Category: NHL

Sharks Best Canucks 4-2; Six game skid comes to an end

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photo from sfgate.com: The Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes (left) tries to reach around on San Jose Sharks rightwinger Timo Meier on Saturday night at SAP Center.

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks celebrated Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s 1000th NHL game with a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks Saturday. The win ended a six-game losing streak and no doubt made Star Wars night more fun for the fans at the SAP Center. Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, Evander Kane and Logan Couture. Aaron Dell made 33 saves in the win. Canucks goals came from Jake Virtanen and Bo Horvat with Jacob Markstrom making 23 saves in the loss.

After the game, Marc-Edouard Vlasic confessed that he did not keep the puck from his 1000th game: “No, that was for Bob. I’ll just pick up a random puck and tell everybody it’s 1000 games. Nobody’ll know the difference.” The win was also Bob Boughner’s first as head coach of the Sharks.

Boughner talked later about the work the team is doing: “We got a practice in yesterday so it was nice to get our lines together and work some offensive zone play that we’re trying to establish. I think that both ends of the ice really, we worked on a little different defensive structure.” He also gave credit to his goaltender:

Deller, you know, he was our best player. You know, he made some key saves at key times and, you know, really kept us in it when we were starting to take on water. And that’s what a goalie does in a win like that. I liked the way we played. We played with some poise. Second period we took on too much but, you know, I thought the third period we responded. Even though they were in our zone a little bit, we didn’t have too many let downs and so many break downs in the slot area.

The first goal of the game came at 10:50 of the first. Joe Thornton got the puck from Kevin Labanc and held it while Tomas Hertl went to the net. Vancouver’s Tyler Meyers dropped to block the pass but Thornton sent it behind him, between the prone defenseman and the goaltender to Hertl on the other side of the net. From there, Hertl had an open net to shoot at and he did not miss. It was Hertl’s 12th goal of the season.

The second period was scoreless with Vancouver out-shooting San Jose 12-7. San Jose had two unsuccessful power plays and one successful penalty kill.

A nice outlet pass from Erik Karlsson found Timo Meier in the neutral zone. Couture, Kane and Meier went into the zone three on two. Meier made a pass to Lane, who passed it right back. Meier wound up taking the shot from just above the goal line and it went in off of Markstrom. Assists went to Kane and Karlsson.

Less than a minute later, Adam Gaudette skated through the neutral zone with the puck, found his way around the Sharks defense and managed to make a quick pass to Jake Virtanen in the slot. Virtanen carried it a few strides before taking the shot and beating Dell on the far side. Assists went to Gaudette and Christopher Tanev.

The third San Jose goal came from Evander Kane at 18:39 of the third. After he missed the empty net twice, his team-mates held the zone and got the puck back to him for a third try. He got that one but did not celebrate. Assists went to Logan Couture and Barclay Goodrow.

The Canucks gave some extra weight to that empty net goal at 19:31 with their goaltender pulled again. Quinn Hughes took a shot from the blue line. Dell stopped that but gave up a trickling rebound. Bo Horvat was there to tuck it in the net. Assists went to Hughes and Brock Boeser.

The Canucks pulled their goalie again. A few seconds later, Marc-Edouard Vlasic stole the puck at the Sharks blue line and found Logan Couture with a pass for another shot into the empty net. The time of that goal was 19:52.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Flyers’ Lindblom has cancer at age 23; Knights’ Pacioretty banks winning OT goal; plus more

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photo from cnn.com: Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The shocking diagnosis of 23 year old left winger Philadelphia Flyer Oskar Lindblom has been diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma a rare cancer that grows in soft tissue and on the bones. Lindblom will be out for the rest of the season and will undergo surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

#2 The Vegas Golden Knights’ Max Pacioretty scored a backhanded goal with 51 seconds in overtime to get the Knights an overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday night in Dallas.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche got a two-goal victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday 3-1, Nathan McKinnon scored a goal and picked up an assist to get his 50th point of the season.

#4 The Boston Bruins will try and snap their five-game losing streak tonight at the BB&T Center in Sunrise tonight against the Florida Panthers. You don’t see the Bruins hit a five-game slump too often.

#5 The Vancouver Canucks are headed to SAP Center. They’re one team in the Pacific Division that would like to take advantage of the San Jose Sharks current six-game winless streak. Matt tells us how he sees this game.

Matt does the NHL podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks looking for optimism, hope, with new coaches; SJ trying to break the 6-game skid tonight

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Photo credit: thehockeynews.com

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The looks on San Jose Sharks general Doug Wilson and new Sharks head coach Bob Boughner at Thursday’s press conference was the feel good of optimism, but of major concern for the Sharks organization.

#2 Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said that the firing of ex-coach Peter DeBoer came as a surprise saying that even though the firing was part of the business, it still came as a surprise for the players.

#3 Mary talks about the replacements for the Sharks. Joining Boughner are assistants Roy Sommer, former Sharks forward Mike Ricci, and goalie coach Evegeni Nabokov.

#4 Boughner and Wilson said they want to clean up two areas that need fixing that is the penalty minutes and allowing chances in the slot that are high-quality.

#5 The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday after losing six consecutive games. The Sharks will get a quick crash course from their new coaches and get ready to right the ship on Saturday night.

Mary Lisa is a beat writer for the Sharks and does the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose Boughner’s Debut 6-3; Make that six consecutive winless games

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

Meet the new Sharks, same as the old Sharks. In their first game since the firing of Peter DeBoer and a number of other coaching staff moves, the San Jose Sharks still ran into familiar problems of an ineffective power play and subpar goaltending in a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

Artemi Panarin scored a hat trick for the Blue Shirts, Mika Zibanejad added a pair and the Rangers had 30 shots to just 18 for San Jose in Bob Boughner’s debut behind the San Jose bench. Tomas Hertl scored playing a hybrid wing-center position, Logan Couture netted a goal and Brenden DIllon scored his first goal in over a year, but the Sharks fell to 0-5-1 over their last six games and now sit five points out of a playoff spot. Joachim Blichfield made his NHL debut and Joe Thornton appeared in NHL career game 1,6000.

Dillon’s goal broke a 2-2 tie 4:12 into the third period and felt like it would be the deciding goal that would spark a Sharks turnaround, but Zibanejad used a Chris Kreider screen on a Rangers power play to tie the game 8:49 into the period. A lackluster defensive effort that saw two Rangers slip behind Sharks defenders for a gigantic screen on Sharks goalie Martin Jones led to another Zibanedjad strike about five minutes later for a 4-3 Rangers lead.

Jones would most likely want the Rangers next goal back as he pulled off his left post with Panarin nearly on the goal line to that side. An all-world sniper, Panarin made Jones pay for the early release from the post with 3:11 left in regulation. He scored on the empty net as well for his 18th of the year and the hat trick to complete a four-goal Rangers third period.

The early response from the Sharks seemed to be a change for the better. Tomas Hertl opened the game scoring first 9:13 into the first period, something the Sharks were having trouble with this season. Jesper Fast and Panarin (another goal Jones would want back after leaving his five-hole unguarded on a lateral push) would score in the second period, but Logan Couture answered back with his 10th goal of the year. San Jose didn’t capitalize though on two power plays, and only mustered 18 shots on the Rangers backup goalie, spelling doom in Boughner’s home debut as Sharks head coach.

The picture of how the Sharks will respond to their coach’s firing may get more clear Saturday night when they take on the Vancouver Canucks. By then, the team should be adjusted to life under four new coaches and systems might be better installed. For now, though, Sharks fans have to continue to settle for a night of unmatched expectations.

Peter DeBoer Out as Sharks Head Coach

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Photo credit: @CompleteHkyNews

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — Peter DeBoer is no longer the head coach of the San Jose Sharks. His time with the Sharks ended today, after the team returned from a winless four game road trip. They have just 15 wins this season in 33 games, and have lost their last five games. The Sharks also announced that assistant coaches Steve Spott and Dave Barr and goaltending coach Johan Hedberg were dismissed as well.

Assistant Coach Bob Boughner was named interim head coach, with Roy Sommer as assistant coach and Mike Ricci as associate coach. Evgeni Nabokov will step in as goaltending coach.

In their press release, General Manager Doug Wilson said: “When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed.”

The Sharks started this season with one of the worst Octobers in team history, only to rally in November and claw their way back into the playoff picture. Instead of continuing on that trajectory, they have dropped again to sixth in the Pacific Division and a recent record of 4-5-1. The team is laboring with a minus 25 goal differential. Only one team in the league has allowed more than the Sharks’ 114 goals against this season, and that is the Detroit Red Wings. That is somewhat shocking with two Norris Trophy winning defensemen on the Sharks’ blue line.

DeBoer became the Sharks head coach at the end of the 2014-15 season, replacing Todd McLellan. His tenure with the Sharks had an eerie similarity to his time with the New Jersey Devils, the NHL team he coached before the Sharks. In his first season in New Jersey, he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final. Their record declined steeply from there. Under DeBoer’s leadership, the Sharks also reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in team history. That was DeBoer’s first season with the organization and, as with the Devils, that was the high point of his record in San Jose.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Preds hold off Sharks offense; San Jose suffers fifth consecutive winless game 3-1

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photo from mercurynews.com: San Jose Sharks left wing Evander Kane (9) collides with Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74), of Finland, in the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.

Len Shapiro on the San Jose Sharks podcast:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (15-16-2) spent another evening on the road with another loss. This time to the Nashville Predators (14-10-5) in a three-goal loss 4-1.

#2 The Sharks simply could not get any offense going. They only had Timo Meier, who scored the club’s only goal of the night.

#3 Sharks goaltender Marty Jones gave it his all in net, saving 29 shots and allowing three goals. Simply put, Jones did not get the offensive support on Tuesday night

#4 The Predators got goals from Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Bonino, and Ryan Johansen. All scored in the third period after the game was 0-0 after the first two periods.

#5 The New York Rangers (15-11-3) come into San Jose on Thursday night and the Sharks are coming in with a five-game winless streak and no doubt will be giving its all in this one.

San Jose Sharks podcasts with Len Shapiro are heard every Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks lose to Predators 3-1, stumble amidst December doldrums

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Pearl Allison Lo 

Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros and special teams operated in the Predators’ favor 3-1 in a penalty-filled night in Nashville Tuesday. 

Saros put together a .960 save percentage in making 24 saves. The San Jose Sharks outshot the Predators 10-2 in the second without any results. The team was held to single-digit goals for the third game in a row. Sharks oalie Martin Jones had his fourth straight loss, but his best save percentage in that stretch at .935.

Minus the one-game road trip loss to start the season, this was the first time the Sharks experienced a road trip without a win, as they went 0-3-1 away from home with a now five-game losing streak to match their season-high. 

All in the third, Nashville’s Nick Bonino and Ryan Johansen scored and so did San Jose’s Timo Meier. 

Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play going into the third. By the end, the Predators had outshot the Sharks 19-9 with four more power play opportunities and one power play goal. 

There’s another statistic. Check out the tweet below.

Maybe a penalty 47 seconds into the game was a precursor of what would follow throughout the game. Both teams combined for five penalties in the first period. San Jose’s Mario Ferraro got a double minor for high-sticking at 8:05. In the second, the penalties more than doubled. By 19:34, both teams had six penalties together. Two seconds before the second period ended, they got six more. The Sharks’ Evander Kane got three. For Nashville, Dan Hamhuis one and Austin Watson two. 

Both teams had even-ing penalties four times. A total of 13 different players were whistled. The Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow was penalized thrice. For the Predators, Calle Jarnkrok, Fabbro Forsberg and Roman Josi twice. 

The early penalty to start the game went to Goodrow for slashing. Ferraro’s penalty followed at 8:05. Teammate Marcus Sorensen received an unsportsmanlike conduct call at 12:51 while Forsberg was put in the box for interference. Jarnkrok’s hooking penalty at 15:36 concluded the first. 

In the second, the whistle first blew against Fabbro at 9:31 for slashing. At 17:15, Goodrow was called for cross-checking and Jarnkrok for slashing. San Jose’s Brent Burns helped out on defense versus Both Fabbro and Meier got unsportsmanlike conduct at 18:52. Kane’s penalties were a four-minute roughing, a misconduct and fighting for a total of 19 minutes, pretty much icing him the rest of the match. For Nashville, it was the same but split between Hamhuis (roughing) and Watson (misconduct and fighting). 

The whistles continued in the third with simultaneous minors to Josi (cross check) and Goodrow (closing hand on puck) at 2:03.

Bonino broke the scoring stalemate with four Sharks around him and near Jones in net at 4:24. It was his third point and second goal in as many games.

San Jose then had four straight penalties. Erik Karlsson was called for hooking at 8:29. The Sharks saw possible relief when Goodrow got a penalty shot, their first of the season on the road, but Saros stopped it.

Meier had a breakaway taken away, Burns was called for elbowing at 12:19 and Johansen subsequently scored after Jones made an initial save. It broke a five-game drought. However, San Jose challenged the goal for interference in pushing Jones’ pad but were disappointed, resulting in the delay of game penalty. 

Forsberg received the final penalty of the night at 13:34 for hooking.

Jones was pulled for an extra man with 2:07 left. Then the Sharks showed new life and that Saros was not impenetrable at 18:02.  It started off a faceoff win and the primary assist came from Hertl poking the puck across behind Saros.

San Jose managed to stay alive at first while the Predators made attempts at the empty net. The Sharks were able to keep the puck from going out, next Nashville went offsides, later turning over the puck, then icing until Jarnkrok finally put the dagger into San Jose’s hopes at 19:18. 

Up Next: Below .500 again, the Sharks will look towards familiar territory helping them with a five-game home stand, starting with the New York Rangers Thursday at 7:30 pm.   

Sharks Power Play Scores, Still Lose 5-1 to Panthers

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-1 to the Florida Panthers Sunday at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. Panthers goals came from Keith Yandle, Aleksander Barkov, Mike Matheson, Brett Connolly and Frank Vatrano. Their goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, made 30 saves for the win. The Sharks goal was scored by Kevin Labanc, the team’s first power play goal in 23 tries. Martin Jones made 28 saves in the loss.

After the game, Labanc said:

Today, we were working we just weren’t scoring so it sucks. Like I said, I mean we’re getting a ton of chances but we’re just not capitalizing on them. And… just… it’s all in the detail of the game and it’s not that they’re a better team than us it’s just that we’re making more mistakes.

Sharks forward Evander Kane, who sat out for a period’s worth of penalties, said: “I think we’re a little too relaxed right now. A couple games, that we’re off to bad starts and we didn’t really fight back and we didn’t really have much fight back after we got down so that’s really the most disappointing part.”

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer identified goaltending and special teams as the problem in Sunday’s game:

I thought we hung in there and, you know, kept fighting but you know it wasn’t enough. And, you know, their goalie was better, their special teams were better tonight than ours. That was probably the story. I thought five-on-five we probably carried a lot of the play but, those two areas, they were better than us.

The Panthers started the scoring on a power play at 4:15 of the first. Kevin Labanc was in the box for hooking. Jonathan Huberdeau’s pass up the boards found Keith Yandle for a shot from the blue line. Assists went to Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov.

Barkov scored the next one at 8:15, putting the Panthers up 2-0. The Panthers entered the zone three-on-two with Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic defending. With Karlsson covering Keith Yandle but letting Barkov slip by at the last moment. Evgenii Dadonov was the puck carrier and he sent the puck to the net for Barkov to tap in. Assists went to Dadonov and Huberdeau.

Kevin Labanc made up for his penalty with a power play goal at 10:13. Labanc took a pass from Erik Karlsson up near the blue line and took the shot from above the face-off circle. The puck went up over Bobrovsky’s shoulder as Timo Meier was blocking the goaltender’s view. Assists went to Karlsson and Evander Kane. The goal ended a scoreless streak 23 power plays long for San Jose.

The Panthers out-shot the Sharks 12-9 in the first period.

Florida scored again on the power play at 6:32 of the second period. With Brett Connolly in the goaltender’s eyes, Mike Matheson took a shot from the blue line that made its way all the way in. Assists went to Aaron Ekblad and Frank Vatrano.

Just 4:16 into the second period, Evander Kane was given multiple penalties for fighting, instigation and misconduct. That all resulted from his response to a hit from behind. The penalties put him out of play for the rest of the period and the start of the third. After the game, Kane was asked about the incident and said: “A guy hits me in the head and no call, you know, you gotta protect yourself. Nobody else is gonna protect you on the ice, not the refs, not the other team, so sometimes you gotta stick up for yourself.”

At the end of the second period, the Panthers took an interference penalty that put the Sharks on the power play for almost a minute of the third period. Seconds into the third, the Panthers took a delay of game penalty, giving the Sharks a brief two-man advantage. That was not enough and the Sharks finished those power plays still down 3-1.

Brenden Dillon went to the penalty box for four minutes, two for high-sticking and two for slashing. The penalties came shortly after a slash that Huberdeau delivered to Dillon earlier that was not called.

The score quickly became 4-1 on the next Panthers power play. Mike Hoffman’s shot from the blue line created a rebound that Connolly was able to put in the net despite losing his footing in front of Martin Jones. Assists went to Hoffman and Keith Yandle.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender with just over two minutes to go and Frank Vatrano put the puck in the net a little over 30 seconds later. Assists went to Mackenkie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad.

The Sharks continue their road trip with a game in Nashville on Tuesday against the Predators at 5:00 PM PT.

The Sharks will be without one of their regular defensemen, Radim Simek, for about two weeks as he is undergoing a surgical procedure.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Flames get new downtown arena in Calgary; Sharks’ Kane fined for hit on Gudas; plus more

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sportsnet.com photo: The San Jose Sharks Evander Kane (9) just before he puts a hit check on the Washington Capitals’ Radko Gudas (33). The hit cost Kane a fine from the NHL from last Tuesday’s game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

On the NHL podcast with Daniel:

1 Flames get green light for new downtown arena in Calgary

2 NHL gives Sharks’ Evander Kane maximum $5,000 fine for hit on Capitals’ Radko Gudas

3 Lightning bombard Sharks in Tampa 7-1

4 Agent for Senators’ Nikita Zaitsev refutes story about client allegedly taking his kids from his ex-wife

5 A special anniversary for Gordie Howe

Daniel Dullum does the NHL podcasts Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Lightning Strike Sharks 7-1

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photo from sfgate.com: Lightning center Brayden Point gets around a stick check by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns during the second period of the Tampa Bay victory.

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Despite two first period power plays, including a double minor, the Sharks lost by their largest margin this season. Goals came from Tyler Johnson (2), Alex Killorn, Steven Stamkos (2), Victor Hedman and Carter Verhaeghe. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves in the win. The Sharks’ lone goal came from Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Martin Jones made 17 saves on 21 shots before being replaced by Aaron Dell, who made 14 saves on 18 shots.

After the game, Sharks captain Logan Couture said:

I thought we played pretty well through two, I thought we had some good five-on-five looks, they scored a power play one at the end there. But I didn’t like our third period. Kinda gave them some freebies and let our goalies down out there, but for the first forty I thought we played hard and could have been one, two goal game. But, yeah, I just didn’t like our third period.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer had the same view of the third period: “You know, the third period was just unacceptable, it was just a poor effort. I think instead of sticking with it, I think we felt sorry for ourselves after that fourth goal and, you know, maybe started thinking about tomorrow but you can’t do that in this league.”

Tyler Johnson’s first goal of the game came at 3:10 when he caught Carter Verhaeghe’s pass from the half boards. Steven Stamkos was skating across in Jones’ line of sight as the puck sailed by him.

The Sharks out-shot the Lightning 15-10 in the first period and had two power plays, one four-minutes long after Mathieu Joseph caught Marcus Sorensen with his stick and drew blood. They held the Lightning to just the one goal until 12:29 of the second period.

Alex Killorn scored his eighth goal of the season when Martin Jones got turned around making a save and lost track of the puck. Killorn found the puck just outside the blue paint and lifted it over the prone goaltender.

Steven Stamkos scored his eighth at the very end of the second period, during a four minute power play caused by a a high stick from Kevin Labanc. Stamkos spent a long time hovering around the face-off dot while his team moved the puck around and finally passed to him. He used a neat wrist shot to beat Jones on the short side. Assists went to Victor Hedman and Alex Killorn.

The Sharks out-shot the Lightning 15-9 in the second period.

Victor Hedman scored 52 seconds into
the third. Anthony Cirelli carried the puck right up to the doorstep and then made a pass through the blue paint to Hedman. Hedman was at the goal line and his shot was from an impossible angle, except that it went off of Jones and in. Assists went to Cirelli and Killorn.

Aaron Dell came in to replace Jones in net after that.

Tyler Johnson scored his second of the game at 3:51 of the third. Aaron Dell had come out to play the puck but Carter Verhaege was there to take it away from him and send it back up ice to Stamkos in the face-off circle. Johnson was on his way to the net and arrived just in time for the pass from Stamkos.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for the Sharks at 14:44. Vlasic caught a rebound from an Erik Karlsson shot and carried it down below the face-off dot to shoot it into the top corner on the short side. Assists went to Karlsson and Timo Meier.

Stamkos scored his second of the game on a power play at 15:36. Timo Meier was in the box for slashing Brayden Point. Just seven seconds into the penalty, Victor Hedman took a shot from the blue line. Killorn and Stamkos were both set up to tip the shot but Killorn got it. Dell stopped that one but Stamkos was ready to tap the rebound in. Assists went to Killorn and Hedman.

Carter Verhaege scored his first NHL goal at 19:35 on a breakaway. He shot it into the far side from a sharp angle without ever slowing down. Assists went to Pat Maroon and Yanni Gourde.

The Sharks will next play Sunday at 2:00 PM PT against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise.