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Wondo in Seattle

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Photo credit: Major League Soccer @MLS

By Pearl Allison Lo

It was San Jose’s turn to score three goals, as Chris Wondolowski accounted for the majority, with the Quakes breaking their winless streak 3-2, against the Sounders Saturday.

Seattle was coming off a 3-0 win and had recent success at home against San Jose.

The Quakes instead went with recent success overall, now 7-2-1 since 2012 and won for the first time since August 2, when they also beat the Sounders. Wondolowski also hit the equalizer in that game.

Seattle’s least favorite player, Wondolowski, who scored two goals, now has nine goals in 14 games against them.

Quakes’ Coach Dominic Kinnear and goalie David Bingham got their first wins.

San Jose’s Innocent Emeghara got his first MLS goal as well as his team increased their resiliency and defense with a man down amidst increasing second half pressure. Seattle more than doubled their passes from the first half and had eight corners, 22 crosses and nine shots (seven on target) in the second half.

Less than a minute into the game, 18 seconds to be exact, the Sounders’ Clint Dempsey picked up right where he left off, with two goals his last game. Dempsey had a header off the Tyrone Mears save by Bingham while Bingham was lying down. The defender next to Dempsey fell after kicking towards the ball. It was the fastest goal in Seattle franchise history.

Wondolowski had a header into the post in the 9th minute.

His next opportunity came from Marvell Wynne kicking the ball forward and then chasing it down before it reached the endline. Wynne then passed the ball to Wondolowski who directly in front of the net, received the ball off his chest and kicked it past diving goalie Stefan Frei in the 13th minute. It was Wynne’s fist assist.

The Quakes’ Matias Perez Garcia had a shot go wide left in stoppage time.

At the end of the first half, San Jose had 17 to the Sounders’ six clearances. Wondolowski was the only one with more than one shot.

In the 48th minute, Wondolowski gave the Quakes the lead with the help of Brad Evans losing the ball. Wondolowski did not hesitate as he kicked the ball over a bent backwards Frei who had his hands above his head.

Four minutes later, San Jose went down a man when Victor Bernardez received a red card in the 57th minute.

Bingham had a number of saves at points amidst corner kicks, including a header from Dempsey at one end. At the other end, Dempsey also narrowly missed sliding the ball into the net.

Emeghara’s goal came in the 70th minute. He passed the ball to Adam Jahn, who passed it right back to him with space. Emeghara faked out Brad Evans and kicked it past a diving Frei before another defender could get back in time.

Obafemi Martins cut the margin to one in the 84th minute. Possession started with Shea Salinas giving the ball away. Eventually, Gonzalo Pineda got the ball to Andy Rose who got the ball before it went out of bounds. Rose then found Martins who was behind the Quakes’ Shaun Francis who was behind Bingham, as Martins calmly put the ball in before Fatai Alashe could get back in time. Martins also scored in his last game.

Seattle is now 20-1-0 when Martins scores.

Game notes: Both Nigerian, Martins and Emeghara traded jerseys post-game. All three San Jose rookies were in the starting lineup tonight, Alashe and Emeghara getting their first shot. Teammate Ty Harden made his first season appearance in the second half. The Quakes finished with 46 to the Sounders’ eight clearances. San Jose will now have their official home opener at Avaya Stadium, hosting the Chicago Fire March 22 at 4pm.

Quakes’ blocked shot eventually leads to game-winner

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Photo: Matthew Emmons, Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

By Pearl Allison Lo

Four minutes of stoppage were golden for FC Dallas as Blas Perez scored in the 92nd minute to take down San Jose Saturday 1-0 in the teams’ season opener.

It was Perez’s 32nd career goal in what was looking to be a draw. Goalie David Bingham came forward to block Victor Ulloa’s kick from just past midfield. However, Bingham deflected the ball directly to Moises Hernandez. Hernandez then kicked the ball toward the goal and Perez redirected Hernandez’s shot into the net with a header.

Perez led all with three shots on goal.

Regarding the goal, Bingham replied, “It’s a learning curve. It’s a little bit of communication, probably more on my part. He didn’t hear me coming. He didn’t know there was no one around. So, he went to clear it and I was coming out and we had a little mix up and then the guy duffs a shot wide and Perez was there to put it back in.”

San Jose now has a 16-game regular season winless streak, their successful preseason in the rearview mirror for now. The game would have been a rare draw for them as well.

In the 20th minute, FC Dallas had a free kick. Mauro Diaz set up Perez on the left but Bingham cut the shot off.

Two minutes later, Fabian Castillo found Perez, who was waving for the ball in front of the net. Perez got it past Victor Bernardez, but could not get it past new acquisition Paulo Renato, who had set himself up behind Bingham and alertly cleared the ball.

The first half leaders were the Quakes’ Chris Wondolowski with four shots, one shot on goal and Perez with three shots, two shots on goal.

Both ended up finishing with five shots apiece.

The second half saw five yellow cards, all by San Jose or former players.

The first one came in the 50th minute by former Quake Atiba Harris.

Shaun Francis saw yellow in the 67th minute when he fouled to stop a counterattack.

In the 77th minute, Shea Salinas received a yellow after losing possession to Michael Barrios when Salinas was coming out of the Quakes’ end. Barrios had just entered the game two minutes earlier.

The last two yellows came in stoppage time.

Sanna Nyassi went for the ball and ran into Castillo instead in the 92nd minute.

During the frantic pushing time for the equalizer, Adam Jahn was penalized in the 94th minute for contact.

Talking about the offense, Quakes’ head coach Dominic Kinnear commented, “…away from home, especially in the first half and some other moments, we had some good looks and we were just missing that last little pass, last little bit of aggression to get something on net.”

Game notes: San Jose’s Marvell Wynne played the whole 90 minutes in his team debut. Teammates and MLS newbies Fatai Alashe and Innocent Emeghara came into the game during the 81st and 89th minute respectively. The Quakes are now below .500 on the road versus FC Dallas at 10-11-6. San Jose was also shutout in the teams’ last game, though by a lesser margin, that final 5-0. The Quakes will next face the 2014 Western Conference Champions, the Seattle Sounders, Saturday at 7pm.

Sharks hang tough

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Photo credit: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

By Pearl Allison Lo

San Jose faced a stiffer challenge Tuesday, but prevailed once again in a 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The Sharks (72) are now three points away from the Canucks and kept pace with the Calgary Flames and the Los Angeles Kings, who both won.

Antti Niemi stopped 26 shots as he and company have now won five straight at Vancouver.

San Jose’s Matt Nieto had two goals and an assist, the Canucks’ Henrik Sedin had two goals, his twin Daniel had two assists and the Sharks’ Patrick Marleau had two assists.

Jacob Markstrom did not have the easiest of season debuts as San Jose continued their scoring from the Montreal game.

After going back down on Saturday and then coming back up from Worcester Monday, Chris Tierney scored the first of the Sharks’ goals and his second NHL goal. Vancouver turned over the puck and Tierney’s defenseman had no stick as Tierney scored his second straight at Rogers Arena. Barclay Goodrow aided at 3:03.

The Sharks’ Melker Karlsson had the help of lucky bounces and himself as he saw the puck come from over the top of the net. While he was on his side, he got a hold of the puck and then facing the opposite way of the net, put the puck past Markstrom. Joe Pavelski and Matt Irwin helped as Karlsson also scored the last time the teams met.

27 seconds later, Logan Couture made it 3-0 as Nieto and Marleau assisted. The team made their shots count. At this point, it was just their fourth shot.

Eddie Lack then came in for Markstrom.

San Jose was challenged in the second period. Special teams, defense and offense were pivotal in their survival.

Henrik got the Canucks on the board in the second during a power play that started with less than 30 seconds left in the first. He scored at 1:01, aided by Daniel and Radim Vrbata.

Henrik then got his third goal in two games at 9:12 as Niemi’s left side was exposed with no defender. Daniel got the primary assist again and Chris Higgins the second as Vancouver made it a one-goal game.

Marleau found Nieto, who gave the Sharks a much needed 4-2 cushion at 11:45.

That goal became so much more important when over a minute later, the Canucks had a 5-on-3 advantage. A high stick to Marleau was tacked on to a Goodrow cross check, but San Jose escaped unscathed.

The third period saw the Sharks notch two empty-netters, which gave them the most this season so far, 14, over Vancouver with 13.

Nieto scored the first goal, giving him a two-goal game for the second time.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic followed suit less than a minute later.

Game notes: San Jose’s Justin Braun finished a game high +4, teammate Brenden Dillon had a game-tying four hits and a game-high four blocked shots, the Canucks outhit the Sharks 22 to 12, won faceoffs by 65 to 35% and had 16 missed shots to six. San Jose now kicks off a four-game home set, starting with Vancouver again, Saturday at 7pm.

After the Stadium Series

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By Pearl Allison Lo

SANTA CLARA– Catchy songs performed by Neon Velvet on stage set the mood at Spectator Plaza during the pre-game festivities. Among other activities and special opportunities, fans were able to take a picture on a Zamboni, with a giant “This is Sharks Territory” sign and with the giant SAP Center shark head. Giveaways include free stress pucks with teal from Sharks Ice, Geico foam hockey sticks with an opening for you to put them around your head and Authentic Fan signs that on one side read, ‘I was an authentic fan at the first outdoor game ever.’ Being a part of the crowd also meant seeing the awed faces of fans as they passed through the gates, including a kid’s shock at the size of the crowd when his mom put him atop her shoulders.

The NHL takeover of the Levi’s Stadium app to link cell phone lights with musical performances increased in intensity throughout the game. Perhaps it could have been more effective through the NHL app. Possible reasons for lack of participation may have been because people missed the announcement, were away from their seats, were concerned about battery life, security, did not know how to or did not want to download an app they did not have yet.

The total attendance was 70,205. Commissioner Bettman believed, “…of the Stadium Series games it was the most well-attended.”

Asked about the crowd noise, San Jose  Sharks’ Coach Todd McLellan responded, “You could tell it was loud.  But it’s not as loud as the Shark tank with 20,000 people and a ceiling over top of you.  You know, you have to yell down the bench. But the noise dissipated and kind of went up and out.”

On the results plus the atmosphere, the Sharks’ Brent Burns replied, “It’s tough not to win, but…it’s a pretty amazing experience to play in a place like that…”

Teammate Joe Pavelski stated, “…Losing just sucks…in any setting. Today would have been a better event with the win…An event like this, you expect a lot. It didn’t disappoint. It was awesome being out there. It was the fans, fireworks…”

McLellan added on the loss, “But maybe this was a little more significance, obviously, because we had — this was our show.  These were our fans. This is Sharks Territory, if you want, that’s probably the best way to put it.

Asked about the ice, McLellan replied, “I thought Dan and his staff did a tremendous job of putting it together, and considering we’re playing in California and the temperature is 60° or whatever it might be, it held up very well. I didn’t think our group, especially early in the game, understood the impact that that ice could have. It took us between periods to adjust and simplify, and we used that word before the game as well.”

San Jose’s Logan Couture mimicked the unexpectedness, “Tonight, the ice was so, I don’t want to say bad, but it wasn’t what we’re used to, so it was tough to make plays through the neutral zone.”

Los Angeles Kings’ Coach Daryl Sutter added, “It’s hard to have great ice because it was so humid as the game went on.  But I think they were doing everything they could to get snow off…” 

Regarding Los Angeles just having played a Stadium Series as an upper hand, Sutter didn’t think there was an advantage, but Kings’ Marian Gaborik replied, “Maybe a little bit…”

On highlights, McLellan mentioned, “Of course tonight walking out, you talk about moments where the hair stands up on your neck, and tonight was one of those moments when you walked out. 

Couture similarly added and elaborated, “ …I think the coolest part was walking up to the ice, coming off after periods. Some of the times, you’re coming off alone, because guys are getting their skate cards on, and the fans are all standing and cheering and chanting your name individually. It’s a feeling that’s pretty indescribable.”

The stadium atmosphere may have carried onto the ice as McLellan admitted, “I’d be lying if I said there were a couple of times where guys were slow jumping on the ice because maybe their eyes were wandering, maybe their minds were wandering, but that’s human.” 

When asked what  was  his  experience  personally  with the facility, the Commissioner said, “…having this game in   Silicon   Valley,   and  perhaps  the  most  technologically  advanced stadium/arena in the world was fabulous.  This stadium is state-of-the-art, first  class.  And I think this community that can be proud of what the 49ers have added to it with this spectacular facility…when you walk around the stadium  and  you  see how well designed it is and how well built it is and all the features it has, it’s a wonderful, wonderful facility.”

Asked if he could envision coming back to California for another outdoor game time soon, Bettman replied, “Well, the soon part I don’t know the answer to because the games, the outdoor games, remain in such demand.  Do I envision us  coming  back  at  some  point  for  more outdoor games?  The answer is: absolutely. It’s  been  great. We couldn’t have asked for a better time, whether  it  was  last  year  at  Dodger  Stadium  or  here at Levi’s.  The combination  of  seeing  this  many NHL hockey fans in California shows you exactly  what the game has accomplished — what these three franchises have accomplished  — in a relatively brief period of time, if you compare their history, say, to the Original Six.”

Stadium Series preview

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By Pearl Allison Lo

The day before, the NHL and SAP introduced their new website http://www.nhl.com/stats during the NHL Inovation Event and mentioned four phases, phase two starting in April. There was talk about enhanced stats and making the playoffs, making more selective visualizations, advanced filters, predictions, new metrics and historical data, digitizing handwritten game sheets. Eddie Olczyk moderated before a well represented audience of about 75 people. Present as well was NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Quentin Clark, SAP Chief Technology Officer and others.

The San Jose Sharks were the first team to practice and afterwards there was a family and friends skate before they talked to the media in the 49ers locker room.

Tommy Wingels

Impression on the reinvented stadium? “Yeah, I’m at a loss of words for it, from following all the stuff on social media, to coming here, and seeing it firsthand…it’s really, really cool.”

Stop talking about California as a nontraditional hockey market? The fact that they’re moving American hockey league teams here… Hockey’s really taking off here and I think it’s a testament to the Sharks, Ducks, the Kings, what they’ve done with their youth programs and getting young kids involved… It’s great for the sport.”

Do you need to re-energize your fan base the way the past year’s gone? “I think every game is an opportunity to do that…but a great environment to show what kind of team we are.”

How do you balance the importance of the game with enjoying the expierience as a whole? “I think you try to enjoy it with your friends and family and the whole experience on days like today, maybe warm-ups tomorrow, but once the puck drops, you switch to a more business-like mentality.”

Odd instead of seeing the arena roof, you’re seeing the sky? “Yeah, it’s a different atmosphere. I think it’ll be a much better atmosphere tomorrow. You look up, you see all the advertisements, you see the beautiful stadium here, but when it’s filled with hopefully, 70,000 Sharks fans, no LA fans…”

First reaction? “Just kind of some shock and awe of how cool this experience is going to be… From the moment we were announced to host the game, we’ve had a lot of thoughts and countdowns…so to get out here today and get the jitters out, you really enjoy the experience with your friends and family. It’s really cool and it’s something that’ll be a memory for our whole life.”

About the eye black most of the team was sporting…Is the eye black to reduce the glare or is it to make you look tougher? “It’s for the glare…Talking to guys who put on these games before, they recommend using it, so you got to go with what the experts are saying…He said, even more so, with the stadium lights…We’ll try it out, maybe decide to take it off after warmups, maybe you add more. It’ll be a gametime kind of thing.”

The warmest skate ever with full gear on? “Absolutely…you see the coaches sweating from running the practice, that says it all right there…I’d rather be warm than having to put on the extra  layers.”

Make it harder to play? “Your breathing’s different…and the recovery’s different.”

About Levi’s, “…to see it and to play a game in it, is unbelievable, you know you see some of the Niners trainers here and walk around, and  see where certain players sit it’s really cool. It’s the home you share with another athlete in the Bay Area…”

Matt Nieto

On Levi’s, “Its such a nice stadium, you know those HD screens, they’re huge. It’s a really nice arena. We got a nice setup here in the locker room and stuff so it’s been great.”

How excited to be on the ice? “Everyone was real excited. We bused over from the practice rink. That’s probably the most fun all of us have had in a long time at a practice. It’s pretty crazy. Everyone’s going to have a lot of fun. The fans’ll enjoy it…”

As a California kid, how unbelievable is it to have an outdoor game in your home state?” It’s pretty crazy. It’s going to be a good experience for me and a lot of other guys here…there’s going to be a ton of fans here. I just can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Before the game tomorrow, Spectator Plaza will be the place to be from 4p to 7p. As the NHL put it, The pre-game hockey and entertainment festival for ticketed fans will extend the celebration of the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ with live musical performances; interactive hockey-themed attractions, prizes and giveaways; food and beverages; and retail tents with an extensive selection of officially-licensed 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ merchandise and collectibles.

With the win over the Dallas Stars Thursday, San Jose is now tied with Calgary, one point behind Vancouver and two points ahead of the Kings.

Fourth line stars in win

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(AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

By Pearl Allison Lo

With Antti Niemi, the San Jose Sharks’ fourth line was tops over the Dallas Stars with a 5-1 win Thursday heading into the Stadium Series.

Andrew Desjardins’ second goal of the night was the game-winner and marked a season-high for him. It was also Desjardins’ second career two-goal game. Justin Braun and Tomas Hertl aided at 6:15 to make it 3-0. The goal also took out starting goalie Kari Lehtonen in favor of Jhonas Enroth.

Desjardins’ fellow linemates Hertl had two assists overall and Chris Tierney had one. Niemi stopped 37 shots, his most since October 30.

Dallas’ Trevor Daley had a goal and an assist and Jamie Benn had two assists.

The Stars outshot the Sharks 15-4 in the third.

San Jose scored first at 3:24 of the first period. Joe Pavelski passed to Logan Couture who skillfully skated away from his defender and Marc-Edouard Vlasic crashed the net.

Initially credited to Hertl, Desjardins scored his first goal at 3:38 of the second after tipping Hertl’s shot. Tierney’s assist came during this sequence.

Dallas got on the board just over 30 seconds into San Jose’s first penalty kill at 8:00. Benn’s attempts landed against Niemi’s pad and then Daley came in to put the puck through. Jason  Spezza earned his 36th assist.

The Stars then added real pressure 17:44 into the third. After Niemi had already made two saves, Benn found Erik Cole from behind the net to make it 3-2. Daley got his assist on the play.Patrick Marleau though, gave the Sharks more breathing room with an empty netter at 18:55, aided by James Sheppard and Tommy Wingels added another 11 seconds later to put the game out of reach. Wingels was helped by Pavelski and Brenden Dillon.

Game notes: Dallas had 13 giveaways. Vlasic had seven of the Sharks’ 24 blocked shots. San Jose is now 0-5 on the power play in the last two games. Brent Burns got into his first regular season scrap as a member of the Sharks, his second overall. The last time San Jose scored five goals was February 5 against the Canucks, as the Sharks broke their three-game losing streak. San Jose is now tied with Calgary, one point behind Vancouver and two points ahead of the Kings. The Sharks will now travel home for the Stadium Series to host Los Angeles Saturday at 7pm.

Rinne rocks Sharks

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(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Pearl Allison Lo

The Nashville Predators’ goalie was a rockstar, stopping 42 shots, including three straight, in a 5-1 win over San Jose Tuesday.

Nashville pushed their win streak to a season-high six games and have scored at least three goals in each.

The Sharks have given up at least four goals in five of its last six games, all of those losses.

Craig Smith scored twice, which included the game-winner. Teammate Mike Ribeiro pressured San Jose’s Matt Nieto into shooting the puck off the boards, and then got to the puck before Marc-Edouard Vlasic could. Smith then put in Mattias Ekholm’s rebound, which went off Alex Stalock’s glove at 16:02 of the first.

Ribeiro also had another assist and teammate Shea Weber had a goal and an assist.

The Sharks got on the board first. Matt Irwin started the play behind the net and then raced to the other end. Meanwhile, Melker Karlsson made a cross ice pass to Joe Pavelski, who fed Irwin as Irwin put the puck under Rinne’s stick arm at 5:26.

It stayed 1-0 until Weber received the puck off a faceoff win by Mike Fisher and shot it into the net through traffic to tie the game at 13:42.

Thing started to get out of hand when Nashville scored two goals less than a minute apart in the second.

Smith struck again first, 53 seconds into the period on a power play leftover from the first. Smith tipped Colin Wilson’s shot and then got the rebound. Seth Jones also aided.

Paul Gaustad scored at 1:43, helped by Gabriel Borque and Weber.

Not too long after, was Rinne’s highlight reel during San Jose’s second power play. He went to the ground for three saves with his left pad then reached over to his right to rob Joe Pavelski.

James Neal made it 5-1 at 10:31 with Ribeiro.

The Sharks had their third scoreless power play opportunity in the third. They also had another push with about five minutes left in the third, but could not break through.

Game notes: San Jose’s Alex Stalock had his first start since February 4. Fellow goalie Antti Niemi is reported as being on the trading block. The Sharks’ Justin Braun returned from an 11-game hand injury hiatus in exchange for Matt Tennyson. Braun got knocked to the ice during the second but was able to return in the third. San Jose faces the Dallas Stars Thursday at 5:30pm.

Niemi stops Canucks

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By Pearl Allison Lo

Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS, JONATHAN HAYWARD AP PHOTO

San Jose Sharks’ Antti Niemi made 33 saves as his teammates provided plenty goal support in a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks Thursday.

It was another matchup of Pacific division teams close in the standings.

The majority of the first period was spent trying to solve goalie Ryan Miller as San Jose started out with a 6-0 shot advantage, went to 11-2 and ended at 16-9 for the period.

The Sharks almost went the whole period without a goal for their efforts until Matt Irwin clanked the puck into the net at 17:43. Matt Tennyson and Logan Couture aided on the play.

San Jose then went up 2-0 with the help of a failed clearance. Brent Burns found Melker Karlsson in front of the net at 6:24 of the second period.

Vancouver had a goal waved off with 6:46 left, because Alexandre Burrows batted it in with his glove.

The Sharks took two penalties in the period, but evened out when the Canucks went down two men at 18:16. Henrik Sedin was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct  after Dan Hamhuis received a tripping penalty. The power play unit had a number of looks around the net, but none of them realized until a Joe Pavelski pass or shot. There was 15 seconds left in the period and was Pavelski’s NHL-leading 15th power play goal. Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau helped.

San Jose made it 4-0 when Brent Burns found another teammate in similar fashion to the second goal. At 3:55 of the third, Chris Tierney was credited with his first NHL goal. Marc-Edouard Vlasic also assisted.

Niemi lost his shutout bid with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. Radim Vrbata was aided by Ryan Stanton.

Andrew Desjardins reestablished the four goal lead with 4.7 seconds left, after a no look pass from Chris Tierney. Daniil Tarasov also got his first NHL point in his NHL debut.

Game notes: The night marked Marleau’s 1300th game with the Sharks, as he became the youngest NHL player to appear in that many games with the same team, joining a short list of just 10 others. San Jose returns home to play the Carolina Hurricanes first, Saturday at 7:30 pm.

Flames engulf Sharks

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By Pearl Allison Lo

Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS, LARRY MACDOUGAL AP PHOTO

Calgary won this round between the playoff spot contenders, as the Flames are now on top of San Jose in the standings after a 3-1 win Wednesday.

It was Calgary’s third straight win, as they ended the Sharks’ four game point streak. The Flames are now 8-2-0 in their last ten games.

The last time the Sharks scored only one goal was back on January 10.

It was Alex Stalock’s first start since January 19, which also ended in a loss. The last time he had losses in consecutive starts, was back in October.

San Jose went scoreless on the power play, with an opportunity in each period against the NHL’s least penalized team. The first chance came 45 seconds into the game.

Stalock had the best save of the first period with an aggressive one, as he went up to the faceoff circle to stop an attempt.

Calgary scored three goals in the second period, which the Sharks also did in the teams’ last meeting.

The Flames’ first goal came at 9:28. Kris Russell had his first of the season, aided by Paul Byron and Josh Jooris. Russell got to wear the fire helmet for his efforts after the game, which goes to the “hardest-working player.”

About two and a half minutes later, Jiri Hudler scored about halfway into San Jose’s third penalty of the period. Hudler was helped by Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The puck also went off the Sharks’ Scott Hannan.

Mason Raymond made it 3-0 at 18:03, when he was assisted by Joe Colborne and TJ Brodie. Brodie tied a career-high with the point.

2:48 into the third, John Scott mustered the Sharks’ lone goal with a rare one, his second. Hannan made a spin pass as Scott scored past a sliding Jonas Hiller and his defender. Tyler Kennedy also helped.

Hiller stopped 28 shots.

The Flames have won three of four in the series so far, and the teams play for the final time February 9.


Game notes: San Jose was outhit 22-9. Calgary’s Lance Bouma led with seven. Outside the game, the Sharks’ Tye McGinn was placed on injured reserve as Chris Tierney came back from Worcester. San Jose will be back at it 7:30 pm against the Canucks Thursday.

Blues steamroll Sharks

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(AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

By Pearl Allison Lo

In what San Jose was hoping would be an improvement from last matchup, it was the same old result as Saint Louis defeated San Jose 7-2 Thursday.

Saint Louis now has 20 goals in their last three games, 14 of them against the Sharks.

The Blues spread out the goals more evenly this time. Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera, T.J. Oshie and David Backes each had a goal and assist apiece. Jaden Schwartz passed for three assists and Vladimir Tarasenko for two.

San Jose came to within one goal after being down by two twice, but could not muster more.

Saint Louis were mostly quick to rebound when the Sharks capitalized or came near.

It was the Sharks’ Antti Niemi and the Blues’ Brian Elliott to start the game in net again, as Elliott stopped 24 shots.

San Jose’s Logan Couture & Tommy Wingels had a shorthanded 2-on-1 in the first when Couture’s shot was stopped. The rebound though, went to Steen, who was part of a 3-on-2 to score on the power play at 10:38. Steen’s linemates were Tarasenko and Schwartz.

The Sharks then fell behind 2-0 for the second game when Jay Bouwmeester had his second goal of the season. Tarasenko had his second assist of the night and Lehtera aided at 15:06.

About a minute and a half later, San Jose’s Joe Pavelski got a double minor for drawing blood.

Just over halfway into the penalty, Couture got another chance at a 2-on-1 shorthand, this time with Brenden Dillon and did not miss. Dillon had his sixth assist to make it 2-1.

Stastny, however, reestablished Saint Louis’s two-goal lead over 30 seconds later with their second man advantage goal at 19:06. Oshie and Kevin Shattenkirk helped with the game winner. The Blues also had two power play goals in the last meeting.

Undaunted, Melker Karlsson resumed the back and forth scoring 29 seconds into the second period, with his fourth goal in four games, bringing the Sharks to within one.  Couture and Burns assisted with Burns’ assists and points streak now at four games.

That would be the extent of the comeback though in this game, as Saint Louis kept rolling, though San Jose had two more close chances.

During a power play that started at 6:15, Pavelski had the Sharks’ best shot and Elliott his best save up until that point, after Matt Irwin made a shot.

Schwartz found a wide open Lehtera at 8:52 to make it 4-2.

On the other end, before Niemi gave up his fifth goal, Pavelski was up in front of Elliott, but Pavelski dropped his stick after it was hit by the puck. Backes then shot the puck along the boards to Steen, who shot at Niemi. Oshie got the rebound to take out Niemi at 13:20 in favor of Alex Stalock.

The Blues then got to Stalock, Patrik Berglund scoring the first goal at 9:05 with Stastny to make it 6-2.

Backes mimicked the 7-2 score from Saturday at 11:59, with Schwartz and Alex Pietrangelo.

Game notes: San Jose’s Joe Thornton did not play as anticipated. The Sharks outhit Saint Louis 28-14. San Jose’s James Sheppard led with six. It was Todd McLellan’s 500th professionally coached hockey game. The Sharks now face the New York Rangers at home Saturday at 7pm.