shot from the blue line, was blocked by Marc-Edouard Vlasic in front of Jones, but Colin Wilson got the rebound and put in the puck behind Jones. It was Wilson’s second straight goal in as many games. He now has a five-game point streak. Ryan Ellis also got an assist. It is now the Sharks’ first playoff loss after giving up the opening goal this year.

San Jose kept pace. Paul Martin passed the puck to Couture before the first blue line, who passed to Brent Burns before the second blue line. Then from beyond the right faceoff circle, Burns got the puck past Rinne to tie the game at 3:08.

The Predators then went back up 2-1 on another rebound goal later. Speeding in on Jones’ right, Roman Josi passed behind to James Neal, shot at the net and Fisher scored on the rebound from Jones’ left at 9:50. Fisher now has a three-game point streak with points in each game of the series. His line scored all the goals.

At 12:09 of the second, thee Sharks finally got their first power play. They used that to their advantage just as it expired, at 14:09, to even the game again. Vlasic took a pass from Martin along the boards on his right and passed it to Joonas Donskoi on his left. It looked like Joel Ward, who was a part of a screen, got a piece of the puck, but Donskoi’s shot hit Ellis’ stick on its way into the net. The goal was first challenged for being offsides though.

San Jose took penalties at 18:38 of the second and 32 seconds into the third period.

Nashville took two penalties in the third three minutes apart and struck gold on the second to take their first lead. The first penalty was because Miikka Salomaki hit Logan Couture from behind. The second was for kneeing by Barret Jackman. Joe Thornton won the faceoff, got it to Burns behind, who passed it to Couture. Couture then passed to Burns and as he shot at the net, the puck deflected in off Josi 10 seconds into the power play. The last time Burns scored two goals was December 22.

Neal created the 3-3 tie that led to overtime with less than five minutes left in the third period. It began with his first shot missing to the right of Jones. Wilson picked up Neal’s rebound off the boards, then passed to Ellis. Ellis’ shot was deflected to Neal off Fisher and Neal did not miss with his second shot.

Shea Weber’s high stick drew blood from Martin with 2:03 left in double overtime, and was ruled a two minute penalty.

Shots were 11-4 in favor of the Sharks during the period.

Jones stopped a Wilson breakaway in triple overtime. He faced a total of 43 shots, Rinne a total of 44.

Game notes: Josi finished with a game-high ice time of 49:42. Game 5 goes back to San Jose Saturday at 7pm.

Sharks lose in tale of reversals

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~ (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ In these playoffs, it was both the worst loss for San Jose and the best win for the Nashville  Predators, who won 4-1 Tuesday.

The Sharks have only scored one goal one other time and it was their only other loss, as they lost with their biggest margin.

Nashville scored four for the first time and won by their biggest margin as San Jose gave up four goals for the first time this playoffs.

The power play results were also not indicative of the way they had been going.

The Sharks went 0-for-4 while the Predators went 2-for-5.

Nashville’s Captain Shea Weber scored on his only shot and had an assist.

San Jose’s Patrick Marleau scored the first first period goal of the series with his 62nd playoff goal at 13:13. After taking a pass from Tomas Hertl right before the blue line, Marleau sped past Roman Josi, Weber and then goalie Pekka Rinne, who fell to his knees before somewhat making a save attempt with his stick. Marc-Edouard Vlasic also got an assist.

The Predators came back to take the lead with two in the second.

The Sharks’ Joonas Donskoi got called for a double minor for a hi stick against James Neal.

Neal then converted halfway past the midpoint of the penalty. From the right faceoff circle, Neal shot the puck off the boards. Mattias Ekholm then gave the puck back to Neal at the circle, who scored past goalie Martin Jones. Ryan Johansen also aided.

San Jose’s Matt Nieto took a penalty at 12:57. One minute later, Craig Smith also took a penalty. Weber scored while it was 4-on-4. Donskoi lost the puck along the blue line and Johansen had the puck checked away by Brent Burns. That put the puck in the path of Weber, who with an angled body, shot straightaway at 14:44.

After having their first shot of the third period with 13:11 left, Nashville scored six seconds later.  Ryan Ellis shot the puck off the backboard and Colin Wilson put the rebound in the space behind Jones. Mike Fisher also had an assist.

The 4-1 score came at 15:49. With defenseman Roman Polak in front of him, Filip Forsberg’s puck hit the crossbar before going in. Josi and Weber also helped.

Game notes: It was the lowest shot total for the Predators this series. Sissons had to leave the ice after his knee hit the goalpost.

Quakes end Philly’s winning streak a man down

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~ Photo by Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Simon Dawkins gave San Jose another late goal, as he scored in the 83th minute, garnering a 1-1 tie with the Philadelphia Union Saturday.

Though technically the Union are still unbeaten at home, through four games this season and six overall, it was a hard earned point for the Quakes. They have now extended their MLS-high active streak to 22 games with a goal.

Dawkin’s goal, after shaking off defenders down the middle, was just the second goal given up by Philadelphia during their winning streak (10-2). It was the Union’s lowest scoring game at home this season, where they average at least two goals.

San Jose goalie David Bingham made his first and only save against a C.J. Sapong header in the 26th minute.

Chris Pontius made it 1-0 in the 30th minute. He got his second goal in as many games, both in the first half, as he headed a corner kick from Tranquillo Barnetta to the right netting.

The Quakes’ Fatai Alashe was awarded a yellow card one minute later and came close to getting another card not too long after.

Teammate Godoy also received a yellow in the 35 minute.

Alberto Quintero had a close shot against Andre Blake in the 43th minute

Innocent, playing for an injured Quincy Amarikwa and Sapong led with two shots apiece in the first half.

In the 59th minute, San Jose went a man down when Godoy was awarded another yellow, resulting in a red card.

The Quakes’ Matias Perez Garcia came in as a substitution in the 76th minute, taking Shea Salinas’ place at the corner flag. Shaun Francis was wide open, but shot high.

Sapong and Dawkins finished the game with three shots apiece.

Game notes: Before the game, Philadelphia’s Brian Carroll was honored for playing in 350 MLS games. San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski played in his 200th game. It was the Quakes’ first road tie against the Union in the all-time series. The Quakes were without a suspended Andres Imperiale. With his fifth yellow in six games, San Jose will now be without Godoy for the next two games. The Quakes now head to a back-to-back road contest for the first time this season, starting May on Saturday the 7th, facing Seattle at 7pm.

 

Donskoi scores two, as Sharks bounce back to clinch Round 1

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~ (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES– Epitomizing the series, Game 5 was not easy, as San Jose came back from giving up three to defeat the Kings for good, 5-3, in their fifth season win at Staples Center Friday.

Rookie Joonas Donskoi scored two goals in a game for the first time in his career, as he nabbed his first and second career playoff goals. It was a game where the young ones stood up, as fellow rookie Melker Karlsson scored his first NHL career playoff goal and so did Chris Tierney. Matt Nieto got his first of the playoffs and third career playoff goal. Logan Couture and Brent Burns had three assist apiece, both career playoff highs, via Darin Stephens.

Between the teams, it was the Sharks’ first Game 5 win and the shortest series. This playoff season, it was the only game not decided by one goal.

Like Game 4, San Jose built a 3-0 lead, but this one was achieved a period earlier, by 4:05 of the second period. By the end of the period though, it was a whole new game.

It wasn’t the Sharks’ first shot of the game but the second worked just as well, 1:08 into the game. After crossing the blue line, Couture passed to Donskoi, who scored from the right faceoff circle, with a hopping Couture avoiding the puck in front of goalie Jonathan Quick. It was Donskoi’s second point of the playoffs, with an assist in Game 1.

Los Angeles’ Luke Schenn was called for interference at 2:45 as Tomas Hertl slid into the net. 16 seconds later, on the other end of the ice, Dustin Brown was called for tripping, resulting in a 5-on-3. However, San Jose only garnered two shots on goal.

In a similar fashion to Donskoi, Tierney made it 2-0 at 11:21. With Schenn already in front, a battling Jake Muzzin and Tommy Wingels added havoc in front of Quick. It was Tierney’s first point of the series and first goal since the day before Valentine’s. Burns got the assist.

The Kings had a power play late in the game at 16:27, but their attempt was lackluster as well, with no shots on goal.

The Sharks finished the period with the advantage in shots (13-4), blocked shots (9-3), hits (12-10) and takeaways (1-0). San Jose’s Roman Polak had three hits and four blocked shots.

Los Angeles came into the second with a lot of pressure, but scored first again at 4:05. From the boards, Couture made a pass behind to Joel Ward in front of the net. Ward in turn passed across to Nieto, who scored through Quick’s exposed right side. It was Nieto’s third career playoff goal.

San Jose’s Patrick Marleau was awarded a penalty shot on a breakaway, but his shot was saved at 5:31.

Then, the Sharks’ lead slowly sputtered.

Anze Kopitar won the faceoff and it went to Drew Doughty. His shot just got a piece of Dwight King and hit Kopitar’s skate, as the puck went past Martin Jones’ glove at 7:44 to end the shutout.

The 3-2 goal came at 11:26. From the boards, Muzzin got the puck to Jeff Carter, who had time to maneuver the puck and lift it in position to score, as Justin Braun tried to defend in front of Jones. Tyler Toffoli also got an assist.

After the puck bounced all around, the game was tied. Kyle Clifford shot at the right side of the net. It ended up on Jones’ exposed right side, and Kris Versteeg put the puck past Jones at 16:36. Muzzin got the second assist.

San Jose did not take too long to recover. Donskoi started and ended the game winning goal, skating to the net, but was initially stopped by Doughty. Burns was then able to pick up the loose puck and passed it back to Donskoi, who had gone behind the net to the other side, scoring at 3:58.

Sharks’ Captain Joe Pavelski then went five-hole with his fifth of the playoff series, aided by Burns and Paul Martin at 12:24.

Karlsson completed the 6-3 win with an empty net assist from Marleau at 19:38.

Game notes: This was the lone game without a power play in the postseason series. Pavelski left for a brief hiatus because of his right thumb in the first period. San Jose will face either the Nashville Predators or the Anaheim Ducks in Round 2.

Sharks get first lead and Game 2

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~ (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES — San Jose had the first leadoff goal at Staples Center this year, as goalie Martin Jones and the defense in front of him won over the Kings 2-1 Saturday.

Jones was on his way to a shutout until another late game scramble gave Los Angeles a goal.

He has won his last three starts while facing an increasing amount of shots, this latest game turning away 26 of 27 shots. Both teammate Paul Martin and Coach Peter DeBoer talked about his composure. Martin said, “When something happens…not too high, not too low. He’s very focused that way, so I think for us to play in front of him, calms us to know that he’s back there.”

The Sharks captain Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, two points for the second straight game and now has a four game goal streak.

Pavelski scored on San Jose’s first shot of the game for the second game in a row. Teammate Joe Thornton, who returned to the scoreboard, made a quick and close pass to Brent Burns along the side, who made another quick pass to Pavelski. From the center of the right faceoff circle, he shot it into the net with teammate Tomas Hertl in front of goalie Jonathan Quick at 3:37 of the first.

Pavelski and teammate Logan Couture led the first with two shots apiece. The Kings had five giveaways to the Sharks’ one.

San Jose’s Joel Ward had to leave during the second due to a hit, but was able to return later.

The Sharks got a 5-on-3 due to calls against Tyler Toffoli for roughing and Milan Lucic for charging at 8:14. San Jose took advantage 30 seconds later. Quick saved the initial shot by Pavelski, but Couture put in the rebound. Patrick Marleau got the second assist. That gave their fourth straight power play goal and 15th in 19 games. Couture’s last goal was April 5 and also a game winner.

It looked like it was going to be another quiet third.

There were overlapping power plays at 11:28. San Jose’s Nick Spaling was called for tripping and 29 seconds later, the Kings’ Jeff Carter was called for slashing.

38 seconds after the second power play expired, Los Angeles went on the power play again.

53 seconds into the power play, Vincent Lecavalier scored, aided by Jake Muzzin and Tanner Pearson.  

The teams finished with a combined 87 hits, 40-47. DeBoer said, “It was a hard fought game. It was a man’s game out there. A lot of physical contact, a lot of battles; two teams fully invested…”

Los Angeles’ Alec Martinez was out, as were Kyle Clifford and Andy Andreoff. In was Nick Shore, Marian Gaborik, who returned after being out over two months and Jamie McBain. Coach Daryl Sutter said, “…I thought [Jamie] McBain was our best defensemen and that Gabby [Marian Gaborik] was our best winger.” It was McBain’s first career playoff game.

Game notes: In playoff Game 2 comparisons, the 2013 Round 2 game was a 4-3 score. Both teams are now even at two apiece in Game 2’s. The Kings’ Drew Doughty finished with 29:15 of ice time. The margins for missed shots and attempts blocked were 11 (17-28, 13-24 Los Angeles-Sharks). San Jose will head to home ice, starting with Game 3 Monday at 7:30pm.

Sharks stay perfect amidst controversy in Game 1

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(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES– The Los Angeles Kings had the first goal, but San Jose had the final say, as the Sharks beat the Kings 4-3 Thursday at Staples Center.

San Jose is three for three at Staples Center this season. When facing Los Angeles in the first round, the Sharks have won all Game 1’s. This was the first Game 1 in the first round at Staples.

San Jose’s Joe Pavelski scored twice for the first time since February 29 and netted the game winner 17 seconds into the third period. He also had the game winner in Game 1 of the 2011 series between the teams.

It was the first win by the Sharks in 34 games without Joe Thornton having a point.

It was a physical first period as expected. Both teams combined for 38 hits. The Kings’ Jeff Carter led with four hits.

Los Angeles scored first for the third time in the three games at Staples this season.

Tanner Pearson got the puck from the boards and passed it to Milan Lucic at the top of the right faceoff circle. Lucic then passed it to Jake Muzzin who came up from behind. Muzzin neared the right of Jones and an early reaction by Jones had him away from the net. This allowed Muzzin to put the puck in behind Jones. The puck then went in off Tomas Hertl’s skate at 2:53.

San Jose then got a power play off interference by Anze Kopitar.

The Sharks took advantage, with Pavelski scoring another power play, this one on their first shot. The play went from faceoff circle to faceoff circle, as the puck went from Logan Couture to Brent Burns behind him to Pavelski, who one-timed it at 6:25. It was Pavelski’s third straight goal in as many games and San Jose’s 14th power play goal in 18 games.

Muzzin led with two shots in the first period.

The back-to-back went to new heights in the second period thanks to penalties, as both teams scored two goals apiece.

The Sharks were at a 33% to 67% faceoff disadvantage after the first period, but off Joel Ward’s faceoff win, Burns scored at 6:50. Then two seconds later, Ward was called for interference.

The Kings would score on that second power play opportunity of the period and the game. It was another deflected goal in the same area as the first. Jeff Carter was against two defenders. The puck hit Burns’ stick, then goalie Martin Jones’ shoulder on its way into the net at 7:30. Lucic and Kopitar got the assists.

The major controversy came when Hertl had a goal waved off for high sticking. Sportsnet’s Mike Johnson was between the benches and said: “Kevin Pollock the referee comes over and says ‘we missed it. What can we do, we missed it.'” San Jose then got their first power play opportunity of the period at 9:47.  

Despite that, the Sharks nearly scored again but were denied twice. Pavelski hit the post, Patrick Marleau got the rebound and was denied by Drew Doughty in the net.

Los Angeles drew another power play at 13:27. 20 seconds after it expired, San Jose got another power play, but the Kings ended up scoring shorthanded. Singlehandedly, Trevor Lewis got the puck in his end, went the other way, Burns dove and Lewis scored at 17:18.

30 seconds later, one second after the Sharks’ power play expired, Hertl ended up getting his goal after a spin-o-rama by Ward. Joonas Donskoi also aided on the play.

Pavelski’s second goal of the game came as a wraparound. Los Angeles outshot San Jose 10-3 in the final stanza.

Game notes: Jones made 21 saves in his first postseason start. The Kings had 20 giveaways to the Sharks’ eight. San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Nieto returned since almost exactly a month ago, after missing a dozen games. Respectively, Vlasic finished a +2, with a team-high 23:23 of ice time, one shot, one hit, one giveaway and three blocked shots and Nieto finished with one shot and three hits. Alec Martinez returned for Los Angeles, finishing with two blocked shots, but was off the ice the final period. San Jose has now won their last four road games.    They will go for five when they return to Staples for Game 2 Saturday, with the puck dropping at 7:30pm again.

Sharks tame Wild

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~ PC: Jim Mone AP Photo

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ San Jose cruised to a franchise record 28th road win with a 3-0 blanking of Minnesota Tuesday.

The Sharks also earned the NHL’s best road record, as they finished their last road game in the regular season.

San Jose’s James Reimer made 29 saves in his third shutout for the team, all of them within the last month. Teammate Patrick Marleau had two goals for the first time since October 10.

It was the Wild’s fourth straight loss, but it was not the worst loss, as with the Colorado Avalanche’s loss as well, Minnesota was able to clinch the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

The Wild struggled with two goals or less again in their losing streak. The last time they were shutout though was January 16.

Meanwhile, it was the Sharks’ seventh consecutive game with at least two goals. They last shutout their opponent March 20.

Logan Couture struck first at 4:43 of the first period with his only shot of the game. After a cross ice pass from Joonas Donskoi on his left, Brenden Dillon shot towards the net. Couture then grabbed the deflection in the air and scored as he pushed toward the net, with Joel Ward in the mix.

Marleau made sure to get his first goal the second time around. Coming from behind the net, Brent Burns passed it to Joe Thornton, who passed around the horn to Couture. Couture shot the puck against the boards and Marleau shot it past Devan Dubnyk at 5:31 of the second period.

Minnesota’s Erik Haula narrowly missed with a post shot in the second.

Marleau scored again at 18:15 of the third, aided by Melker Karlsson and Dillon.

Game notes: None of the Wild finished with a positive plus/minus rating. Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon returned with one shot, one hit and one block as he earned the third star of the game. Teammate Zac Dalpe had two shots and three hits in his debut for the team. San Jose lost faceoffs 34-18. The Sharks play their second to last game of the regular season Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets at 7:30pm.