Category: NHL

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Winnipeg Jets right winger Blake Wheeler (26) scores a second period goal past San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones as the Sharks Patrick Marleau (12) looks on Thursday at SAP Center

SAN JOSE, Calif. — An odd feeling permeated the San Jose Sharks locker room after Thursday night’s 5-4 loss at home to the Winnipeg Jets. While the usual sentiments of disappointment certainly were present, it was hard for almost anyone to take the defeat as a crushing blow.

“It definitely means something,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, who never the less couldn’t find a real meaning to the loss. “You play for the big prize next week.”

With the loss, the Sharks have guaranteed they will be the visiting team for most of the first series of the playoffs, with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings both wrapping up the season with higher point totals. That’s not the end of the world for a team that went 28-10-3 on the road versus 17-20-3 at home.

“It doesn’t really matter once the playoffs start,” said Pavelski. “You’re trying to find ways to win. You’re going to have to gut out a few games on the road. You’re going to have to be solid at home.”

Make no mistakes, no one was a happy camper after the Jets rode a Dusitn Byflugien goal with 10 seconds left in regulation. Nor did anyone mince words when asked to comment on blown leads in both the 2^nd and 3^rd period.

“We know that we can’t play like this in the playoffs,” said defenseman Paul Martin. “In the grand scheme we know how we have to play to win hockey games.”

To play into the middle of April was the objective, something the Sharks locked down weeks ago. There was little at stake Thursday night, no playoff spots to jostle for, no draft spots to jockey for. The only player looking to make an impact was goalie Martin Jones.

“I felt good,” said Jones, making his first start of April. “I had good energy. There were just a couple bad bounces.”

With co-netminder James Reimer playing sterling hockey, Jones hadn’t played in nearly a week. He had the most to benefit from a strong showing. Instead, he turned in a 21-save, 5-goal defeat.

“We’re on the same team,” said Jones if he felt pressure to perform to keep his starting spot. ”Nothing really changes for me.”

Jones was the “beneficiary” of some bad bounces and defensive and emotional lapses from the team in front of him. About the only bright spot for the Sharks was the fact that they were 2 for 4on the power play.

The Sharks scored their first goal at even strength after Joe Pavelski took a one-time feed from Joe Thornton cross crease and deposited it into the vacant net. Thornton’s assist, coming on the Sharks captain’s 37^th goal of the year 11:16 into the game, was his 1,339 point. He now sits in 28^th place alone all-time in points.

Despite the Sharks goal, neither team had a strong offensive start. Both teams mustered only 6 shots on net each in the 1^st. The 2^nd period would be an offensive bonanza. Winnipeg would tie the game 9:03 ino the middle period after Mark Scheifele bounced a puck off Roman Polak’s skate and into the back of the net.

After being held to only 2 shots in the first 10 minutes of the 2^nd, the Sharks responded in a big way with two power play goals. Joe Thornton beat Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec on a one-timer 11:42 into the period, then Paul Martin snuck a slap shot through for his 3^rd tally of the year just under 4 minutes later.

With momentum, and a 3-1 lead, on the Sharks side a win appeared imminent. The Jets, however, took over the final two minutes of the period with Andrew Copp and Blake Wheeler finding the back of the net a minute a part to erase the two-goal edge.

“We kept finding ourselves in the lead,” said Pavelski. “And we kept playing with fire.”

Patrick Marleau’s 25^th goal of the season, a wrister delfected into the Jets net by a defender, put San Jose up 4-3 7:03 into the period, but Scheifele would add his 29^th goal of the season on the power play with 7:58 left in regulation. From there, Byflugien provided the late dagger.

The Sharks face Arizona Saturday night in the finale of the regular season. After that, they will travel to either Anaheim or Los Angeles to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs at a date yet to be determined.

“We’re excited for the fans,” said Pavelski. “That picture is vivid of the fans and playoffs. So we’re going to have to go do the job on the road.”

~ PC: Jim Mone AP Photo

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ San Jose cruised to a franchise record 28th road win with a 3-0 blanking of Minnesota Tuesday.

The Sharks also earned the NHL’s best road record, as they finished their last road game in the regular season.

San Jose’s James Reimer made 29 saves in his third shutout for the team, all of them within the last month. Teammate Patrick Marleau had two goals for the first time since October 10.

It was the Wild’s fourth straight loss, but it was not the worst loss, as with the Colorado Avalanche’s loss as well, Minnesota was able to clinch the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

The Wild struggled with two goals or less again in their losing streak. The last time they were shutout though was January 16.

Meanwhile, it was the Sharks’ seventh consecutive game with at least two goals. They last shutout their opponent March 20.

Logan Couture struck first at 4:43 of the first period with his only shot of the game. After a cross ice pass from Joonas Donskoi on his left, Brenden Dillon shot towards the net. Couture then grabbed the deflection in the air and scored as he pushed toward the net, with Joel Ward in the mix.

Marleau made sure to get his first goal the second time around. Coming from behind the net, Brent Burns passed it to Joe Thornton, who passed around the horn to Couture. Couture shot the puck against the boards and Marleau shot it past Devan Dubnyk at 5:31 of the second period.

Minnesota’s Erik Haula narrowly missed with a post shot in the second.

Marleau scored again at 18:15 of the third, aided by Melker Karlsson and Dillon.

Game notes: None of the Wild finished with a positive plus/minus rating. Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon returned with one shot, one hit and one block as he earned the third star of the game. Teammate Zac Dalpe had two shots and three hits in his debut for the team. San Jose lost faceoffs 34-18. The Sharks play their second to last game of the regular season Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets at 7:30pm.

AP photo: The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl (48) goes for the puck behind the net as the Nashville Predators goalie Carter Hutton (30) tries to control the puck along the boards last Saturday at Nashville

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh the Sharks end their two game road trip tonight at the Target Center in Minnesota. The Sharks are battling to keep their winning road record going while the Wild will be fighting to get points towards a play off berth. The Sharks who started out the road trip with a 3-2 win in a shootout over the Nashville Predators last Saturday got scoring help in regulation from Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks are headed back to San Jose to close out their regular season after tonight’s game with the Wild. On Thursday nigh they’ll face the Winnipeg Jets and on Saturday their hosting the Arizona Coyotes. Fun Fact: years when Patrick Marleau has a bad offensive year for example this year 22 goals and 22 assists the Sharks have had a successful road record. The Marleau struggled offensively in 2007 and the Sharks had a wining road record that season.

Mary Lisa talks Sharks on the podcast below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: Nothing but pad as San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones stops a shot from the Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows in Thursday night’s game at SAP Center

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Despite their best efforts at a comeback, the San Jose Sharks fell to Ryan Miller and the visiting Vancouver Canucks 4-2 Thursday night at the SAP Center. San Jose (43-29-6)  fired 34 shots on the Canucks American-born goaltender, but Miller turned aside all but two Sharks bids.

“As a group, we were wreckless in the early part of the game,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “They made us pay on a couple of them. In this league, it doesn’t matter who you are playing. If you spot somebody two goals it’s going to be a long night.”

Daniel Sedin and Bo Horvat scored to give Vancouver (28-36-7) an early lead, but Patrick Marleau netted a 2^nd period tally and Logan Couture remained red-hot with a goal in the third. Jannick Hansen played the hero though, beating Sharks starter Martin Jones with a rocket with 5:03 left in regulation to hand Vancouver only its second win in the final game of the 5-game season series between both teams.

“We should be able to beat those guys,” said Logan Couture on his team’s efforts just two games after clinching a playoff spot Monday night. “We’re four games away from the playoffs. We need to play a lot better than that.”

The Canucks were the aggressors early, putting a puck into the net 1:09 into the contest on the first shift of the game.  Winger Jannick Hansen fired a shot on Martin Jones from the Sharks netminder’s left that he turn aside with his right pad. The save rebounded out to Daniel Sedin skating down the opposite wing. The Swedish left winger tapped the puck into the net for his 28^th goal of the season. Brother Henrik also assisted on the goal.

Vancouver scored its second goal 13:55 into the frame after second year center Bo Horvat picked Sharks rookie Joonas Donskoi’s pocket on the San Jose blue line. Horvat then walked in alone, pulling the puck to his backhand to beat a sprawling Jones for his 13^th goal of the season.

“You cannot take those back,” said Donskoi on his gaffe. “I always like to think positive things. I had mistakes in the Finnish league too, believe me, and I went forward from them.”

The Sharks pulled within one with just 5:30 left in the period on the power play following a perfect passing sequence by the top power play unit. First Brent Burns took the puck on the point and passed it to Joe Thornton waiting just inside the goal line. Thornton then wheeled the puck from the corner to Patrick Marleau waiting in the slot. Number 12 wouldn’t miss from there, especially thanks to a screen from Logan Couture, beating Ryan Miller stick side for his 22^nd goal of the campaign.

“Guys are doing a better job of running routes and doing different things,” said Marleau of the Sharks power play. Unit. “That’s one thing we can take away from it.”

Thornton’s assist pushed him further up the all-time points list. After notching his 1,335 point with the helper, Jumbo is now tied for 30^th place with Washington Capitals great Mike Gartner. Thornton is now three points back of a pair of all-time greats, Dave Andreychuk and Denis Savard.

In the Sharks last game, a 4-1 in Vancouver Tuesday, Logan Couture netted his first career hattrick. The Sharks pivot scored his fourth goal in two games halfway through the 3^rd. Couture snapped his 14^th goal of the season after Brent Burns flung the puck from the right point to a waiting Couture on the far post.  Donskoi also assisted on the goal.

“It just found me,” said Couture. “I was trying to get lost, there was a d-man on me. I tried to lose him and it was able to find my stick.”

Hansen scored the game-winning goal in the same spot where he produced his rebound, launching a bomb of a shot that beat Jones up high 14:57 into the final period of regulation. Hansen’s unassisted snipe was his 20^th of the season.  Markus Granlund potted an empty net goal with 20 seconds remaining.

“I thought the momentum was on our side,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “We were pushing to win the game. That happens.”

Compounded with the loss, a Los Angeles Kings victory over Calgary the Sharks are facing the reality of being the  road team for the opening round of the playoffs. The Kings (5 points and Ducks (4 points)  are both more than a win ahead of the Sharks with just 4 games left to play.

“Everyone in this room knows we have a chance, an opportunity for us to get home ice,” said Couture. “At least for the first round or second round as well. We should be playing for our professional lives and we didn’t tonight.”

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

AP photo: The San Jose Sharks Logan Couture (A) is congratulated for his third period goal by teammates from left Brent Burns, Couture, Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton at Rogers Centre in Vancouver

~ Logan Couture got the game winner and earned his first hat trick, as San Jose beat Vancouver 4-1 Tuesday.

Couture varied each goal, scoring at even strength, on the power play and into an empty net. His first and last goal came at almost identical times in the second and third period.

It was the ninth straight loss for the Canucks.

The Sharks were back at it after clinching against the Kings just the night before. They picked up steam as the game went on, outshooting Vancouver 24-11 after the first period.

San Jose featured in the beginning and the end of the first period. Joonas Donskoi hit metal less than a minute into the period. The Sharks were lackluster in the middle part of the period and had spark at the end of the period. The Canucks outshot San Jose 13-6.

The Sharks had an even stronger showing to start and finish the second period.

Just 20 seconds in, Joe Pavelski scored, aided by Brent Burns and Joe Thornton.

Not too long after, at 2:01, San Jose was awarded a five minute penalty. Jake Virtanen was penalized with interference and a game misconduct. However, things went the opposite way. It started with a faceoff in the opposite end. Chris Higgins scored shorthanded as he faked a pass across during a 2-on-1 at 6:21. Roman Polak had to leave from Virtanen’s hit, but luckily was able to come back.

Couture broke the deadlock with 11 seconds left in the period. Nick Spaling got the assist. This marked the first lead after two during the season series.

The Sharks outshot Vancouver 12-5.

San Jose got another power play at 13:00 of the third period. It became a two man advantage when Markus Granlund was called for running into goalie James Reimer. This power play went the Sharks’ way as Couture scored at 14:01, helped by Pavelski and Patrick Marleau.

Couture’s empty netter came at 19:43, assisted by Burns and Dainius Zubrus.

Game notes: Spaling and Granlund returned to play. San Jose’s Joel Ward was out with a minor injury. The Sharks take a day off before hosting the Canucks again Thursday at 7:30pm.