Category: NHL

Sharks Without Hertl for Game 3

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl who sat out game three vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals

SAN JOSE–Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer has confirmed that Tomas Hertl will not play in Saturday’s Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. He described Hertl’s injury as a lower body one. Of Hertl’s performance so far, DeBoer said:

He’s arguably been our best player for the first two games but injuries are no excuse this time of year, we’ve got someone who will go in for him and we’ll roll out there and be ready to play.

As for who will draw into the lineup, there is little mystery. When Matt Nieto returned to the lineup for Game 2, Dainius Zubrus was the odd man out. He will most likely be back in. On the subject of who will play in Hertl’s spot on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, DeBoer said:

We’ve got a couple guys that’ve played in that hole before. Melker has before, and so has [Zubrus] played there before. I think the one thing that those two guys… you’ve got a guy that’ll hound the puck and work for it. Those two guys pretty much take care of the rest. I think we’ve got a lot of options there because of who we’re sticking them in with and I think it should be fairly seamless.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski also weighed in on how Hertl has contributed to the team in the playoffs:

He’s been a big part of this team, especially the second half. You saw the smile on his face the last few rounds. He’s really enjoyed playing, he brings that energy. It’s tough to miss a guy like that if you have to. But somebody steps in, we’ve done it, we’ve done it for a while. We still expect a great effort from whoever comes in in a good role. We haven’t had a ton of injuries so there’s been somebody always ready to step in.

A the dust settles from Logan Couture’s comments on faceoffs, there remains the fact that the Sharks have not been very good in the faceoff circle. Among playoff teams, they have consistently been at the bottom in faceoff win percentage. It begs the question, what does the team do to still win the game, or 12 games, despite rarely starting with the puck? Logan Couture explained: “Get it back right away, put it in good places so we can forecheck and hold on to the puck in their end. There’s a few things you can do off a faceoff or forecheck that can turn the puck over.” So far, the Sharks have not been able to do any of those things very well against the Penguins. They will get another chance tonight.

Something else they will get a chance to do tonight is get back to their game. Apart from moving the puck quicker with simpler plays, thereby improving their execution, their forwards could probably backcheck more aggressively. Some time ago, I asked Sharks defenseman Paul Martin what it is about the Sharks that make them effective defensively:

[Jones] playing the puck, our forwards come back and support us and we rely on them to get out of the zone. I think everyone’s capable on our d-corps. When Roman [Polak] came over he kind of solidified that last pair and Brenden Dillon’s had  a break out year and he’s been great and he continues to improve. And the top four have been around for a while now. As far as experience, with [Vlasic] obviously, he’s a world class player, along with [Burns] they can bring something else that a lot of guys can’t.

I think we all can skate and get around the ice, and the ability to make that first pass out of the zone is big and I think we all understand the way we want to play. We all get along and so that’s big. The chemistry that we have is important.

Ironically, the formula Martin described there, with the forwards being as crucial to defense as defensemen are, pretty well describes how the Penguins have been playing. One has to wonder if it is even possible for two teams to play that way at the same time, or if they must first defuse their opponent’s arsenal.

The fact that Pete DeBoer has been here before, with the New Jersey Devils against the Los Angeles Kings, can only give fans so much comfort: his team forced a Game 6 but did not win the series. Is he hunting with a bigger boat this time?

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: The first cup is always memorable

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by Amaury Pi Gonzalez
photo by arenanetwork.net: SAP Center in San Jose main entrance for the NHL 2016 Stanley Cup Finals
SAN JOSE–It only took 25 years for the San Jose Sharks to make it to the finals of their league. The Stanley Cup (French: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner. Originally commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the trophy is named for Lord Stanley of Preston then–Governor General of Canada, who awarded it to Canada’s top-ranking amateur ice hockey club, which the entire Stanley family supported, with the sons and daughters playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to Montreal HC and subsequent winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play.
The Sharks are playing the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the animal kingdom, a Penguin is a mid-day snack for a Shark, like a little piece of chocolate at the office at 3PM. But this is not the animal kingdom, it is The National Hockey League. I covered the Sharks 25 years ago when they first began playing in the NHL in 1991. I remember their first game”home”(while they were building their San Jose Arena)and it took place at the Cow Palace in Daly City, on October 5, 1991 and they lost to the Vancouver Canucks 5-2.
The night before(October 4)they played their very first game in their history in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. It has been a long ride on the ice for the franchise, who has been solidly supported by their loyal fans, who regularly fill the SAP Arena during the season. It has been a long way, plus half-dozen of General Managers for Telemundo since those days when with a camera person I did “on site”reports, and live shots from the place where they were building that arena, just across the street from the San Jose train station. Here we are today, 25 years later, with the Sharks in the Stanley Cup.
The Sharks lost their first two games in Pittsburgh and now the attention turns to San Jose, and the Sharks could be without their first-line forward Thomas Hertl for Game 3 the Stanley Cup tomorrow 5PM (our time)at the SAP Arena. Hertll skated briefly and slowly, but then left when practice began. The problem? – his lower left leg. Game three, right now is crucial for the Sharks, and if they loose, they could be eliminated on Monday(Game 4, also in San Jose). This would not be a good ending for their season, specially if they are eliminated at home. The SAP Arena will be rocking tomorrow and also next Monday. The Bay Area which now is the epicenter of the sports world, with the Warriors just some 35 miles north of highway 880 going for their second consecutive NBA title.
For the San Jose Sharks it is their very first time, just like when you buy a new car, that great smell of new, something that you never forget. Good friend, hockey legend and one of the real hockey pioneers in the Bay Area Len Shapiro probably never thought that the Stanley Cup would be played in the Bay Area. Len was with the Oakland Seals of the the National Hockey League, who became the California Golden Seals in 1970. They played their home games at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena(in those days most venues did not have names of companies). Len Shapiro would tell you all the problems that the Seals had at the gate, they were really never successful and eventually moved to Cleveland in 1976 to become the Cleveland Barons. Many times Len and I were seated together at the Sharks press box and as he remembered the Seals, he told me they could only dream of drawing 17,000 plus for every game. Of course during those days San Jose was a little town, on the way to Los Angeles. Not anymore, San Jose is Silicon Valley, it is the center of technology in the world, and the most prosperous area in Northern California.
Congratulations to the San Jose Sharks for making it to the prestigious Stanley Cup, now, if they could comeback and win it…
For me this is the first Stanley Cup I am covering.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is covering the NHL Stanley Cup Finals for Telemundo Telenotcias San Jose and does News and Commentary each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com
  

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San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: No one is surprised by this Penguins team as Sharks have backs to the wall in game three

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AP photo: The Pittsburgh Penguins Sid Crosby talking with NHL Official Wes McCauley during game two in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa, It’s kind of surprising but I’m not the only one that’s not surprised the Pittsburgh Penguins like the Sharks are not hot picks no matter what they did in one series most people kept thinking they’d lose the next series. Their were people thinking the Sharks would not get this far this would go back to their blue line and people don’t think their blue line is as strong but their fine and their getting their forwards are playing aggressive up front.

Mary Lisa Walsh does the San Jose Sharks podcast each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks need to attack and find the back end of the net early

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westwoodonesports.com photo: The Pittsburgh Penguins Nick Bonino celebrates after scoring on the San Jose Sharks Paul Martin (center) and goalie Martin Jones in the third period Monday in game one at Energy Center

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast Joe takes a look at a Pittsburgh Penguins team who has quite the ability to break this series wide open. On the other hand the Sharks have every skill and talent to even the series up and get right back in it again similar to what they were able to do when they played their earlier rounds with Nashville and St Louis.

The Penguins while noted for their speed can be offset by the Sharks which was demonstrated in the second period of Monday’s game one. Although the Sharks didn’t get the win in game one just one quick flaw costed the Sharks when Brett Burns dropped his stick and the Pens Nick Bonino took full advantage of a open section of the net for the go ahead goal in the third period.

Joe lays it out for you on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Game one first period was just one big inattemptive thing for Sharks

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photo by USA Today: Pittsburgh Penguins Nick Bonino scores on San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones at 2:33 in the third period for the go ahead goal on Monday night in game one of the NHL Finals

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa the game one loss on Monday night at Energy Center was a tough loss for the Sharks. The dropped stick by the Sharks Brett Burns was not only bad for Burns but worse for the goal just because the Sharks Paul Martin who was in front of the net with the Pittsburgh Penguins Nick Bonino Martin was kind of focusing on that corner where Burns was playing without a stick the puck was over there and that’s how it got around all of them in the open net.

Listen to Mary Lisa’s Sharks podcast for all the latest from the Stanley Cup Finals at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Stanley Cup Final Preview: Sharks and Penguins

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By Mary Walsh

design presented by penguins.nhl.com: Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks digital preview design

In their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, the San Jose Sharks are in a good position to win, and so are the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not surprisingly, the two teams accumulated were very similar numbers on their way to the Final. Perhaps those are just the kind of numbers winners needed this year. Perhaps they are as irrelevant as statistics from the regular season. The Sharks and the Penguins could play each other four times or seven times, and it won’t add up to the number of games they played getting here. Games, and by association the series, can still be won or lost on a bounce. Either team could have trouble adjusting to a new sort of opponent, a heretofore unseen weakness could be exposed. This is why they play the games, because the NHL can’t award the championship based on past performance. Still, the likeness is uncanny.

Statistically, the Sharks and the Penguins are pretty even when you balance offensive and defensive numbers. The Sharks’ power play has a slightly higher success rate at 27%, with he Penguins scoring just 23.4% of the time. But balanced against the penalty kill, where the Penguins have been slightly better than the Sharks (83.4%-80.4%), the power play difference is even more negligible than 3.6%.

In shots per game, the Penguins have 35.1 where the Sharks have 28. San Jose’s Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns have taken 60 and 61 shots respectively, but Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel has thrown a whopping 73 shots at the net. Again, put next to the shots against per game, it evens out. The Sharks have allowed an average of 27.1 while the Penguins averaged 29.7.

In goals, the numbers are so close (Sharks at 3.5 and Penguins at 3.22) that a counterbalance is hardly necessary, which is a good thing for Pittsburgh since the Sharks have allowed an average of 2.28 while the Penguins allowed 2.39. That gives a tiny edge to the Sharks in the area of goal differential.

The counterbalance actually comes from the fact that the Penguins have shown greater depth in scoring. The Sharks have more goals but they have come from fewer players. The Sharks have seven skaters with five or more goals in these playoffs, and four more with two to four goals. That gives them eleven skaters with more than one goal. The Penguins have just five skaters with five or more goals but eight with two to four goals, for a total of thirteen skaters with more than one goal. It is not a big difference, but neither is the difference between how many goals the teams have scored on their way to the Final.

The Penguins may have an edge in experience because they do have some players who have competed for and won a Stanley Cup in the past. Only the Sharks’ goaltender Martin Jones can say that, though he did so as the backup goaltender. The Sharks have plenty of players with enough mileage that, if they do not know what it takes to win at this level, they will probably learn quickly. I would not put a lot of stock in the “been there” factor.

In goal, the teams have fairly similar situations. Both teams, coaches and players, have talked about how calm and unflappable their young goaltender are. Martin Jones has more NHL starter experience but he is still in his first season. He has not been replaced during the playoffs, he has started every game for the Sharks. Jones put together a .919 save percentage through the first three rounds, with the full demonstrable confidence of his coach and his team.

The fact that the Penguins’ Matt Murray came onto the scene later than Jones should not be held against him. Marc-Andre Fleury was the presumptive playoff starter for most of the season. That Murray had to earn his spot very recently could be an asset if he is still trying to establish himself. The Penguins did experiment, having Fleury start a game in Murray’s place, and Zatkoff started a game before Murray did. Even if any of that undermined Murray’s confidence, he still played well enough to help his team win. His save percentage has been .875. Jones seems to have the edge over Murray there, but those numbers can change quickly.

Ultimately, few of these comparisons matter. All of the games played to this point were conference exclusive. The Sharks’ numbers were against western teams, the Penguins’ against eastern. The Sharks had to defeat a recent Cup winner, and then defeat the team that defeated another recent winner. It would not be outrageous to say that it is harder to score a goal, or prevent one, in the west. But it would be pure speculation since the Final is the only time East meets West. Both teams earned their spot in this series, and the odds are good that they will both bring their best games yet.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Daniel Dullum: Nothing but speed and two evenly match teams in the Finals

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AP file photo: Martin Jones San Jose Sharks goaltender will be depended on to stop the offensive speed and attack of the Pittsburgh Penguins shots in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals starting on Monday night in game one

On the NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Daniel the San Jose Sharks have forward Matt Nieto returning after suffering an upper body injury and will be available for game one in Pittsburgh on Monday night. Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer says that Nieto is one of the faster skating forwards in the league and with these two teams speed is what the Sharks want. This series statistically has the Pens and Sharks evenly matched. With the Penguins Sid the Kid Crosby and Matt Murray in net and the Sharks Martin Jones in goal with Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton skating up front the odds makers are saying this Finals could be one for the ages.

Daniel has the Stanley Cup Finals covered listened in on the podcast here at http://www.sportsadioservice.com

 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks first game in the Finals on Monday night

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AP photo: San Jose Sharks go into celebration mode after clinching their first NHL Finals in franchise history on Wednesday night at SAP Center

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa the San Jose Sharks are really a special group this season and you would like to think it indicates a change in the league in the way you build your teams because it’s so much about speed and skill and not so much about that other stuff. It’s very exciting and there are five or six guys on this team who were in those games in the western conference finals a long time ago in hockey years when they played the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks.

These guys have a lot of history together, they kind of done everything, lost, not made it, come close, fell short if you push through all of that you kind of develop mental toughness. The Sharks six years ago just didn’t have it so those loses and those top successes they got close and then they found what it takes to go beyond that.

Mary Lisa covers the San Jose Sharks and podcasts on the Sharks weekly at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Win Western Conference Final 4-2

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks celebrate their first Western Conference title in franchise history with the Western Conference title Cup on Wednesday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, by defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. The 4-2 series win represents the first time the Sharks have prevailed in a conference final, the first time they will compete for the Cup.

Joe Pavelski scored the first goal of the game, Joonas Donskoi scored the fourth, Joel Ward scored the two in between and Logan Couture tidied up with an empty net goal. Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for the Blues late in the third period. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 24 stops for the historic win, while Brian Elliott made 22 for the Blues.

It is the third time that some of the Sharks have been to the Western Conference Final, among these is Joe Thornton. He talked about the win after the game:

It’s a pretty cool feeling. Obviously it’s our first time here so it was pretty neat to get this done at home. Fans here have waited so long, 25 years, and we’ve waited” here he turned to verify with Patrick Marleau, “18 years or so. So it’s a great feeling. And this team, we’ve always said we’ve got a deep team and we truly believe we’ve got a deep team. And you saw tonight all twelve forwards played big parts, all six D played big parts and Joner played great. This is really truly a team effort from top to bottom.”

Patrick Marleau said he does not wonder why this group has made it so much farther than previous Sharks teams:

“We’re just enjoying the ride right now. We’ve had some really good teams over the years but like Joe was saying, this team’s a little bit different. The confidence we built over the regular season and now in the playoffs. I think winning on the road helped us get close as a group during the regular season and it carried over into the playoffs so far. Just having each other’s back out there and working for each other.

Head coach Pete DeBoer said that he believed this team could get this far right at the start of the season. This, despite or perhaps because of their troubled recent seasons:

They were coming off a down season but they were coming off a decade of great hockey. They had been well coached. Todd McLellan and the previous staff are as good as there are in the business. These guys had a great foundation. Right place, right time. Everyone was ready for something a little bit fresher and newer, not anything that much different. But that and the additions Doug [Wilson, Sharks GM] made, it just came together.

“I inherited a similiar team in New Jersey when I went there. Same type of thing, they had missed the playoffs for the first time in a long time the year before I got there. I think when you go into that situation, when you have really good people like there was in New Jersey when I went in there, like there was with this group. They’re pissed off, they’re embarassed by the year they just had and they’re willing to do and buy into whatever you’re selling to get it fixed again.”

Today I heard someone suggest that the other three teams in these conference finals get more air time than the San Jose Sharks do because there is nothing controversial about the Sharks. They are not swapping their goalies around, they are not switching their lines around, their star players are not underperforming, there is no supplementary drama. They just go out and do what they are supposed to do. But for fans of this team, this playoff run has been very dramatic, very suspenseful. They may be cheering like mad in the audience, but there are a lot of fans just holding their breath through every game.

The Sharks played up to that hum-drum reputation when Joe Pavelski got credit for the first goal of the game just 3:57 in. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl.

Apart from the last half minute of the period, the Sharks won the first period handily. Those final thirty seconds were getting out of hand, as the Sharks failed to clear several times and had the puck snatched away from them a few more. But they were saved by the bell and came away form the first with a 1-0 lead and a 9-5 shot advantage.

Seconds after that shot, play went the other way and the Tierney line wrought some havoc in the Blues’ zone. A Brent Burns shot went off Joel Ward’s stick for his fifth goal of the playoffs. Assists went to Burns and Tierney.

The Sharks earned their first power play when Troy Brouwer took an interference penalty early in the second period. San Jose’s power play did not convert but did bump their shot count to 13 without alowing the Blues to take a shot before close to the five minute mark of the period.

Scottie Upshall, back in the Blues lineup after sitting out the last three games, caught Tommy Wingels in the face with a high stick at 6:08 and drew blood, earning himself a double minor.

The four minutes of power play time seemed to lull the Sharks into complacency, or else it galvanized the Blues. The Blues took a couple of short-handed shots and the Sharks had more trouble getting through the neutral zone than they had previously. They accomplished the most immediate goal: of maintaining a two goal lead.

That was not enough for coach DeBoer. He used his timeout with just over five minutes left in the period. The Sharks had been scrambling and the Blues were making up ground on the shot clock. The end of the second had that in common with the end of the first: the Blues pushed the Sharks and Martin Jones had to make a few more stops. The Couture line had a good shift in the final 20 seconds but the Blues outshot the Sharks in the second, 11-10.

That second line picked up where they left off to start the third period, crowding into the Blues’ zone and making Elliott stop a shot from close in. It took them a few more shifts, but they finally caught what they were hunting: a third goal. It was only part of the Couture line. Ward was on the ice momentarily instead of Donskoi. As a result, he scored his second of the game and seventh of the playoffs. Assists went to Couture and Patrick Marleau.

The crowd went a little bit crazy. Richard Dean Anderson was shown helping duct tape Sharkie’s drum back together in one of the tunnels.

The Blues ruined the shut out with 8:21 left in the game. Vladimir Tarasenko got his first point in the series by way of a goal. Assists went to Jori Lehtera and Colton Parayko.

At 15:35, the teams were both penalized after a scuffle by the benches. Tommy Wingels (slashing) and Kevin Shattenkirk (cross-checking) both went to the box for two minutes. The Blues pulled Elliott for the additional skater and Tarasenko made a game of it with a second goal at 16:25. It squeezed through a gap between Jones’ blocker and the pipe. Assists went to Paul Stasny and Alex Pietrangelo. The Blues tried the same shot again a few seconds later but Jones adjusted.

The Blues continued to push right to the end of the period, until Logan Couture was able to put the puck in the empty net.

The Sharks will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Final in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks one game away from the Finals

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AP photo: San Jose Sharks Chris Tierney (50) celebrates with his teammates after scoring 3rd period goal as the St Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo agonizes on Monday night during game five

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Podcast with Joe Lami for the San Jose Sharks a huge win on Monday night in game five with a 6-3 win and a couple of empty netters towards the end of the evening. The Sharks came out and played well in the third with 16 seconds in with a deflection from Sharks center Joe Pavelski’s stick for a goal. This is the farthest that the Sharks have got in the history of the franchise and it’s been really exciting for the Sharks as they head back to San Jose for game six on Wednesday night.  After that stinker in game four they played really well in game five in the last 20 minutes and that was something to build on. The defense has been phenomenal for the Sharks.

Joe also gets into the Eastern Conference Finals between the Tampa Bay Lighting and Pittsburgh Penguins. Bolts hold a 3-2 lead in the series. Listen to the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

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