Category: NHL

Feature: Sharks In Desperate Need of More Power Play Opportunities

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By: Peter Elliott

CHICAGO–Peter DeBoer’s squad was deprived of something other than a win on Friday night: opportunities on the power play.

The Sharks only had one chance to execute on the man advantage in their 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks. It lasted 22 seconds.

San Jose’s only time on the ice with less than five red sweaters was during the third period, when Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy was booked to the penalty box with an interference minor. 22 seconds later, Brent Burns was sent off to the Sharks penalty box on a holding minor, offsetting the Sharks’ 5-on-4 upper hand. If I haven’t stressed it enough, 22 seconds is not enough time to type a tweet, much less let alone score a goal.

The power play had been a strength for the Sharks all season and a reason for their high offensive benchmarks. But lately, not so much.

The team is suffering through a scoreless 0-19 stretch in the power play category, an unusual drought for a team that has been so stellar on the man advantage for the majority of the season. The Sharks still remain among the best in the league in the category, up there with division leaders Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay. But if their recent struggles continue, they surely won’t keep up with that company for very long.

“We need to get a little bit of that confidence back, stepping over the boards and understanding that it can win us some games,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski of his team’s power play scoring skid, per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. “We need to be better there. Bottom line is we need to execute, make another play, stick one in the net.”

As noted, it’s absence has been sorely missed on the offensive side of the ice recently. Especially on Thursday night during a 7-1 blowout at the hands of Nashville, in which DeBoer’s squad failed to net on a single goal during their five power play opportunities. The Sharks undoubtedly just need both more opportunities and repetitions with the power play. 

Success will come soon.

The power play magic that has helped the Sharks postseason aspirations is currently M.I.A., but luckily for the Sharks, they’ll have time to re-discover it before a Sunday evening game against Minnesota. The Wild boast a pedestrian penalty kill percentage of 80.8%, which makes the playoff contending Wild a ripe target for a power play resurgence.

San Jose has been able to maintain a 6-5 record in the month of February, although that is not ideal for a team in the middle of a tight playoff race. A stronger showing on the man advantage certainly could have alleviated some of those deficits.

The Sharks are set to square off against the Blackhawks again on March 1 in San Jose. Maybe then, the Sharks can get a power play that lasts a whole 30 seconds.

Opinion: Sharks Even the Score, but Let the Game Slip Away 3-1 to Blackhawks

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks dropped a 3-1 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Friday evening. Three Chicago goals came from Jan Rutta, Nick Schmaltz and Artem Anisimov. The lone Sharks goal came from Timo Meier.

Chicago goaltender Jean Francois Berube made 42 saves for the win, while San Jose goaltender Martin Jones made 33 saves for the loss.

The Blackhawks have struggled this season, but they looked better than their overall season record. This was only Berube’s 14th NHL start and first for this season.

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was asked if this was a missed opportunity, playing against an inexperienced goaltender. Burns responded: “It’s a pretty good team over there. I don’t think you can take that team lightly. Yeah, I mean it is. I don’t know. I think that’s a game we’ve got to win for other reasons. I think just losing the night before you want to rebound with two points. That’s the tough part I think.”

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer was asked about that goaltender as well. His response was a bit more emphatic.

We don’t have any gimmes. So if you’re insinuating that this is a gimme for us because they’ve got an inexperienced goalie, then that’s ridiculous. You’ve been around the NHL long enough to know: every team you play has a chance to beat anyone on any given night.

Of the overall game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

I think we definitely got better as we went on. Our second period was better, even though we didn’t have the lead. It was something in the third, took us a little bit to get going. But it felt like it was… It’s wierd… We’ve got to the check out this game tape right now, it feels like we should have won that game. We’re a little disappointed we didn’t come away with the win.

The first period was scoreless and penalty free. The Sharks had a 15-10 edge in shots. Burns and Chris Tierney each took three of those shots.

The first goal came at 5:46 of the second period, when Rutta took a shot that was blocked by a mass of skaters in front of Jones. The blocked shot came right back to him so he shot again and that one went it. Assists went to Schmaltz and Anthony Duclair.

Schmaltz’s goal came just 2:01 into the third period. Justin Braun’s pass to Mikkel Boedker in the Sharks’ zone missed and the puck was picked up by Duclair on his way into the zone. He sent the puck back across the slot to Schmaltz. Jones could not get across and Schmaltz had an open net. Duclair got the assist.

The Sharks finally got on the board right off an offensive zone faceoff. Pavelski won the faceoff and got the puck to Brent Burns. Timo Meier picked up a drop pass from Burns and took a quick shot from high in the slot. Burns and Pavelski got the assists.

The third Chicago goal was an empty-netter at 19:29. Anisimov’s goal came after several tries from various Blackhawks players and several blocked shots by Sharks.

The Sharks are still in second place in the Pacific, but the Ducks are just one point behind them. San Jose’s power-play goal drought has now been extended for eight games and 13 days featuring 19 power plays.

The Sharks will wrap up this road trip on Sunday against the Wild at 5:00 pm PT.

Meier scores lone goal in Sharks’ 3-1 loss to Blackhawks

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By: Ana Kieu

CHICAGO — The San Jose Sharks somewhat proved they were lethal on the road as they carried a three-game winning streak to the Music City, but it came to an end in a 7-1 blowout by the Nashville Predators, who annihilated the visiting team at Bridgestone Arena Thursday night. The Sharks, however, brushed off the tough loss and traveled to the Windy City to play some Friday night hockey with the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

Sharks goalie Martin Jones was a huge factor in the opening period as he made a lot of notable saves to keep the Blackhawks’ shots from entering the net. The period ended in a scoreless tie and the shots were 15-11 in favor of San Jose.

Hawks defenseman Jan Rutta broke open the scoreless deadlock with a goal–his sixth of the season–that was initially set up by left winger Anthony Duclair and center Nick Schmaltz at 5:46 of the second period.

Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan was called for hooking late in the period. As a result, the Hawks received their first power play of the night. Unfortunately, Chicago was unable to capitalize with the man advantage.

The Hawks carried a 1-0 lead to the locker room after two periods of play. Shots were 25-24 in favor of San Jose.

Schmaltz gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead with his 17th goal of the season at 2:01 of the third period. Anthony Duclair picked up the lone assist.

The third period got fairly chippy for both teams. The rather negative action started as soon as an on-ice official was struck by a puck and was down on the ice in pain. Fortunately, the official was able to pick himself up off the ground after a brief moment of disbelief for the majority of fans. The Hawks received a penalty as Connor Murphy was called for interference at 5:33 of the period. The Sharks then received a penalty after defenseman Brent Burns was called for holding the stick just 32 seconds later. Unfortunately, neither team capitalized with the man advantage.

The Sharks managed to cut the lead in half as right winger Timo Meier scored his 15th goal of the season at the 12:09 mark of the period. Burns and captain Joe Pavelski provided the assists on Meier’s goal.

“It’s frustrating, just to lose,” said Burns. “When you bounce back after a tough night, it’s something…We didn’t win, so it’s tough.”

The Sharks pulled their goalie (Jones) for an extra attacker with 1:50 left in regulation. That, however, only made the situation worse. Hawks center Artem Anisimov scored his 17th goal of the season on the empty net with 31 seconds left. Rutta and Tomas Jurco provided the assists on Anisimov’s insurance goal.

The Sharks lost to the Hawks 3-1 on the road. J.F. Berube stopped 42 of 43 shots for Chicago. Jones made 33 of 35 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.

“We had the shots, we had the looks, but we didn’t have enough time to get bodies to the net,” said Pavelski. “But we’ve been addressing that (issue) lately.”

“We didn’t have the bounces that we should’ve,” Sharks right winger Kevin Labanc said. “I mean, every game from here on out is going to be a playoff type of hockey. You just gotta be good defensively on the power play…We gotta score. We gotta improve defensively.”

“Not enough to win,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer. “That’s the bottom line.”

Notes
Sharks’ starting lineup: Joe Pavelski (C), Joonas Donskoi, Timo Meier, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Martin Jones.

Hawks’ starting lineup: Tomas Jurco, Artem Anisimov, Jan Rutta, Erik Gustafsson, Patrick Kane and J.F. Berube.

Tonight’s attendance was 21,906.

Up Next
The Sharks head to Minnesota to take on the Wild on Sunday night at 7 pm CT.

NHL/Olympics Podcast with Joe Lami: Now it’s time for hockey to grow the women’s game

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

sbnation.com photo: US Women’s Olympic team celebrates after overtime win past Team Canada on Wednesday at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics

On the NHL Podcast with Joe:

1 The US Women’s team played a nailbiter with a 3-2 shootout win over Team Canada, the last time the US Women’s team won gold was in 1998

2 The US broke Canada’s four straight gold medal streak in Women’s hockey

3 It was the penalty shootout that clinched it for Team USA in a game where both teams played it until it hurt

4 It was anniversary of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team when Team USA beat the Soviets. Was this win just as huge as that 1980 game?

5 Canada defenseman Jocelyne Larocque took her silver medal off during the award ceremony because she only wanted to wear gold

Joe Lami will be back with the NHL Podcast next Monday for all the latest in the NHL trade deadline at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Predators dominate Sharks 7-1; Rinne stops 32 shots, Preds pile on Sharks with four-goal third period

Published on by smallforceLeave a comment

~ NHL.com photo

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne earned his 300th NHL win stopping 32 shots, as the San Jose Sharks lost 7-1 Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.

The Predators tied a season-high with seven goals as they flipped 46 pucks towards Sharks goalie Aaron Dell. Nashville replied to the Sharks’ goal with four more.  

It was Dell’s first game since February 10. Dell faced a season-high in shots and goals. Dell was making his first regular-season appearance against Nashville. San Jose have a 1-10-1 record recently in the Music City.

Despite a mix of familiar and new with the Sharks’ Tomas Hertl returning after three games and newest member Eric Fehr making his debut, it was not San Jose’s time against the Central Division leaders.  Sharks’ defenseman Brent Burns described it as a “nightmare night, not fun to play.”

However, head coach Pete DeBoer mentioned he wouldn’t “overreact. It wasn’t a disaster from start to finish.”

San Jose’s power play continued to struggle, now 0-for-18 after five more attempts.

All of the Predators’ goals came from different members. Viktor Arvidsson, Nick Bonino, Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok added assists as well.

In the first period, Nashville struck early and late.

Dell found his body on the wrong side of the net when Bonino used a wraparound attempt. Bonino was able to get the puck in before Dell’s left skate reached the left post at 1:55.

Scott Hartnell made the Sharks see double when he took an opportune pass from Bonino and found a hole under Dell’s right arm with under a minute left.

Both teams scored in the second period.

With his dad in the arena, Logan Couture potted San Jose’s first goal for the second game.

Starting from the other end, Marc-Edouard Vlasic fished the puck from the boards and sent it to Justin Braun who raced forward. Couture took the puck, exchanged a back-and-forth with Kevin Labanc and fought to eventually score from behind the goal line at 8:39.

Jannik Hansen had two point-blank rockets versus Rinne less than a minute later.

However, the Predators regained their first period cushion when Fiala capitalized on a 2-on-1 at 15:57.

Nashville continued to march off to the races with Arvidsson, Johansen and Mattias Ekholm joining the rush at 3:49, 6:30 and 11 minutes of the third period, respectively.

Dell made a save facing Colton Sissons’ shorthanded breakaway attempt. It ended up in a penalty shot, which Dell blocked too.

Up Next: The Sharks will play the second of back-to-back games Friday, facing the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time this season at 5:30pm.

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks take three-game win streak to Nashville continue on without Ward, Hertl and Thornton

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa:

1 The San Jose Sharks took a two -game win streak in St Louis Tuesday night and picked up their third straight win with a 3-2 win

2 The St Louis Blues have lost a season-high four straight games

3 The Sharks’ Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker got a goal and an assist a piece on Tuesday night

4 Goaltender Martin Jones stopped 31 saves and picked up his third straight win and late game assist by Brent Burns

5 The Sharks continue this road trip Thursday at Nashville, Friday at Chicago, and at Minnesota Sunday

Mary Lisa Walsh does the San Jose Sharks Podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks edge Blues 3-2 to extend winning streak to three games

Published on by smallforceLeave a comment

~ Photo credit: NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Sharks scored three goals off six shots as they extended their winning streak to three games after escaping with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.

Both teams saw each other for the first time this season as the Blues lost a season-high four straight games.

The Sharks have scored three goals in their last three and held their opponents to two or less in their last four games.

Both Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker got a goal and an assist apiece. Boedker, with seven points during his four-game goal streak, earned the game-winner with 4:06 left in regulation.    

Goalie Martin Jones made 31 saves and put together his and San Jose’s third straight win with a late game assist by Brent Burns. The Blues outshot the Sharks 24-11 during the last two periods.  

Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a chance near the end of the first that was redirected by Boedker and clanked off the right post.

After putting up zeroes in the first, both teams went the other way in the second with multiple goals each.

First, Couture cashed in after scooping up Boedker’s rebound and then lifting the puck at 6:35.

Less than two minutes later, Ivan Barbashev evened the sheet on a 2-on-1 from the left faceoff circle.

Undaunted, Joonas Donskoi made it 2-1 on a 3-on-2 from the right faceoff circle at the 12:05 mark. It was Donskoi’s first since January 13 as he hit almost the same spot in the net as Couture.

Boedker then put San Jose up 3-1 as he crashed the net and moved the puck underneath Carter Hutton’s right pad.

The Blues kept the game close though heading to the third. 10 seconds after drawing a penalty, Vladimir Tarasenko pulled his team back to within one. Vince Dunn got the primary assist as his shot went off Jones and rolled to Tarasenko. Tarasenko now has four points in his last three games.

With just over four minutes left in the game, Burns went fishing behind Jones to help keep Saint Louis at bay. Burns returned to continue his Iron man streak after missing the majority of the third period last game.

Game Notes: The Sharks’ recent power plays stand at 0-for-13. Sharks management made a pre-game trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs when they acquired Eric Fehr in exchange for a 2020 7th-round draft selection.

Up Next: The Sharks will take on the Nashville Predators Thursday at 5 pm PT for game two of their four-game road trip.

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks have improved on the power play, the penalty kill, and are fourth in the power play in the NHL

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

nhl.com file photo: The San Jose Sharks Paul Martin (7) has been called up from the Sharks AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda

On the SJ Sharks Podcast with Len:

1 The Sharks wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the first 27 second of the game on Saturday night at SAP Center against the visiting Dallas Stars and the offense took on a life of it’s own from that point

2 The Sharks have won eight of their last ten games it looks like they’ve recovered after having a rough start of January last month they lost three out of five games on the road. Now the Sharks have won eight of their last ten games.

3 Goals scored by Mikkel Boedker (twice), Joe Pavelski, Melker Karlsson, and Justin Braun

4 Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopped 26 shifts, he allowed two in the third but good enough to win

5 The Sharks go on the road again for four games starting on Tuesday night in St Louis

notes: The San Jose have put Tomas Hertl and Joel Ward on the disabled list and have called up Rudolfs Balcers and Paul Martin from the Sharks AHL Affiliate the San Jose Barracuda

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

 

Sharks Shut Down Dallas Stars, Win 5-2

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

photo from pressdemocrat.com: The San Jose Sharks Mikkel Boedker (89) goes for the victory skate in front of the Sharks bench after scoring a first period goal his first of two against the Dallas Stars Sunday night at SAP Center in San Jose

by Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks beat the Dallas Stars Sunday, taking a 5-0 lead before giving up two goals in the third period. The Sharks have now won eight of their last ten games. Mikkel Boedker scored twice for the Sharks, with additional goals from Joe Pavelski, Melker Karlsson and Justin Braun. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the win. Gemel Smith and Tyler Pitlick scored for Dallas and Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves on 23 shots after coming in to relieve Ben Bishop who made just one save on five shots in the first period.

The win might not erase the team’s horrific 6-0 road loss in Dallas last New Year’s Eve, but was a major improvement. Sharks defenseman Justin Braun was asked about the two games later. “We were actually moving in this game. Back in Dallas everyone left their legs somewhere else,” he explained. Sunday was different. “It was great. Everybody was coming above on the backcheck and shutting down their speed so, yeah, that was huge.”

Also significant was how long the Sharks held a 5-0 lead, from 5:00 of the second period to 5:35 of the third. Despite significant absences like Joe Thornton and now Tomas Hertl, the team is proving to be resourceful and tenacious. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Pete DeBoer said:

As a coach you hate those types of leads, especially with a lot of game left and we had that big lead for a long time. You know the other team’s going to push and they’ve got some quality. We just kept talking about if we allow them open it up a little bit they’re a team that can easily score four or five goals in a period. So I thought we stuck with it overall for a good length of time and did a good job with it.

The first period was a goaltender’s nightmare for Ben Bishop. By the time the Sharks had put five shots on net, they had four goals.

The first came just 29 seconds in, from Joe Pavelski. Taking advantage of a Jamie Benn turnover in the neutral zone, Marc-Edouard Vlasic caught the puck as it crossed the Sharks blue line. He returned the puck quickly to Pavelski, who sent it behind his back to Timo Meier. Meier carried it in but Dallas wrested control soonafter. As Tyler Seguin tried to clear it, he put it right on Pavelski’s stick. Pavelski’s spinning backhand found its way through traffic, went off the post and in. Assists went to Meier and Vlasic.

The second goal came from that same line at 5:59. Meier took a shot from the blue line that missed the net just enough to bounce off the boards behind it. Melker Karlsson was on the doorstep to poke it in when it bounced in front of the post. Assists went to Meier and Pavelski.

Jannik Hansen moved the puck into the Dallas zone but it didn’t go far before bouncing off of a Star. The ricochet first whizzed by Chris Tierney, then by Alexander Radulov and finally landed on Mikkel Boedker’s stick as he skated into the zone. His wrist shot from the circle went between Bishop’s pads and in. Assists went to Hansen and Justin Braun.

Boedker scored again at 17:23. Chris Tierney held on to the puck for a long time at the end of a Sharks power play, sending it once to Joakim Ryan on the blue line, only to get it right back from him. Finally, he saw Boedker ready in the slot and passed it perfectly for Boedker’s one-timer. The shot went into traffic and under Bishop’s blocker before the very tall tender could react. The goal came one second too late to end the Sharks power play goal drought. Assists went to Tierney and Vlasic.

Dallas opted to change goaltenders then, putting Kari Lehtonen in net.

The second period started much as the first had, but only produced one Sharks goal. Five minutes in, Joe Pavelski sent the puck up the boards as a Dallas defender closed on him. Braun picked that up and took the shot and it went in. Assists went to Pavelksi and Karlsson.

Jones’ shutout bid ended at 5:35 of the third. A miscue put Daniel O’Regan in front of Jones while Gemel Smith caught a pass from Brett Ritchie and took it to the net. Jones saw the shot too late. Assists went to Ritchie and Stephen Johns.

Dallas scored again at 8:57. A shot came in and Jones almost had the puck when it slipped away in front of him. Tyler Pitlick was right there to pick it up and put it in with his backhand.

Brent Burns left the ice briefly during the first first period Sharks power play, and returned very quickly. He left again during the third period less than four minutes in after two shifts. He did not return. As things stand now, Pete DeBoer expects Burns to be on the upcoming road trip.

The Sharks next play in St. Louis against the Blues on Tuesday at 5:00 pm PT.

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum: Has anything changed in America? Blackhawks fans make racist jeers at Capitals player in penalty box; Coyotes win fourth straight; plus more NHL News

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from the Chicago Tribune: Chicago Blackhawk fans jeering Washington Capitals right winger Davante Smith-Pelly (25) with taunts over and over again saying “basketball” near the Washington penalty box on Saturday at the United Center. There were four Blackhawk fans that were caught making the jeers and were ejected from the arena. Fans in the area heard more fans doing the “basketball” jeers but were not caught and removed by United Center ushers when they ejected the four fans.

NHL Podcast with Daniel Dullum:

1 Fans ejected from Blackhawks game for racist taunts directed at Capitals’ Devante Smith-Pelly

2 Coyotes finding success against struggling teams

3  Nick Ritchie scores in 11th round of shootout, Ducks beat Wild in St. Paul

4 Real reason NHL won’t participate in Olympic hockey

Daniel covers the NHL each Sunday podcasting at http://www.sportsradoservice.com

 

Categories NHL