Category: NHL

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) blocks one of the 33 shots he stopped on Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center

The San Jose Sharks continued their winning ways at home Wednesday night, topping the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in a nail-biter. Logan Couture and Joel Ward each scored in the first period, allowing the Sharks to survive after an Artemi Panerin goal for their sixth win at SAP this year.

Joe Pavleksi set couture up on the one-timer from the right face-off dot to open up the scoring 11:32 into the first. The Sharks were on a 4-on-3 power play when the first power play unit produced.

Just three minutes and ten seconds later Joel Ward scored short-handed after blocking a shot. He then skated unabated to pull Hawks goalie Corey Crawford one-on-one for just his second goal of the season.

Panarin scored with 12:11 left in the second, but Martin Jones proved strong in net for the Sharks. The San Jose netminder turned away 33 of 34 shots on goal, allowing just one goal over his 120 minutes at home after 6 games on the road.

The Sharks face the New York Islanders in a matinee Friday Afternoon before taking the ice Saturday night as part of their prolonged homestand.

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) in front of the net throws a shutout against the New Jersey Devils as the Devils Sergey Kalinin (51) and the Sharks Paul Martin tangle for the puck at SAP Center on Monday night

SAN JOSE, Calif. – After a six-game road trip, there’s no place like home for the undermanned San Jose Sharks. In their first game since a 3-3 road swing, the Sharks dominated the New Jersey Devils to the tune of a 4-0 win. Joe Thornton collected his 900^th point as a Shark while Chris Tierney scored a short-handed goal. Martin Jones picked up his second shut-out of the season with 26 saves.

The Sharks jumped out to the early lead in surprising fashion 1:59 into play. Just 15 seconds earlier, Matt Nieto was sent to the penalty box for goaltender interference, but the shortage in man-power didn’t slow down San Jose. Chris Tierney plucked a puck from the slot and raced down the left side of the ice unabated. Once he reached the New Jersey faceoff dot, he ripped a shot over goalie Keith Kinkaid’s glove for his first goal of the season.

“That was a big start for us,” said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. “We took a penalty. I thought we had good jump all night.”

Just under four minutes later a line born out of necessity struck for the Sharks second goal. With Tomas Hertl facing minor surgery on his balky knee, Patrick Marleau skated on the top line with the Joes, Pavelski and Thornton. Marleau scored the second goal of the game after taking his own rebound and batting it past Kinkaid for his fifth goal of the season. Pavelski and Paul Martin assisted on the goal.

“(Coach) Pete (DeBoer) put him with us in the third period against Arizona,” said Thornton of Marleau. “He looked so powerful. Tonight he was powerful again.”

“It’s good playing with those guys,” said Marleau. “One thing they do is they work hard. You have to pull your weight.”

With Hertl expected to miss a few weeks, the Sharks hope the trio of Pavelski, Thornton and Marleau will continue to produce.

“Usually when you win a couple games in a row, things stick,” said Thornton. “Hopefully we can get in a grove and Patty stays with us.”

Logan Couture helped push Joe Thornton to a milestone after beating Kinkaid 10:33 into the middle period. Thornton picked up the primary assist, his 11^th of the season to push him to 900 in the teal of San Jose.

“I’ve been here a long time,” said Thornton. “I’ve played with some good players, that’s what it comes down to. I’ve been lucky to play with Jonathan Cheecho, Patrick Marleau, so many different guys, so many great players. Thank you to all those guys.”

The Sharks final goal of the game came courtesy of a misplay by Devils defender Kyle Quincy. Burns shot rattled around the Devils crease before Quincey inadvertently batted the puck into the
New Jersey net to trail 4-0 with 7:38 gone in the period. Burns was credited with his seventh goal of the year.

Two Sharks players took bumps in the contest but ultimately would return to the ice. Chris Tierney took a shot to the face in the third and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic was cross-checked into the boards. Both went down the tunnel for a period of time but saw ice time after their injuries.

The Sharks continue the four-game home stand by facing the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday before a pair of games at home Friday and Saturday night.

by Daniel Dullum

AP photo: Center Ryan White (25), goaltender Ryan Smith (41) and Arizona Coyotes teammates celebrate their one goal victory over the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena in Glendale Saturday night

GLENDALE, Ariz. – San Jose had a couple of things working against them Saturday in their NHL Pacific contest with Arizona.

One – the Sharks were on the final stop of a lackluster six-game road trip. Two – the Sharks ran into a rejuvenated and red hot Mike Smith.

Martin Hanzal’s goal at 1:16 of the 3-on-3 overtime gave the Coyotes a 3-2 win over San Jose. Smith did the rest, stopping 43 of 45 shots in his second game back after missing 12 games due to a knee injury.

With 3:44 remaining in overtime, Hanzal scored his second goal of the game and his third of the season. Parked near the crease, Hanzal deflected Alex Goligoski’s shot from the left point past the glove of Sharks goalie Martin Jones.

“Marty got the big goal, but Mike Smith is the reason we won,” Coyotes Coach Dave Tippett said. “Mike made some big saves at the right time and that was the difference.”

“You look at (Smith’s) record against the Sharks and this is one of those teams where his numbers are unbelievable,” San Jose Coach Peter DeBoer said. “We knew that this was going to be a tough game and we would have to work for our goals.

“We got a couple, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Aside from the third-period goals scored by Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels, Smith shut down four San Jose power plays and frustrated the Sharks all night.

“They just come at you. They’re smart players, veteran guys who know how to score,” Smith said “You can’t let your guard down in these type of games. As a goalie, you have to be sharp on every play because you don’t know if it’s going to be a good scoring opportunity or when the puck is heading toward the net.

“It’s a game where if you take a breather, they can take advantage of that pretty quick.”

It’s early, but both teams came into Saturday’s game looking for a needed victory. The Sharks, 3-6-0 since defeating Nashville on Oct. 29, are 1-3 on the latest road trip. San Jose beat Tampa Bay 3-1 on Nov. 12, but since has dropped one-goal decisions at Carolina (1-0 on Nov. 15) and St. Louis (3-2 on Nov. 17) before losing at Gila River Arena.

“There’s disappointment,” DeBoer said. “I was satisfied with the effort and the gut check in the third period at the end of a long road trip. Given how we played, we probably deserved more, but I was disappointed. We wanted two points tonight, I thought we deserved to get them but we didn’t get them.”

The Coyotes (6-9-2, 14 points) snapped a four-game losing streak, which started after Arizona beat Colorado 4-2 on Nov. 8. Since then, the Coyotes had suffered four consecutive one-goal losses to Winnipeg, Boston, and in overtime, Calgary and Vancouver before edging the Sharks.

Just 1:55 into the game, the Coyotes’ Jordan Martinook took a shot from the right circle and Tobias Rieder fired a one-timer off the rebound that beat Martin Jones to the stick side, giving Arizona a 1-0 lead.

It didn’t take San Jose long to retaliate – two seconds. The Sharks’ Michael Haley engaged Ryan White in fisticuffs off the faceoff, both received 5-minute fighting penalties.

“It was frustrating to come out so flat,” Sharks defenseman Paul Martin said. “We played really well. I think that even though we lost in overtime, we had the effort as far as creating chances and getting the puck to the net.

“We haven’t been as successful on those chances of late, but as long as we keep creating those chances, it’ll turn around.”

With Brenden Dillon serving a minor for tripping, the Coyotes made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 7:53 of the second period. Max Domi took a drop pass from Martin Hanzal, whistled a drive from the left circle past Hanzal’s screen outside the crease and past Jones on a tough angle to the glove side.

“(In the second intermission) we told the guys to stay on their toes,” Tippett said. “We’ve been having a hard time winning faceoffs, and we just had to work through it. We have a lot of young players who are learning some hard lessons here. So we’re relying on some of those veterans to get us through these games.”

San Jose (9-9-1, 19 points) cut the Coyotes lead in half 41 seconds into the third period when Joe Pavelski, parked in front of the crease, redirected Justin Braun’s floater from the right point and past Smith.

At 10:28 of the third period, the Sharks tied the game at 2-2 on a power play goal by Matt Nieto.

After Chris Tierney won the faceoff in the left circle, defenseman David Schlemko steered the puck to the high slot, where Nieto fired a one-timer that was redirected by Tommy Wingels in front of the crease. It was Wingels’ fourth goal of the season.

San Jose returns SAP Center Monday to host the New Jersey Devils, starting a five-game homestand that includes visits from Chicago, the New York Islanders, Anaheim and Arizona.

“Now, we’ll go home, look at the tape, look at the road trip,” DeBoer said. “I know we’ve played more road games than anybody in the league. That can’t be underestimated – how tough that is.

“So, I think if we go home, make some hay at home, we’re in a good spot.”

SHARK BITES: Pregame scratches for the Sharks: C Tomas Hertl, C Melker Karlsson and D Dylan Demelo. Hertl is one goal shy of 50 for his career. … Attendance was 13,148.