Category: NHL

Sharks Lose 2-1 in OT to Canucks, Celebrini Scores 25th

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San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrni (71) celebrates his second period goal with teammates Nikolai Kovalenko (15), Luca Cagnoni (42), and Tyler Toffoli (73) against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Center in Vancouver on Mon Apr 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 2-1 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks Monday. The loss is the tenth in a row for the Sharks, their longest of the season. Linus Karlsson and Jake DeBrusk scored for Vancouver. Nikita Tolopilo made 15 saves for the win. Macklin Celebrini took the lead in the rookie scoring race with his power play goal, despite having played many fewer games than his closest competition. Alexandar Georgiev made a heroic 35 saves in the loss.

After the game, Luca Cagnoni talked about earning an assist in a game after a late-night call up from the Barracuda: “It’s pretty special. It’s kind of funny how it works, you get two home-town guys playing and on the score sheet. It’s not what it’s all about but it’s a cool moment for sure.”

The story of the first period was Alexandar Georgiev, keeping the game scoreless despite a shot disparity of 12-3 for the Canucks. The Sharks had more time on the penalty kill with a double-minor against and one power play.

The first goal of the game came from Macklin Celebrini on a Sharks power play at 4:20 of the second period. Celebrini skated to the faceoff dot and beat Tolopilo with a wrist shot. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and Luca Cagnoni.

The shots for the second period were even at seven. The Canucks took two minor penalties and the Sharks took one.

The Canucks tied the game at 9:02 of the third period. Linus Karlsson beat Celebrini to the Sharks net and put away a rebound off a shot from Teddy Blueger. An assist also went to Drew O’Connor.

The Canucks made a valiant push, outshooting the Sharks 10-5 in the third, but could not get that second goal. The Sharks took two penalties in the third and had no power plays.

That shot disparity continued into overtime, 8-1 Canucks. It took them 4:42 to score but they finally did, as a puck came off the end boards and landed perfectly for Jake DeBrusk to shoot it under Georgiev. Assists went to Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes.

The Sharks will play their final game of the season in San Jose against the Oilers on Wednesday at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 5-2 to Flames, Toffoli Scores 30th

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San Jose Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli (73) scores on Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf (32) during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-2 to the Calgary Flames Sunday. MacKenzie Weegar, Adam Klapka, Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato scored for Calgary. Dustin Wolf made 28 saves for the win. The win preserves playoff hopes for Calgary fans as the team avoided elimination. Tyler Toffoli and Jan Rutta scored for San Jose. Toffoli’s goal was his 30th of the season, for the third season in a row. Georgi Romanov made 25 saves in the loss. It was the ninth loss in a row for the Sharks.

After the game, Tyler Toffoli talked about the season’s many losses:

“We’ve been in so many games this year and blown so many leads in stupid ways, that I think if everyone reflects in the right way going into the summer and comes into training camp next year it could be a completely different season.”

Jan Rutta also commented on the team’s tendency to lose: “We’ve been playing well enough to win a lot of games and always found a way to lose.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky was asked what he wanted the young players to learn from these losses. He said: “How hard it is to win in this league, how you can’t get caught taking a breath at any moment, that it’s a fine line between winning and losing.”

The Sharks took the lead at 3:09 of the first period. Tyler Toffoli scored his 30th of the season with a wrist shot from right in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Lucas Carlsson and Noah Gregor.

Calgary tied it up with their fourth shot of the game at 9:24. After the Sharks twice failed to clear the zone, MacKenzie Weegar scored with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Assists went to Adam Klapka and Jonathan Huberdeau.

Calgary took the lead at 14:15 with a goal from Klapka. Klapka skated to the net as Nazem Kadri carried the puck in along the boards and then centered it for the snap shot. An assist went to Huberdeau as well.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led in shots 15-6. The only penalty in the period went against the Sharks for too many men on the ice.

The Sharks tied it up 4:20 into the second period. Jan Rutta scored with a backhand as he skated by the net. Assists went to William Eklund and Tyler Toffoli.

The second period was as lopsided as the first, though this time the shots favored Calgary 16-5. The Sharks again took the only penalty of the period, a high-stick against Timothy Lijegren.

Calgary took the lead back with their third goal 1:30 into the third period. Yegor Sharangovich scored with a snap shot for his 100th career NHL goal. Assists went to Morgan Frost and Brayden Pachal.

The Flames padded that lead with a fourth goal at 10:55, a wrist shot in front of the net from Coronato. Assists went to Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.

Sharangovich scored his second of the game into an empty net at 17:16. Rasmus Anderson got the assist.

The Flames took their two penalties of the game in the third period but it did not hurt their result, with the shots nearly even at 10-8 Sharks.

The Sharks will play their final road game of the season on Monday in Vancouver against the Canucks at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 4-2 to Oilers, Losing Streak at Eight

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San Jose Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow (23) looks for an opening against Edmonton Oilers’ goalie Calvin Pickardback right, while under pressure from Max Jones (46), and Matvey Petrov, front right, during second-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)AMBER BRACKEN/AP

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-2 to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Evan Bouchard, Ty Emberson, Corey Perry and Connor Brown scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid had assists on all four goals. Calvin Pickard made 22 saves in the game. The win clinched the Oilers’ position in the playoffs at third in the Pacific Division. Will Smith and Henry Thrun scored for the Sharks. Georgi Romanov made 30 saves. The loss was the eighth in a row for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said:

“You would never know we only have 20 wins. I give a lot of credit to our group. We’re competing. Little slow start but we got it going there, had some good chances, good chances to tie it up. I gotta give a lot of credit to the group. They’re continuing to compete. They’re not looking at their record.”

On the other hand, Warsofsky pointed out that the team made some familiar errors, taking too many penalties: “If you put a team on the power play five times, it doesn’t matter if it’s McDavid or anyone else in the League, they’re gonna make you pay. That’s what happened tonight.”

Alexander Wennberg talked about that penalty problem, in particular the stick penalties: “Obviously, some of the calls we kind of disagree with but it’s part of the game as well. Obviously, play a little more to the body, get your sticks together and be more careful.”

Evan Bouchard started the scoring for Edmonton with a power play goal at 6:47 of the first period. After passing back and forth high in the zone with Connor McDavid, Bouchard took the shot from the slot through traffic. McDavid and Adam Henrique got the assists.

Ty Emberson made it 2-0 at 15:41. McDavid sent the puck to the net just as Emberson arrived there for a tip-in. McDavid and Bouchard got the assists.

Will Smith trimmed that lead with a goal at 17:13. Smith dumped the pucj in from the neutral zone sand then followed it in. Nikolai Kovalenko won the puck near the boards and passed it to Smith for a shot through traffic.

The Sharks were badly outshot in the first period, 14-6. The Sharks took two penalties and had one power play at the end of the period.

Henry Thrun tied the game at 5:44 of the second period. He gathered up the puck along the boards and shot it into traffic from a tight angle. It was the defenseman’s second of the season. William Eklund got the assist.

The shots were closer in the second, 12-9 Oilers. The Sharks again took two penalties to the Oilers’ one.

Corey Perry scored the game winner on the power play at 7:32 of the third period. He tipped a Connor McDavid shot that came from the boards. An assist also went to Adam Henrique.

Connor Brown scored on a breakaway into the empty net at 19:34. Assists went to Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Calgary against the Flames at 5:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Sharks play second of three games in two weeks with Oilers in Edmonton tonight

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Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery (29) defends in front of the net as San Jose Sharks center Cam Lund (46) tries to apply the pressure in the second period at the XCel Energy Center in St Paul on Thu Apr 10, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Minnesota Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek got a hat trick plus one more goal in the Wild’s 8-7 win over the San Jose Sharks at the Excel Energy Center. The Sharks defense couldn’t get a handle on stopping Ek.

#2 The Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov scored his second goal in overtime. The Wild dominated in the first and second periods with two goals and three goals respectively.

#3 With the win the Wild move into the first wild card position in the Western Conference with the St Louis Blues loosing to the Edmonton Oilers in later scheduled game.

#4 The Sharks Macklin Celebrini scored three goals and had two assists and teammate Will Smith had three assists. The Sharks got goals from Tyler Toffoli, and Nikolai Kovalenko. Goaltender Alex Georgiev saved 36 shots.

#5 The task doesn’t get easier as the Sharks are in Edmonton tonight to face the Oilers. The Oilers are third in the Pacific Division at 45-28-5 having won five of their last ten games. For the Sharks dead last in the Pacific Division and their currently on a seven game losing streak.

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Fri Apr 11, 2025: Blackhawks score 3 third period goals in 1:33; Panthers closing in on Lightning; plus more news

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Apr 10, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno (17) shoots and scores a goal while Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke (52) defends during the second period at TD Garden. Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Fri Apr 11, 2025:

#1 The Chicago Blackhawks shot a barrage of four goals in the third period and scored three of those goals in a span of 1:33 against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday for a 5-2 win. The Hawks Nick Foligno scored twice and Ryan Donato picked up his 30th goal for the first time in his NHL career. It was a sweet win for the struggling Blackhawks who had lost six of their last seven games.

#2 Brad Marchand scored his first goal as a Florida Panthers as the Panthers upended the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise Florida. The Panthers Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, and Alexsander Barkov all scored. The Panthers are now just one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.

#3 Columbus Blue Jackets Jet Greaves saved 39 shots and the Jackets came back from behind to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thursday night. Greaves got called up from AHL Cleveland after Elvis Merzlikins had to leave morning skate due to a undisclosed injury.

#4  The Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin was honored before the Capitals game Thursday night for setting an NHL record for most goals with his 895th career goal against the New York Islanders on Sunday. Ovechkin picked up an assist to extend his six game point streak in Thursday’s game as well.

#5 The Capitals in the game defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 at the Capital Center in DC. The Caps win clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tom Wilson also picked up his 33rd goal of the year and the Caps are now 8-1-0 in their last nine games.

#6 The Winnipeg Jets one of the hottest teams in the NHL and the number one seed for the Presidents Cup. The Jets 54-21-4 and they pass the audition.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Utah HC Concludes Inaugural Season Home Schedule With 4-3 Shootout Loss To Nashville

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Utah Hockey Fans show their appreciation on the final home game of the 2024-25 first season for the franchise as they played the Nashville Predators (Utah Hockey Club X photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Dylan Guenther scored the new franchise’s first and final home goals this season, but Utah falls to the Nashville Predators 4-3 in a shootout.

The Minnesota Wild ended Utah Hockey Club’s Wild Card pursuit on Wednesday night when they defeated the San Jose Sharks in Minneapolis. On Thursday, Utah HC returned to the Delta Center ice following their franchise record 7-1 thrashing of the Seattle Kraken two nights earlier to wrap up their 2024-2025 inaugural season home schedule against the Nashville Predators. It was exactly one year ago that Phoenix Coyotes players were informed that they were moving to Utah.

The first period turned into a battle of defenses as Nashville netminder Juuse Saros turned away 11 Utah shots while Karel Vejmelka, making his 22nd consecutive start in goal, turned away all five shots from the Predators.

Utah forward Nick Bjugstad kicked off the scoring at 4:49 of the second period with a steep angle snap shot which found the hole between the left shoulder of Saros and the upper corner of the net for his seventh goal of the season, assisted by Alexander Kerfoot.

At 13:54, Jack McBain hit the center of the crossbar with a shot which rebounded to Josh Doan in front of the net who wristed it past Saros for his sixth goal of the season to make it 2-0 Utah. With 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the frame, Logan Cooley was whistled for tripping against Zachary L’Heureux. On the power play, Nashville defenseman Nick Blankenburg cut Utah’s lead in half with his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan O’Reilly.

The Predators began the third period on the power play again thanks to a Sean Durzi hooking penalty committed against Filip Forsberg with less than a second remaining in the previous period. At 1:19, Forsberg cashed in the man-advantage with his 31st goal of the season, assisted by Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos, tying the score at 2-2. Two minutes later the Delta Center crowd was stunned as Ryan O’Reilly gave Nashville their first lead of the night with his 19th goal, assisted by Michael Bunting. That lead would last less than three minutes as Dylan Guenther knocked a rebound on a shot from Logan Cooley into a wide open net for his 27th of the season with the additional assist to captain Clayton Keller. The two goaltenders locked things down for the rest of regulation and the overtime period.

The final home game of the inaugural season would go all the way to a shootout. Juuse Saros was perfect in shutting down Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Dylan Guenther. Karel Vejmelka was able to stop Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos, but surrendered the final shot to Filip Forsberg on a backhand to give Nashville the shootout win. Utah went 3-1-1 in their final homestand, finishing the regular season with a 18-15-8 home record. Guenther ended up recording the franchise’s first goal on opening night against the Chicago Blackhawks, and scored the team’s final home goal of the season on Thursday night, which also happened to be the sniper’s 22nd birthday.

At the conclusion of the game, all of the Utah players came out on the ice to acknowledge fans, and a number of awards were presented. Barrett Hayton received the “All-In” award which was voted by the fans. Alexander Kerfoot received the “Community Obsessed” award for his involvement in the community. The “Three Stars” award was given to Dylan Guenther for having been selected as one of the Three Stars 16 times this season, including nine First Star recognitions. Captain Clayton Keller received the “Leading Scorer” award, having scored 27 goals and 58 assists for 85 total points in 78 games. Finally, the “Team MVP” was awarded to netminder Karel Vejmelka, whose 22 consecutive starts is the most in the NHL since Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes started 22 six years ago. He has gone 12-6-4 during the streak. Team owner Ryan Smith thanked the fans for their support throughout the year, and told everyone that this was just the beginning.

In the locker room Vejmelka talked about what winning MVP means to him. “It’s a great feeling, especially (the) first year. But I would say it’s a team trophy and a team award. I couldn’t get a trophy without the guys, without (my) teammates. They’re a big part of it and I really appreciate it.” Utah’s fans have serenaded Vejmelka with chants of VEG-GIE and recently began throwing broccoli onto the ice to acknowledge his play. When asked about it, Vejmelka responded, “Yeah, it’s getting crazy. I like to see that, and I can’t wait to see that again next season. It’s a really cool feeling, especially on the ice, and I really feel that support. So like I said, I really appreciate it.” With regard to his mental and physical preparation during his streak, he added, “It’s about consistency and just playing the right way. I don’t want to really complicate things, I just want to play simple, and just enjoy the game as well. It’s a big part of it, and it’s still the game. It was a really great feeling to be (on the) hunt and play for something, (and not) just play the last couple of games for nothing. It’s a good feeling for next season, and hopefully we’re going to be even better.”

Utah captain Clayton Keller talked about the fan reaction to the award ceremony. “It was awesome. It’s been a whirlwind since the end of last season, from top to bottom. Ryan and Ashley (Smith), Chris Armstrong, all the sacrifices that they made to make this transition easy, (and) giving us every source. The fans as well; since day one, you could tell the excitement. We’re super hungry for next year, and this is just the beginning. There’s lots to look forward to.” What was it like playing in front of the home crowd for the last time this season? “Just a special moment. First season here in NHL history. Sometimes it’s crazy to think about that, how quickly it happened and how great of a move it’s been. So just super thankful. So many people gave us a great position to be successful and I couldn’t be more excited for next year.” With regard to Vejmelka’s MVP, Keller added, “Well deserved. He’s been unbelievable. I don’t know how many starts in a row that is, but he’s been unbelievable all year long, making saves when we needed it, giving us lots of confidence. Great teammate, great guy. Signed a nice deal and you couldn’t ask for a better guy and goalie as well. Super excited to have him locked up for a long time and like I said, well deserved.”

Head coach André Tourigny began his media session talking about the final home game in Utah’s inaugural season. “It was special for us. It was the team’s first year and there were a lot of emotions. There were a lot of connections with the crowd and the way they supported us, we wanted to play for them and play in front of them. It’s just tough right now to comprehend that there’s no more this year. We’re addicted now. We’re looking forward to the next one, but we’ll have to wait a little bit.” When asked how players around the league might perceive Utah as a desirable destination for free agents, Bear responded, “You do things right or everybody will know. Here, we do things right and the players are happy. The way the people of Utah, not just our fans, have been with our players off the ice and on the ice and the pour of love and all, everything’s been so positive. I think that word will go around and go into the NHL player community, and that will help our recruiting. No doubt about it.” When asked about the player awards, Tourigny said, “A coach is like a father and you want everybody to be recognized. Those five players have been recognized and they all deserve it, no doubt about it. But there’s a lot of guys, unsung heroes, on our team that I would have loved to see them be rewarded as well. I understand we need to have limits, but I think there are a lot of guys who put their heart into the job this year, and they helped us make this year a special year.”

Utah now hits the road for the final three games of the season against Dallas, Nashville, and St. Louis. The next time fans pour into Delta Center for hockey, their team will have a new identity, whether Mammoth, Outlaws, or a surprise announcement. Stay tuned.

Sharks Fall 8-7 to Wild in Minnesota Barn Burner, Celebrini, Smith Shine

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Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) defends against a shot as San Jose Sharks center Cam Lund (46) pressures during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

By Mary Walsh

Marcus Johansson, Brock Faber, Joel Ericksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov scored for Minnesota. Ericksson Ek scored four of the Wild’s goals and Kaprizov scored two. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli, Macklin Celebrini, Carl Grundstrom, Nikolai Kovalenko and Will Smith scored for San Jose, with Celebrini earning his first NHL hat trick and Smith earning three assists. Alexandar Georgiev made 36 saves in the loss.

Celebrini became the youngest Sharks player to score three goals in a game. He is also now the Sharks’ all-time rookie points leader, with 62. Pat Falloon had 59. Not far down that same list is Will Smith with 44 points.

After the game, Will Smith talked about the comeback and the loss. “I think it’s been our kind of model all year that we’re never out of it but it’s obviously tough in the end.” Celebrini also mentioned the team’s tenacity: “We kept going, we kept pushing, we never really gave up.”

Tyler Toffoli talked about the pressure on these rookies: “They are relied on already to be the cornerstones of the franchise. Really proud of them, the way they handled themselves tonight but they’re going to have to do that for the rest of my time here.”

Toffoli scored the first goal of the game at 12:11 of the first period. William Eklund, at the goal line, took a pass from Alexander Wennberg and then passed the puck to Toffoli for the shot.

Marcus Johansson tied the game at 14:16 with a shot from the point. Assists went to Frederick Gaudreau and Gustav Nyquist.

Brock Faber gave the Wild a lead at 18:48 with a shot from high in the slot and through traffic. An assist went to Matt Boldy.

The Wild outshot the Sharks 17-10 in the first period. The Sharks went through a prolonged spell without a shot in the later half of the period, though they mustered a flurry of offense in the final minute or two.

Macklin Celebrini tied the game at two with a wrist shot at 7:29 of the second period. Catching a pass from Jack Thompson, Celebrini rolled around the Wild defender and then slid the puck around Fleury on the stick side. Assists went to Thompson and Will Smith.

Less than 20 seconds later, Joel Ericksson Ek gave the Wild a 3-2 lead. Assists went to Marcus Foligno and Matt Boldy.

Carl Grundstrom tied it again less than a minute later. Grundstrom carried the puck through the neutral zone and over the line before dropping it to Cam Lund, who gave it back as Grundstrum arrived at the net.

Macklin Celebrini made it 4-3 Sharks at 12:28. He ad the puck near the boards and passed it behind the net to Smith, who sent it back out when Celebrini went to the slot. Assists went to Smith and Timothy Liljegren.

Kirill Kaprizov tied it at 4 with a power play goal at 17:02. Assists went to Mats Zuccarello and Joel Ericksson Ek. Ericksson Ek scored his second of the game on a power play at 19:48. Assists went to Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy.

In the second period, the Wild outshot the Sharks but only 15-14, reflecting a much closer period. The Sharks took two penalties and a third matching minor in the second period.

Joel Ericksson Ek completed his hat trick with a power play goal 1:02 into the third. Assists went to Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Ericksson Ek made it a haul just over a minute later. Assists went to Boldy and Foligno.

Nikolai Kovalenko scored for the Sharks at 4:44. The goal was the start of a surprising third period comeback by the Sharks. Assists went to Celebrini and Henry Thrun.

Celebrini completed his hat trick and brought the Sharks within a goal at 10:02 of the third. Assists went to Smith and Kovalenko.

Will Smith tied the game with the Sharks net empty and less than a minute left on the clock. He took the shot from the top of the face-off circle into traffic at the net. Assists went to Lijegren and Celebrini.

Kirill Kaprizov scored the game winner for Minnesota at 1:01 of overtime. Assists went to Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon.

The Sharks next play on Friday in Edmonton against the Oilers at 6:30 PM PT.

Utah Hockey Club game wrap: Utah HC Offense Unleashes On Kraken In 7-1 Rout

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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes a save with his skate against Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz (8) in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Sat Apr 5, 2025. Utah clobbered the Seattle Kraken at the Delta Center on Tue Apr 8, 2025. (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Seven different players lit the lamp for Utah HC in a lopsided 7-1 victory over Seattle.

Nearing the end of their inaugural season in Salt Lake City, Utah Hockey Club entered Tuesday night’s showdown with the Seattle Kraken still mathematically surviving in the Wild Card race with five games remaining on the schedule.

Utah wasted no time opening up a first period lead when defenseman Mikhail Sergachev increased his career high in goals with his 15th of the season, assisted by Kevin Stenlund and Sean Durzi. At 12:54 of the first period, with Seattle’s Jamie Oleksiak and Brandon Montour in the penalty box, captain Clayton Keller recorded his 27th goal of the year with a wicked wrist shot which whizzed past Kraken netminder Joey Daccord on the 5-on-3 power play, assisted by Sergachev and Dylan Guenther.

With Oleksiak remaining in the sin bin due to a high-sticking double minor against Kailer Yamamoto, Yamamoto cashed it in with a slap shot with six seconds remaining on the power play to make it 3-0, his second goal of the season, assisted by Josh Doan and Logan Cooley. For his part, Karel Vejmelka stopped all four shots he faced in his 21st consecutive start in goal for Utah.

The second period began much as the first period ended. Just 16 seconds after the puck drop, Lawson Crouse fired the puck from almost the identical spot as Sergachev’s first period goal, the middle of the ice at the distance of the top of the faceoff circle, to beat Joey Daccord unassisted for his 12th goal of the season.

Before the period was halfway over, Logan Cooley harpooned the Kraken with his 23rd goal of the season, assisted by Guenther and Keller. If Ron Popeil were at Delta Center, one might hear him exclaim, “But wait, there’s more!” With Ryker Evans committing Seattle’s sixth penalty of the evening for holding against Lawson Crouse, the Utah power play scored for the third time in the game, on this occasion with Nick Schmaltz poking in a smooth pass from Guenther at the side of the net for his 18th of the season, with the additional assist going to Sergachev.

But Utah still wasn’t done slaying the Kraken. With less than two minutes remaining in the frame, Michael Carcone launched a shot at the hapless Seattle netminder which made its way into the back of the net for his seventh of the season, assisted by Michael Kesselring and Kevin Stenlund, sending both teams to the locker room with the scoreboard showing Utah up by a touchdown over sleepless Seattle. Vejmelka turned away all seven shots faced in the period.

The Kraken opened the third period on the power play due to an interference penalty against Ian Cole as time expired in the second. Seattle forward Jared McCann ended the shutout 23 seconds into the man advantage to make the score 7 -1, which was the final tally as the horn sounded at the end of the game. Vejmelka saved 18 of 19 shots overall.

In the Utah locker room, Mikhail Sergachev addressed his squad’s defense which held the Kraken to a single goal. “I think we defended well, at least in the first two periods. Everybody came back, we didn’t turn the puck over on the lines, and we just got it deep and always got it back, so that’s an improvement.” When asked whether they talked about continuing to hit the gas after taking a 3-0 lead in the first, Sergachev responded, “Yeah, whenever you have a three-nothing lead after the first, you still have 40 minutes to play. Especially if they’re going in, you want to go and pressure and try to get more shots and more pulls, but obviously, looking back, and not giving up goals. So I think that’s what guys did in the second.”

Forward Kailer Yamamoto was asked about scoring against his former teammates. “It’s awesome. Obviously, I owe them one. They didn’t want me, so I came in with a little bit of a vengeance, but it’s a good one for us, for sure.” When asked what he adds to the lineup looking toward his next contract, Yamamoto commented, “Just work ethic and trying to make plays. Obviously, my linemates are phenomenal players, so fitting in with them has been very easy. I’m just trying to work hard and make some plays.”

Head coach André Tourigny was so pleased with the team’s performance that he simply smiled at reporters and dispensed with his usual opening statement to take questions. The first had to do with seven different skaters registering a goal. “If you remember in training camp, we talked about our depth. A season has a lot of chapters, and we were in the trenches in January. It was a really tough situation, and we didn’t have that depth scoring and we knew our team was depending on that. Since then, we have had that depth scoring and you can see the result. In every game our offense can come from everywhere, like tonight. The power play was really good, but we also had scoring from other lines. That made a difference.” Tourigny praised Yamamoto who has split his season between Utah HC and the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. “He’s a really good player. His hockey IQ, his give-and-go game, and his experience as well, you can see the NHL is not new for him. It’s not like he’s a guy who is trying to break into the NHL, he’s already been here. His playmaking defensively and under pressure are really good.”

With four games remaining on the schedule, Utah is still mathematically in contention for the final Wild Card spot, albeit it would require a perfect storm of failure by Minnesota, Calgary, and Vancouver to pull off the miracle comeback. On Thursday the Nashville Predators which close out the final regular season homestand at Delta Center, after which Utah will finish out the season on the road in Dallas, Nashville, and St. Louis.

Sharks Let Another One Get Away Lose To Flames 3-2

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Sharks Celebrate goal over Calgary at SAP Center in San Jose on Apr 7 (Sharks Media)

By: Fernando Abarca

The losses continue to mount for the Teal team, which suffered another defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames 3-2. In this game, the team that scored first failed to take advantage of its numerical advantage.

For Calgary, it was necessary to get wins as they remain in the fight for a Wild Card playoff spot, and the Alberta team knows every point counts. For our Sharks, all that remains is to close out the year with a win, in what was their penultimate home game before closing out the season against Edmonton.

It’s also important to offer our sincere condolences to a colleague in the hockey world. During the game, it was announced the passing of Greg Millen, former NHL player and analyst for Hockey Night in Canada for the Canadian network Sportsnet where the Canadian network did not produce the game for Canadian viewers and broadcasting the Sharks’ NBC Sports broadcast instead.

During the first period, the Sharks took the lead near the end of the first period with a goal by Will Smith, assisted by Nikolai Kovalenko and Macklin Celebrini, both assisting players tried to score another goal in Calgary’s goal.

Georgie Romanov was in charge of the goaltending duties, recording 29 saves. However, the stats seem to go against him as he recorded his fourth loss in six games with the Sharks.

The Sharks tried to gain control of the puck and possession during the second period, but the period remained scoreless and still having the Teal ahead by one.

The nightmare came in the final period, something the home team hadn’t anticipated. Calgary took a three-goal lead starting eight minutes into the third period, with Adam Kapla tying the score.

At the last minute, Jonathan Huberdeau put Calgary ahead 2-1, and then Matt Coronato closed the scoring for the visitors, leaving the Sharks at 3-1.

The game-winning goal came at the last minute, thanks to a power play by Will Smith, who left the score at 2-2 for the Sharks.

With this result, the Sharks are down to 20-47-10. The Sharks will travel on the road to Minnesota to try to avoid furthering the Wild’s playoff hopes, and then head to Canada.

The Sharks will be home on April 16 when they host the Edmonton Oilers for the final time this season, concluding the Sharks’ NHL campaign for the year.

Sharks fall 5-1 to Kraken in final matchup

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San Jose Sharks vs Seattle Kraken on Saturday April 5th at SAP Center (via sanjosesharks/)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE–The Seattle Kraken scored three times in the second period and buried the San Jose Sharks 5-1 at SAP Center. The Kraken got the first lead of the game, with five minutes left of the first, Jared McCann scored his 19th of the season. They extended their lead to two, three minutes later, when Andre Burakovsky scored his tenth goal of the season. San Jose cut into that lead when Will Smith scored his 14th of the season. With the assists, Celebrini and Toffoli extend their point streaks to back to back games.

The Kraken extended their lead three times during the second period. The first was when Chandler Stephenson scored his 13th of the season at 7:39 of the second period. They extended their lead even further when Jaden Schwartz scored his 24th of the season. After letting in four goals, the Sharks brought in backup goaltender Georgi Romanov. Romanov let in his first goal at 18:07 of the second, Jared McCann with his 20th of the season, second of the night, putting him on hat-trick watch.

San Jose had trouble staying out of the box in tonight’s game, the Sharks committed three penalties while Seattle only committed two. Each team’s power-play was put to the test but neither team could capitalize. Both teams weren’t top ten in power-play rankings. San Jose is 22nd in the league and Seattle is 25th in the league.

Seattle dominated in nearly every aspect of the game. They registered 22 shots, had a 54.9 faceoff percentage, had ten penalty minutes, 14 blocked shots, and six steals. While Seattle had those stats, San Jose registered 24 shots, had a 45.1 faceoff percentage, 15 blocked shots, and three steals.

Alexander Georgiev was Saturday night’s starting goalie. After sitting out due to an injury, Georgiev’s first game back ended in a loss. In the loss, his record now moves to 7-18. For Seattle, Joey Daccord was Saturday night’s starting goalie. Daccord recorded the win, making 23 saves on 24 shots.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Jared McCann, 2G, 1A
  • 2. Shane Wright, 1A
  • 3. Joey Daccord, 1 GA

The Sharks will be back in action on Monday April 7th hosting the Calgary Flames for the final time this season.