Category: NHL

FEBRUARY 18: AP photo San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) talks with a referee during the NHL hockey game between the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes on February 18, 2017 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.(Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

When your only picking up only one point per game like the San Jose Sharks overtime in Buffalo or in Philadelphia and come home against Florida. The Sharks  10-2-5 in their last 17 games. It’s not time to panic that’s a pretty good record despite having lost six of their last eight games. Their going to have to start picking up some points in the next week or two because their going to be off starting Monday for the next five days. They don’t return to action until Saturday night at Rogers Centre in Vancouver.

Meanwhile the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers can pick up some ground on the Sharks. The Sharks did pick up a big win Saturday in Arizona for the first time in four tries they finished 1-3-1 against Arizona and their done with them for the year. The Sharks Brett Burns who scored two goals against the Yotes Saturday is someone the offense can’t rely on all the time. Someone from the other lines have to contribute to goal scoring too.

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

Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) skates against San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski (8) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Brad Marchand and the Bruins Beat San Jose In Overtime 2-1

By Barbara Mason

SAN JOSE–Saturday night the San Jose Sharks got past the Phoenix Coyotes in a solid 4-1 win, their second of the season against the desert dogs. The vastly improved Coyotes had beaten them three of five games this season and so the win was particularly significant. Taking that momentum into Sunday’s game against the Boston Bruins to SAP Arena one would think that San Jose would come out strong against Boston. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. In the first period, the Sharks looked worn out with a few bursts of energy here and there. They looked slow producing a real lack-luster effort. Although shots on goal were 9 to 7 in favor of the Bruins, the Sharks were lucky to escape the period only trailing 1-0 thanks completely to goalie Martin Jones. Boston’s Ryan Spooner scored his ninyh goal of the season for the only goal of the period.

The second period started with identical energy and even the fans sounded tired. The Bruins had taken the fans out of the game in the early goings. As the period wore on San Jose began to display more energy. The momentum in the period swayed in favor of the Sharks. San Jose also overtook shots on goal outshooting the Bruins 23-18. Despite some outrageous chances the Black and Teal were unable to find the net. At 17:37 however, San Jose finally broke through when Patrick Marleau scored his 21st goal of the season assisted by Brent Burns and David Schlemko to tie up the game 1-1. The energy at SAP took a decided turn and the Sharks were back in business.

The third period turned into a wild affair with the Bruins goalie Rask turning San Jose away time after time. With few stoppages in play the period flew by with neither team able to score. The period ended in the 1-1 tie with the Sharks taking 29 shots on goal to the Bruins 23. The game would go into overtime.

Both teams had opportunities in the extra minutes but it was Boston that created a breakaway with Brad Marchand luring Jones to one side of the net and sending the puck rocketing up the middle for the goal. The Sharks would go into the five day break on a losing note but still maintaining first place in the Pacific division earning one point for the overtime. As we have seen time and time again; it was goalie Martin Jones that kept the Sharks in this game with the offense sputtering at times.

Once the break is behind them, the Sharks will be on the road taking on Vancouver next Saturday. The puck drops at 7:00 PST at Rogers Centre.

 

 

prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com file photo: San Jose Sharks Brett Burns who scored twice at Gila River Arena on Saturday night in Glendale against the Arizona Coyotes

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, February 18, 2017

GLENDALE, Ariz. – When it comes to his All-Star defenseman Brett Burns, San Jose coach Peter DeBoer is running out of new words of praise.

“He’s having an MVP season,” DeBoer said of Burns, who is third in the NHL scoring race with 61 points, trailing only Connor McDavid of Edmonton and Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh. “He’s been that good for us all year, and it’s every night.

“I don’t know what else to say. In my mind, he’s the best player in the league. We’re happy to have him on our team.”

Burns scored his 26th and 27th goals of the season, backup goaltender Aaron Dell was near perfect in the nets, and the Sharks bested Arizona 4-1 before a sellout crowd of 17,446 at Gila River Arena – many of them sporting Sharks apparel.

With Martin Jones taking the night off, Dell stepped in and stopped 36 of 37 shots while improving his record to 7-3-1.

“I handled a lot of shots early, and I think that helped get a little more comfortable,” Dell said. “It’s always nice to get a big lead. I think we found our game a little bit,” he added. “This was one of the more solid games we’ve put together in a while. A big part of it was having guys blocking shots, bearing down on stuff. We had Burnsie back there putting the puck in the net.

“(The Coyotes) have given us a hard time this year and we didn’t want to take them for granted. We brought our game up to, I think, the level we can play at.”

“(Dell) had a great camp and every time out, he’s been really good every time we’ve put him in there, DeBoer said of the University of North Dakota product.

San Jose (35-18-6, 74 points) holds a four-point lead in the NHL Pacific Division over Edmonton and a six-point edge over idle Anaheim.
The Sharks were 4-2-4 in their previous 10 games, including an overtime win over Florida on Feb. 15.

With the victory, San Jose finished their season series 2-1-2 against the Coyotes.

Arizona (20-30-7, 47 points) is mired in the basement of the Pacific, joining Vancouver as the only division teams out of the playoff picture. The only drama remaining for the Coyotes is a) whether or not they deal popular captain Shane Doan to a contender at the trading deadline, and b) finding yet another new location for their proposed new arena in any place but Glendale.

One of the biggest takeaways from the victory, DeBoer said, was finally getting the best of Mike Smith, the Coyotes’ All-Star netminder who was named to the team’s 20th anniversary (in Arizona) Starting Six before the game.

The Sharks scored on four of their 29 shots against Smith.

“There was a lot of energy in the building, and we got to Smitty in the first period, which was big,” Sharks left wing Joe Pavelski said. “He’s stopped a lot of pucks against us the last few games we faced him, so when you get one or two in on him early on, it breaks him down a little bit.”

“It was critical for us to get some goals off of Smith,” DeBoer said. “He’s had our number this year. Those early goals gave Aaron a little bit of a comfort zone – when you’re up 3-0, I think the whole team plays differently. And the goalie knows with a lead like that, you can make a mistake and it won’t hurt you.”

Burns continued that “MVP” level of play with the game’s first goal at 9:01 of the first period, his 26th of the season. Burns took a pass from Melker Karlsson along the boards, circled toward the high slot, and flipped a strong wrister through traffic and past Smith on the stick side.

Nearly six minutes later, Karlsson made it 2-0 for San Jose. At 14:49, Karlsson took a headman pass from Logan Couture near the right point at the blue line, and sent a low wrist shot from high in the right circle – under a Coyotes defender – past Smith’s left side under his blocker.

Less than three minutes into the second period, Michael Haley tallied his first goal of the season less than three minutes into the second period, extending the Sharks’ lead to 3-0. Paul Martin held a clearing pass in at the blue line and found Haley, whose wrist shot from the left slot eluded Smith under his stick.

“Our fourth line just showed up and played the right way,” DeBoer said. “Right from the drop of the puck, they put pucks behind (the Coyotes’) defense, they had good support, they created a lot of chances and got rewarded for it.

“I think Dell, and the fourth line, were the difference in the game.”

The Coyotes broke through in the first minute of the third period when Martin Hanzal he got an extended stick on a rebound from Alex Goligoski’s initial shot from the right point, pushing it past a prone Dell. Hanzal’s 15th goal of the season cut the Arizona deficit to 3-1.

Burns scored the final Sharks goal with the first shot of a power play late in the third period. No sooner did Arizona’s Radim Vrbata get the gate for hi-sticking at 16:30, Joe Thornton won the draw, steered it to Couture behind the circle, who fed Burns circling toward the high slot. The bearded defenseman one-timed Couture’s pass through Smith’s five-hole five seconds into the man advantage.

After returning to the Shark Tank to host Boston on Sunday night, San Jose takes its league-mandated bye week before returning to the ice on Feb. 25 at Vancouver.

“It’ll be great to go into the break on a winning note and get some separation between us and the other teams in the conference,” Dell said. “Getting those extra points will make it a more fun break.”

SHARK BITES: San Jose’s scratches were LW Marcus Sorensen, RW Joonas Donskoi and D Mirco Mueller. …. The Coyotes, celebrating their 20th anniversary in the Valley, saluted players from the 1996-97 team.

TAGS: San Jose Sharks,Brett Burns,Aaron Dell,Arizona Coyotes,NHL,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum

SAN JOSE, CA – FEBRUARY 15: Panthers right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) takes the ice before the NHL game between the San Jose Sharks and the Florida Panthers on February 15, 2017, at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Matt Cohen/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE–The Florida Panthers gave Jaromir Jagr a pretty decent 45^th birthday present. The Cats beat the San Jose Sharks 6-5 in overtime Wednesday night, with Jonathan Huberdeau netting the game-winner1:38 into the extra session. Brent Burns scored his team-leading 25^th goal and Joe Pavelski had a four-point night to help erase a 3-1 and 5-3 deficit, giving the Sharks the loser point with an OT loss. Aleksander Barkov and Nick Bjugstad each scored a pair of goals for Florida.

Burns’ rocket of a shot just five minutes into the game helped even the game after Jussi Jokinen put Florida ahead 1-0 4:20 into play. Burns’ goal puts him tied for 2^nd in the NHL in points with 61, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Sharks ahead. Instead, the Panthers scored two goals in the frame for a 3-1 edge.

The Sharks would pull off the rare double deflection to end the period only trailing 3-2 with 4:35 left in the period. A point shot from Burns deflected off Joe Thornton’s stick then connected on Joel Ward’s and went past Florida netminder Roberto Luongo for his 7^th goal of the year and Thornton’s 997^th career assist.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored the only goal of the second period to tie the game 3-3, launching a point shot past Luongo 6:27 into the frame. The Panthers would take a 5-3 lead with just seven minutes to play after third period goals from BJugstad and Barkov, both player’s second goals of the night.

Captain clutch came through for the Sharks, with Pavelski tipping a puck in with 3:21 left in regulation, then adding a second goal with the extra attacker. Luongo made the initial save on a scramble, put Pavelski was able to find the rebound and put it home to tie the game with 38 seconds left. Luongo would exit the game with an injury, with former Sharks backup James Reimer taking over.

Reimer would pick up the win in OT after a bout of sustained pressure by the Panthers. With the Sharks failing to clear the zone, Huberdeau was able to easily beat Jones for his third goal of an injury-riddled season.

The Sharks next take on the Boston Bruins at the SAP Center Sunday night.

NEWARK, NJ – FEBRUARY 12: San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) during the third period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the San Jose Sharks on February 12, 2017, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

Sunday the San Jose Sharks snapped their four game loss streak with a huge win over the New Jersey Devils and got offensive help from Brett Burns who scored twice to help San Jose with the 4-1 victory. Burns scored two goals to bring his season total to 27 goals and he’s only four short of Mike Green’s 2008-09 goal total of 31 which is the most in the last ten years for a defenceman. Burns is also in the scoring race which is just amazing he’s currently two points behind the Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid and one point behind the Washington Caps Nicklas Backstrom and the Pittsburgh Penguins Sydney Crosby.

Even with a 1-4 road trip the Sharks have increased their lead in the Pacific Division and their up five points on Anaheim whose in second place and the Sharks are seven points on Edmonton. Things are looking pretty decent for San Jose in the stretch here and the Sharks have Florida coming to San Jose on Wednesday night. The Panthers beat Nashville over the weekend on Saturday 7-4 and then on Sunday the Preds came back to defeat the Vancouver Canucks after being down 3-0 the Sharks will face the Preds in three weeks at home. It Should be some decent hockey coming up at the Shark Tank this coming week.

Len Shapiro is the former media relations director for the California Golden Seals circa 1974-76 and does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

 

February 12, 2017: San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) strokes his beard during the first period of an NHL hockey game between the San Jose Sharks and the New Jersey Devils at The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Mike Langish/Cal Sport Media. (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

Sharks Break Four Game Losing Streak In Jersey

By Barbara Mason

Whether it was fatigue, mental or physical, the San Jose Sharks were in the biggest slump we have seen all year. Four losses in a row had the team scratching their heads searching for answers.

Taking on the New Jersey Devils in an early game Sunday morning the team desperately needed to find an answer to the decline. Thankfully the Ducks and Oilers were also sorting through some losses that kept the Sharks in first place in the Pacific division.

The first period was a good one for the Devils as they scored midway at 11:42 off the stick of Parenteau taking the early 1-0 lead.

Whatever was said in the San Jose locker room at the break it touched a nerve. The team came out in the second period playing the kind of Shark hockey we have become used to, fast and furious. At 2:27 Brent Burns scored assisted by Joe Thornton and Paul Marin to tie up the game 1-1. At 7:46 Brent Burns went back to work sending the puck into the Devils net to give his team the lead 2-1. He was assisted by Kevin Labanc and Joe Pavelski for his 23rd and 24th goals of the season. At 11:22 Joe Thornton scored his 5th goal of the season assisted by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Kevin Labanc giving San Jose a healthy lead 3-1.

For good measure Tomas Hertl scored his 6th goal of the season in the waning minutes of the third period assisted by Justin Braun and Joel Ward to seal the deal 4-1.

The San Jose Sharks needed this win. Now they will head home with the victory and some momentum clearly working for them as they look ahead to the Panthers at SAP. The puck drops at 7:30 Wednesday night.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds, right, celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal past San Jose Sharks’ Aaron Dell during overtime of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia won 2-1. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

By Barbara Mason

The San Jose Sharks have been struggling of late dropping their last three games. The Sharks took on the Philadelphia Flyers in the city of brotherly love looking to get back on track. The Sharks are looking for some brotherly love in the form of a win over Philadelphia after suffering a real skid. in the past the team has bounced back nicely after a string of losses. The Oilers and Ducks are now nipping at their heels obviously appreciating the current losing streak as the Sharks drop loss number four  in row 2-1 at Wells Fargo Center.

The first period was a good one for the Flyers who took more shots on goal than the Sharks however neither team was able to find the net and the 0-0 score was a disappointment for both teams.

San Jose came out with a lot more energy in the second period having some great scoring opportunities but again both teams came up empty and the 0-0 score prevailed.

At 6:22 in the third period Philadelphia was finally able to break the stalemate scoring off the stick of Ivan Provorov taking the 1-0 lead. San Jose needed to pick it up to avoid a fourth consecutive loss. With 11:33 left in the game San Jose went on the power play in a critical moment of this game for the Black and Teal. San Jose would cash in on the power play when Patrick Marleau scored his 20th goal of the season tying up the game 1-1. San Jose would now be looking for the go-ahead goal. The Sharks had really picked up the pace of this game. As the period began to wind down the Sharks kept the Flyers out of the net in a wild power kill for San Jose and the teams would go into overtime.

In a breakaway due to a unfortunate turnover by San Jose Philadelphia would score off the stick of Wayne Simmonds and hand the Sharks their fourth loss in a row, a season high. San Jose’s goalie Aaron Dell kept the Sharks in a game that they didn’t deserve to win in the first place. While San Jose did have a goal taken away from them in this game the majority of the play was not at the usual Black and Teal standard.

“They came out hard. We had a chance and tied it up. Your always disappointed when you don’t get that extra point,” said captain Joe Pavelski.

San Jose has little time to dwell on this loss as they are back on the ice early tomorrow as they take on the New Jersey Devils.

 

 

 

~ Photo: JohnTlumacki / The Boston Globe

~ Story by Pearl Allison Lo

~ With a blizzard blowing outside, Boston added their own flurry with a 6-3 win over San Jose under their new interim coach Thursday.

The game leading goal occurred in the first period as the Bruins eventually had an answer every time the Sharks scored.

Boston’s David Pastrnak had two power play goals (first time – Darin Stephens), Patrice Bergeron had one goal and three assists, David Backes had one goal and two assists (seven shots) and Tuukaa Rask made 23 saves.

San Jose starting goalie Martin Jones was removed early (second time this year) after the first as the Bruins scored two and half power play goals in the game (one after momentum)

The Sharks added a regulation loss to their three game losing streak (shootout, overtime, regulations).

Backes started the scoring on the game’s first shot, 52 seconds in.

At 7:51, San Jose tied the game. Tomas Hertl prevented a clear and Joe Thornton changed directions as he circled around after the pass, to score from the right faceoff circle. It was his first goal this year against a goalie in net as Thornton continued his success against his former team and Rask. This was as close scorewise as the Sharks would get though.

Patrick Marleau missed on a 2-on-1 before Bergeron gave Boston its clinching lead at 15:52.

Pastrnak scored his first power play at 17:31 after a too many men on the ice call.

Both Jones and backup Aaron Dell ended up giving up three goals apiece. Dell faced 15 shots his first period.

San Jose shook off the first and started strong with Justin Braun scoring from the point (his 100th NHL point) just 1:08 in. It cut the score to 3-2.

However, the Bruins responded like the first, with Tim Schaller and Pastrnak on the power play scoring at 13:04 and 19:11.

The Sharks had a solid penalty kill before the two goals.

5-2 was the score until San Jose’s Timo Meier scored 10 seconds after they had a power play at 17:23. San Jose pulled Dell before the two minute mark.

The Bruins’ sixth goal came from Brad Marchand on an empty net with 29.3 seconds left.

Game notes: The last time the Sharks gave up 6 goals was October 17. Boston’s Zdeno Chara remained out with the flu. The Bruins now have 30+ shots in their last 16. San Jose will get Friday off to recover before two early morning games, Saturday at 10am and Sunday at 9:30am.