Category: NHL

Sharks Rout Islanders 4-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting New York Islanders 4-1 Saturday night. Sharks’ goals came from Timo Meier, Joonas Donskoi, Brent Burns and Logan Couture, while Tomas Hertl earned three assists. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win, while Islanders goalie Robin Lehner made 37 saves on 41 shots in a losing effort.

The lone Islanders goal came from Brock Nelson. The Islanders did not take the loss quietly. As if in tribute to the Elton John tune, the game devolved into numerous fights and skirmishes before it was over.

The Sharks scored first as Timo Meier notched his fourth of the season at 7:59. Despite two Islanders crowding him, and eventually helping him fall to the ice, Tomas Hertl got the puck to Logan Couture at the top of the faceoff circle. Couture sent a quick pass to Meier, who was right at the edge of the blue paint. Lehner stopped Meier’s first shot but Meier was able to pick the puck back up and put it over Lehner’s outstretched pad. Couture and Hertl got the assists.

After a busy but unsuccessful power play at 16:59, San Jose gave up a goal with just 33 seconds left in the period. Josh Bailey skated into the Sharks’ zone and neatly avoided Justin Braun to make a pass to Brock Nelson. Nelson had avoided Burns and wound up with a clear shot at the net, which he took and hit his mark. Assists went to Bailey and Anders Lee.

At the end of the period, the Sharks had a slight lead in shots, 11-6, but a significant advantage in the faceoff circle at 67%-33%.

Evander Kane and Timo Meier both had good chances early in the second, but it was Joonas Donskoi who got the first second period goal at 4:59. Antti Suomela rushed the net and took a shot that was blocked by a sliding Scott Mayfield and Lehner’s stick. Suomela was too far beyond the goal line to get a good shot, so he sent it in front of the net. Donskoi was there in a flash to tap it over the line. Suomela got the only assist.

Just past the halfway mark, a scuffle followed a collision with Lehner in the Islanders’ net. After it was sorted out, Kane went to the box for roughing and Mayfield went to the box for cross-checking Kevin Labanc. The teams played four-on-four for two minutes. With three seconds left in that, Brent Burns took the puck and skated away from Jordan Eberle on the boards, and then took a shot around Tomas Hickey and Lehner to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead. Assists went to Hertl and Donskoi.

With 3:50 left in the period, Barclay Goodrow and Scott Mayfield engaged in some fisticuffs, then left for intermission early.

The Islanders got a late power play when Kane was called for slashing at 17:29. The Sharks’ penalty killers did an exceptional job in the first 1:15 of the penalty, spending a lot of time in the Islanders’ zone. That was thanks in large part to Hertl getting the puck across the line and carrying it all the way down and around the offensive zone.

At the end of the second period, San Jose had the 3-1 lead, a shot advantage of 26-14 and were still ahead in the faceoff circle, winning 61% of the draws.

Hertl helped Couture score the Sharks’ fourth goal. Hertl bounced the puck off of the back of the net while he made a quick reversal to lose an Islanders defender. Free of that burden, he was able to get back in front of the net and took a shot that went under Lehner and out the other side. Couture was there waiting for it and put it over the line. Assists went to Hertl and Joakim Ryan.

At 9:52 of the third, Kane was given a four minute roughing penalty after being taken down at the blue line and objecting strongly. His objection drew like responses from Lee and Mayfield, who each got two minutes for roughing against Kane.

At 12:08, a Cal Clutterbuck hit inspired just about everyone on the ice joined in to the fighting/roughing club: Clutterbuck, Burns, Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas all received misconducts. Burns also got a tripping penalty. Martin and Clutterbuck also got roughing penalties.

The sum total of the penalties put the Sharks on a power play, but it did not produce any more goals.

Shortly after Kane’s penalties expired, Kane was back on the ice and challenged Lee to fight right off the next faceoff.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Nashville against the Predators at 5:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Couture just finding his stride; Power play coach has been Spott on

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Logan Couture was into it, scoring his third career hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres.

#2 The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi got goals for San Jose contributing toward San Jose’s four-goal win.

#3 How did power play coach Steve Spott find the right combination to correct San Jose’s power play problems?

#4 The Buffalo Sabres’ Kyle Okposo got a double minor for high-sticking. The Sharks’ Donskoi scored his second goal of the season.

#5 The NY Islanders took it to Sharks last week and the LA Kings the other night. Can the Sharks turn it around on the Isles on Saturday night?

Len Shapiro does the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Couture Hat Trick, Revamped Power Play Key to 5-1 Sharks Win over Sabres

Published on by Matthew Harrington

Photo credit: @EMISports

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks power play clicked in a big way Thursday night, pushing team teal to a 5-1 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Logan Couture scored his third career hat trick, Joe Pavelski picked up a power play strike and Joonas Donskoi also lit the lamp a man up to give the home team a win in the debut of their new Stealth jerseys. Jake McCabe lit the lamp for Buffalo, the only shot out of 25 to beat Sharks netminder Martin Jones.

With early season power play woes leading to a bottom-five power play for the Sharks entering play Thursday, changes were made to the first power play unit. It’s safe to assume assistant coach Steve Spott, power play coach for San Jose, found the right mix.

Kyle Okposo drew a double-minor for high sticking just 1:45 into the game, giving the Sharks their first man advantage. With time expiring on the first minor, Joonas Donskoi potted his second goal of the season 3:35 into the game. Logan Couture fired back rapid fire, beating Buffalo keeper Carton Hutton for his second goal of the campaign just 27 seconds later for a 2-0 Sharks edge and two power play goals on two opportunities.

San Jose didn’t score in the second and Buffalo’s McCabe scooped up a rebound for his first goal of the year 1:35 into the period to cut the Sharks lead to 2-1. The Sharks dominated the third though, with Logan Couture scoring the lone even strength Sharks goal of the game 4:54 into the third for his second of the game.

Joe Pavelski scored San Jose’s third power play goal of the night over a whopping seven opportunities, moving San Jose to 19th in the league with a 17.8 percent success rate. Couture capped the hat trick off with an empty-net goal with 1:47 left in regulation.

Buffalo went 0-for-5 on the power play to cap a great special teams night for the Sharks. Evander Kane and Brent Burns each had a pair of assists. The Sharks welcome another team from the Empire State to the Shark Tank Saturday night. The Islanders come to town after shellacking the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Too many penalties cost the Sharks last Sunday; Sharks host Sabres Thursday night

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Last Sunday in New Jersey, the San Jose Sharks took seven straight penalties and it didn’t help in their 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

#2 The Sharks gave up the lead on a 6-on-4 power play and the 2-1 lead.

#3 The Sharks later gave up a 5-on-3 power play goal.

#4 The Sharks did out shoot New Jersey in the third period, but couldn’t score as New Jersey scored twice for the 3-2 win.

#5 The Sharks are at SAP Center for a match with the Buffalo Sabres this Thursday night. The puck drops at 7:30 PM.

Catch the Sharks podcasts each Thursday with Mary Lisa and exclusive home and away Sharks coverage on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Los Tiburones Spanish Broadcast

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By: Amaury Pi-González

SAN JOSE–The San José Sharks will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Night for the second consecutive year when they host the New York Islanders at the SAP Center this Saturday, October 20 at 7:30 PM.

Los Tiburones got their start in 1991-1992 as they played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif. In 1993 they moved to the SAP Center in San José, where they have been playing exciting hockey for their very loyal steady fan base in the South Bay. I remember covering them since their very first game at the Cow Palace in 1991 as they lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, later with Telemundo Channel 48, we filmed the new and current location in San José when the arena was under construction, interviewed the surrounding businesses, and all the excitement that has brought to San José, their fans and to the overall economy of the Bay Area’s largest city. Was there in their greatest achievement,when they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Once the “pequeños” Tiburones, now they have “grown up.” They are 27 years old and they have joined the ranks of the following Bay Area professional teams that also broadcast in Spanish: Athletics, Giants, Raiders, 49ers and Earthquakes.

The Spanish Broadcast this Sunday will air on KIQI 1010AM/990AM Bay Area/San Francisco/Oakland/Sacramento, 98.5 HD-2 for South Bay and NBC California SAP (Secondary Audio Channel).

Carlos Orellana, Producer/Engineer, Jesús Zárate, play-by-play, yours truly commentary.

Follow the Sharks and their quest for their second trip to a Stanley Cup Final on 98.5 KFOX Flagship station for the Sharks Radio Network in the voice of veteran play-by-play announcer Dan Rusanowsky, as well as all game telecasts on NBC California.

¡Buena suerte Tiburones!

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks take seven straight penalties; cough up goal on 5-on-3 play to New Jersey

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

Another tough loss for the San Jose Sharks as the Sharks took seven penalties in a row,. They gave up a 2-1 lead on a 6-on-4 power play. They later gave up a goal on a 5-on-3 power play. The Sharks did out shoot the New Jersey Devils, but couldn’t get a goal in third period as the Devils scored twice to take a 3-2 win.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones stopped 33 of 36 shots and the Sharks on the trip scored three goals in LA, eight in Philadelphia, two against the Rangers, zero in Brooklyn against the Islanders, twice against New Jersey. The Sharks went 3-2 on the trip and come back to SAP Center on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres the puck drops at 7:30 PM.

Join Len on Saturdays for the Sharks podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose 3-2 to Devils, Power Play Struggles

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished their five game road trip with a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Sunday. Devils’ goals came from Kyle Palmieri (2) and Jean-Sebastien Dea. Keith Kinkaid made 37 saves on 39 shots for the win. Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, while goaltender Martin Jones made 33 saves on 36 shots.

Asked whether the team might be showing fatigue from the road trip, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

This game felt exactly like a couple of the other ones we’ve lost so far: they’re right there for us, you know, a few chances, power play opportunities, you know, all those certain situations. We expect to win these, that’s why they’re frustrating right now.

Asked about the power play’s struggles, Pavelski said:

It could be a little bit cleaner, the execution could be a little bit better. We’re making some plays, we’re having some looks. Either we’re not shooting or we’re shooting it too quick. The rhythm just.. it’s close. It does feel close but we’re still not where it needs to be.

Sharks forward Logan Couture’s comments on the power play were more succinct: “We’re six games in, we have one goal on the power play. I don’t think it’s close.”

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer summarized the team’s situation as:

We’re not scoring enough, that’s the bottom line, and we’re not getting enough saves too. It’s a bad combination so we’ve got to find a way to get another goal a night. Part of that’s power play, part of that’s five-on-five and we’ve got to find a way to get another save a night. Part of that’s defending a little tighter, part of that’s getting another save.

The first period on Sunday was scoreless, but showed some back and forth in momentum. The Devils started fast, but a Sharks’ power play at 3:14 gave the Sharks some life. As the penalty expired, the Sharks peppered Kinkaid with shots and established a shot lead that carried through the period.

Penalties, on the other hand, did not favor the Sharks in the first, and by the end of the game the Devils had eight power plays to the Sharks’ three. Two of those penalties were for delay of game, puck over glass.

The Sharks scored first at 3:51 of the second period. Evander Kane fought for the puck below the goal line and then, while being tripped by Mirco Mueller, got the puck to Brent Burns at the blue line. Burns took a quick shot that went right into Kinkaid’s pads. Pavelski was right in front of the goalie and pulled the puck back for a swift shot around the pads for the goal. Assists went to Burns and Kane.

The Devils tied the game during a 5-on-3 power play at 7:06. Taylor Hall made a pass across the ice to Kyle Palmieri in the right circle. Palmieri took the shot and scored on the far side.

Meier got the puck to Tomas Hertl in the neutral zone to set up San Jose’s second goal at 15:35. Hertl carried the puck across the line and passed it to Couture above the faceoff circle. Couture carried the puck in front of the net. As Couture seemed to lose control of the puck, Meier had come down for the follow up and he was able to poke the puck in. Assists went to Couture and Hertl.

The Devils tied it back up just 37 seconds into the third period, with another goal from Palmieri. Andy Greene took a shot from below the blue line and three Devils converged on the net. Palmieri’s stick beat out the others to get the puck in after Jones stopped the initial shot. In the midst of all that, Couture ended up in the net and it looked like the puck came up and hit him in the face. He went to the locker room. Assists on the second goal went to Greene and Damon Severson.

A few minutes later, at 3:25, Dea gave the Devils their third goal, the game-winner. The Sharks had just killed off their fifth penalty and followed it up with a couple of shots when Dea got the puck away from their zone to Hall in the neutral zone. Hall carried it into the Sharks zone and made a pass to Mueller, who took the shot. Jones slowed it down, but it squeezed through under his arm and sat in the blue paint for a moment. Dea was the first to find it and he put in away. Assists went to Mueller and Hall.

The Sharks next play on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 3-2 in Overtime to Rangers

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 in overtime to the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Despite having the lead for most of the game, Sharks’ goals from Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi were not enough for the win.

The Rangers got goals from Brett Howden, Brendan Smith and Brady Skjei. Sharks goalie Aaron Dell made 24 saves, while Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves for New York’s first win of the season.

With this overtime loss, the Sharks are 2-1-1 on this road trip.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

We like to be a detailed team, we don’t like to give up a lot of chances, but we generated a lot of chances, you know, throughout the night. And we’ll have to really look at it to see how it is. It felt like we had the puck a lot, it felt like we had a lot of grade as. Just got to stick some in the net, and I’ll take part of the blame on that. I got some looks that just gotta go.

The first period started out well, with the Sharks dominating play right out of the gate. Less than five minutes in, Evander Kane was called for closing his hand over the puck as he stopped it from going into the bench. During the penalty kill, Sorensen made a beautiful play, stick-handing twice around Brady Skjei before scoring with a wrist shot into the far corner. Assists went to Timo Meier and Brent Burns.

The Rangers tied it in the final five minutes of the first. Brett Howden got the puck to Mats Zuccarello from behind the net, then got to the front of the net. Zuccarello took the shot, but Dell kept that out. Now close to the blue paint, bumped it back between his legs and under Dell. Assists went to Zuccarello and Kreider.

The Sharks challenged the play as an off side. After a lengthy review, the officials upheld the goal. While the puck carrier’s skates did cross the line before the puck did, he had touched it before crossing the line and appeared to be in control of it. There was one skater on the other side of the ice that the Sharks felt had crossed the line before the puck, but the officials could not verify that he had done so.

The Sharks outshot the Rangers 17-6 during the first, and each team killed two of two penalties.

The Sharks took the lead back with a goal from Joonas Donskoi at 4:59 of the second period. Burns cleared the puck out of the Sharks zone with a backhand off the boards. Antti Suomela picked it up in the neutral zone and took off with Donskoi and Sorensen three-on-one. Suomela was patient before making the pass to Donskoi, who put the puck in with a last moment shot just above the goal line. Assists went to Suomela and Burns.

That was the only goal of the second period. There were no penalties called and the shot count was slightly less lopsided at 16-9 Sharks.

Kane drew an interference penalty from Tony DeAngelo at 5:30 of the third period. The Sharks power play started in the offensive zone with Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Logan Couture. They had one shot blocked, two shots saved and one missed shot. When Lundqvist stopped the puck, the second unit came out for almost a minute, including Vlasic, Kane, Meier, Donskoi and Labanc. They could not hold the zone or get any shots. At the very end of their shift, trouble in the neutral zone resulted in a breakaway by Vinni Lettieri. Dell stopped his shot with a flourish.

Moments later, Hertl left the ice and went to the dressing room, leaving his helmet and gloves behind on the ice. He appeared to have an abrasion below his left eye.

The Rangers stayed neck and neck with the Sharks in terms of shots for the rest of the period. The shots were tied at 10-10 when the Rangers tied the game at 17:21. Pavel Buchnevich made a backhand pass from the right goal post to Brendan Smith who had three Sharks between him and the net. He took the shot just as he fell. Assists went to Buchnevich and Jesper Fast.

Hertl returned to the ice in the final frantic minutes, but Donskoi was hobbled by a Karlsson shot in the final minute. The Rangers held the zone for most of that minute, keeping the Sharks on their heels.

The Sharks started overtime with Karlsson, Hertl and Couture on the ice. Hertl won the faceoff to give the Sharks’ possession. That was the only Sharks line used in overtime. A passed from Karlsson to Hertl failed and 76 took the puck. He carried it all the way down and then scored with a shot over a prone Couture.

The Sharks will finish up the road trip against the Devils on Sunday at 10:00 am PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks back in the win column; Sharks head to NYC to face Rangers next

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 After the San Jose Sharks got shutout 4-0 on Monday in Brooklyn to the New York Islanders, they quickly turned things around with a whopping 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

#2 The Sharks spoiled the Flyers home openers with the six-goal win. The Sharks got a short-handed goal and had 48 shots on goal–the highest total for the season.

#3 Aaron Dell was in goal for San Jose and stopped 31 of 33 shots from Philadelphia.

#4 Sharks captain Joe Pavelski scored the Sharks’ first two goals.

#5 The Sharks move onto New York to face the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. Can they repeat the same performance like in Philadelphia?

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks fly above the Flyers with 8-2 victory

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Pearl Allison Lo

After a 4-0 shutout loss Monday, the San Jose Sharks replied strongly with eight goals the very next day, spoiling the Philadelphia Flyers’ home opener this time around. 

The Sharks broke through with their first two power plays, scored shorthanded and made a season-high 48 shots.

The Sharks’ last win came Friday when they defeated the Kings in their home opener in Los Angeles.

Sharks’ goalie Aaron Dell was stellar in his first start of the season Tuesday, making 31 saves. Sharks’ captain Joe Pavelski scored his first two goals of 2018-19, Evander Kane kept rolling with his own two and Kevin Labanc got on the assist train with four assists.

A lot of power play chances abounded again for both sides with each team having at least one penalty in each period. The Flyers went 2-for-6 and the Sharks went 2-for-5.

Philadelphia has given up at least five goals in each of their last two games

The Sharks took back the four goals they gave up Monday quickly with a 4-0 first period.

San Jose started early as Logan Couture and Pavelski got their first goals of the season 11 seconds apart starting at 3:17.  

The Sharks got the puck after a failed shot on the other end as Couture and Tomas Hertl went on an odd-man rush. Couture went five-hole from the faceoff circle to make it 1-0.

Soon after, Labanc shot at goalie Brian Elliott who made a foot save and sent the puck right to Pavelski, who buried the puck in the net.

Pavelski scored a second one at 12:21. Labanc had the primary assist again, this time from the boards, as Pavelski reacted to the pass speedily.

Kane decided he wanted in on the action and scored on the power play at 16:42. It was San Jose’s first of the season. Justin Braun shot and Kane redirected the puck with his right skate. Kane has scored in each game except when the Sharks were shut out.

The Flyers got on the board in the second but by the end of the period, they were back where they started scorewise.

Three seconds after Wayne Simmonds had a shot on goal, Shayne Gostisbehere scored on the man advantage at 4:56.

Kane followed Pavelski’s lead and regained their four-goal lead with his second of the night too as he shot from the slot to score at 14:46. The goal came six seconds after San Jose’s power play expired.

Philadelphia flurried the net at the end of the period. Jakub Voracek’s puck slid under Dell and hit the far post four seconds before the buzzer sounded.

The Sharks scored their second on the power play eight seconds into it. Erik Karlsson passed to Brent Burns on the right, who passed the puck behind him back to Karlsson. Karlsson then shot at net and Hertl got the tip. When it did not go through, Hertl made it on his second attempt.

The Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom scored, but had the goal taken back as it was achieved via a high stick.

San Jose’s Timo Meier, who celebrated a birthday Monday, found joy when he moved his stick with the puck left, right and in between Elliott’s legs to make it a 7-1 game at 15:21.

Philadelphia, while on a power play, missed a stick-to-stick connection. Marcus Sorensen took advantage and sped to the puck finished, while Barclay Goodrow finished the shorthanded play with the Sharks’ eighth goal. Shorthanded pass missed, Sorensen sped and Goodrow

28 seconds later, Simmonds got that goal back quickly on the power play, displeasure clearly etched on his face.

Game Notes: Perhaps the only negative of this game for the Sharks was that they have yet to go a period without committing a penalty.

Up Next: The Sharks will see if they can do that when they head back to New York to take on the Rangers for the fourth game of their five-game road trip Thursday at 4:00 pm PT.