Category: NHL

San Jose Sharks playoff clinch game wrap: The Sharks earn their way into the playoffs, beat the LA Kings

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joonas Donskoi attempt to score was blocked by the LA Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick on Monday night

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks faced off Monday night against their arch-rival Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks, coming into the game, had lost hree straight. They needed just one win or an Arizona Coyote loss to give them a spot in the playoff. Both happened. The Sharks won 5-2 to earn their way into the race for the Stanley Cup. The Kings also wanted to win. They came into the game in first place three points ahead of the Anaheim Ducks. The Duck won and are now just one point behind the Kings. The Sharks trail the Kings by five points.

There were 17,066 screaming and very loud Shark fans in attendance. The fans gave support to the Sharks all night long. Beat LA was chanted over and over again as their heroes did not let them down. Both teams played excellent hockey and should they meet in the playoffs, it will be a terrific series. The Kings are loaded with Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Milan Lucic, Tyler Terfoli and Jonathan Quick. The Sharks counter with Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Brett Burns, Tomas Hertl, Joel Ward and Logan Couture.The Sharks and the Kings played a fast and furious first period. With the crowd chanting “beat LA. beat LA”, the Sharks gave it their best. They had a chance to take an early lead when Joe Pavelski was able to skate in on a breakaway. Kings’ goalie, Jonathan Quick made the stop but the rebound bounced out to Joe Thornton. The puck jumped over Thornton’s stick to disappoint the sold out stadium. The Kings drew first blood with 9:12 of the period. Justin Braun was penalized two minutes for delay of game. The Kings scored on the power play as Vincent Lecavalier beat Martin Jones on the short side for his ninth goal of the year. Alec Martinez and Brayden McNabb assisted on the play. The Sharks tied the game  at the 12:57 mark when Braun put the puck past Quick for the score. Tommy Wingels fought for control of the puck . He managed to get a pass to Karlsson who flipped it back to Braun who let it fly with a one-timer that beat Quick for the tally. The Sharks led the Kings 11-9 in the shots on goal category. Score tied at one apiece after the first twenty minutes of play.

The Sharks and the Kings played a fast and furious first period. With the crowd chanting “beat LA. beat LA”, the Sharks gave it their best. They had a chance to take an early lead when Joe Pavelski was able to skate in on a breakaway. Kings’ goalie, Jonathan Quick made the stop but the rebound bounced out to Joe Thornton. The puck jumped over Thornton’s stick to disappoint the sold out stadium. The Kings drew first blood with 9:12 of the period. Justin Braun was penalized two minutes for delay of game. The Kings scored on the power play as Vincent Lecavalier beat Martin Jones on the short side for his ninth goal of the year. Alec Martinez and Brayden McNabb assisted on the play. The Sharks tied the game  at the 12:57 mark when Braun put the puck past Quick for the score. Tommy Wingels fought for control of the puck . He managed to get a pass to Karlsson who flipped it back to Braun who let it fly with a one-timer that beat Quick for the tally. The Sharks led the Kings 11-9 in the shots on goal category. Score tied at one apiece after the first twenty minutes of play.

It was more of the same in the second period. The Sharks continued to skate well. The Sharks top line set up the go-ahead goal with 7:55 played. The Sharks were applying pressure in the Kings’ end of the ice. Joe Pavelski notched his thirty-sixth goal of the season on a tip-in. Brent Burns let go with a blast from the right point that Pavelski was able to deflect past Quick. Thomas Hertl also assisted on the play. The Sharks missed a golden opportunity later in the period when Logan Couture stole the puck and had a breakaway. Unfortunately, Quick blocked the shot. Vincent Lecavalier was in the slot when he received a pass from Milan Lucic. Lecavalier took a step back and the put the puck past Jones with just 4:17 left in the period. Lucic and Tyler Terfoli were credited with assists. The Sharks’ Michael Haley and the Kings’ Kyle Clifford were sent to the penalty box for five minutes for fighting. The score is 2-2 after two periods of play.

It was all Sharks in the third period. Joe Thornton scored his eighteenth goal of the year on a power play with 4:28 played. Joe Pavelski and Bren Burns assisted. The Sharks’ goalie, Martin Jones, made thirty saves. Jones was a backup with the Kings last year and is, no doubt, savoring the win over his former mates. Melker Karlsson made it a 4-2 game with just 3:19 left to play. Tommy Wingels got control of the puck in back of the Kings’ net. From there he found, Karlsson on the left side of Quick. Melker pushed it in for the score. The play was placed under review but the goal was ruled good. Roman Polak also assisted. The final goal of the night came with 18 seconds left to play. Justin Braun scored his second goal of the game into an empty net. Sharks win 5-2.

Stars Hand Sharks Third Straight Loss

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: The Dallas Stars Mattias (13) Janmark was on the mark finding the back of the net twice Saturday against the San Jose Sharks here he goes for a victory lap with teammates after his second period goal

SAN JOSE- The Dallas Stars beat the San Jose Sharks by a score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon. It was the Sharks’ third straight loss, all on home ice. It also leaves them still waiting to clinch a spot in the playoffs. It was a disappointing follow up to Thursday’s defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, but Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer saw some positives in Saturday’s game:

I think we played a pretty good game tonight. Obviously we didn’t win. It was one of those nights where every mistake we made ended up in our net and we couldn’t buy one at the other end for a couple periods. You gotta be careful and make sure you keep the proper perspective. Obviously we want to be winning every game his time of year but we’ve won a lot of games over the season where we played like that. So we just gotta build on the positive.

Sharks goals came from Joel Ward and Tomas Hertl. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 13 saves on 16 shots. Two Dallas goals came from Mattias Janmark, and one each from Patrick Sharp and Jamie Benn. Antti Niemi made 34 saves on 36 Sharks shots. The shot discrepancy is not unfamiliar to the Sharks. After the game, Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said: “The last couple games I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job. That’s one of the top scoring teams in the league and we limited them to 17 shots against so obviously we can’t be satisfied when we still lose the game and get no points.”

The Stars’ Antoine Roussel was a conspicuous participant in the first six penalties of the game, including a fight with Tommy Wingels. His antics did slow the game down. After the game, Wingels said:

I don’t get it. It’s embarrassing, I don’t think that stuff belongs in the game. Every shift after that you’re going to try to fight again. The rest don’t want that, the players don’t want their teammates… the fans don’t want to see after every whistle you have to be broken up.

Those Roussel penalties were not the only ones in the game. In all, the Sharks had six chances on the man advantage, but did not score. Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said, of their power play:

You give our PP unit that much time, we’ve got to get one, you know. We’ve got to really find a way to produce, not just chances but goals. And we didn’t do a good enough job there. There were a few looks we had, we still need to be a little cleaner I think but this time of the year PKs are hard, they’re aggressive. You got to make those entries count, you got to make the faceoffs count, I didn’t win enough of those draws. They’re all parts where they really add to that momentum throughout the PP. Could do a better job, sure.

Missing from the Sharks lineup was Joonas Donskoi. He did skate in the warmups, which may indicate that his absence will not be a long one. Matt Nieto and Marc-Edouard Vlasic both missed their fifth games since injury on March 17. Dainius Zubrus moved up to the Couture line, and Micheal Haley played on the the fourth.

The Dallas Stars have sustained several significant injuries this season. They are presently without perpetual scoring threat Tyler Seguin and regular blue-liner Jason Demers. John Klingberg, talented young defenseman, recently returned from injury, giving his team a needed boost.

The first period was going by scoreless, with a penalty per team and a couple of scuffles. Brenden Dillon took a roughing minor against Antoine Roussel. Roussel then took a slashing minor against Micheal Haley. Roussel and Tommy Wingels finished with fighting majors around the 14 minute mark. At 15:28, the shot count was 12 to 3 Sharks. On the Stars’ fourth shot, the puck went over Martin Jones’ pad for Mattias Janmark’s 14th goal of the season. His shot from the blue line got a little help from passing traffic. Assists went to Jordie Benn and Ales Hemsky.

The Stars added to their lead 4:22 into the second. A miscalculation from Jones left him too far from the crease and the net open for Janmark. Tomas Hertl made an attempt to stop the goal, but he lacks experience as a goaltender. Assists went to Jason Spezza and Stephen Johns.

The first penalty of the game that did not involve Antoine Roussel came 6:40 into the second. The Sharks did not score. Joe Pavelski went to the box at 13:41 for boarding against Johnny Oduya. During the ensuing power play, Jason Spezza made a pass from below the faceoff circle across the ice and back. Patrick Sharp took the shot quickly and cleanly. Assists went to Spezza and Klingberg.

The Sharks had a late power play, at 15:35. Stephen Johns went to the box for elbowing Roman Polak. With four seconds left in the period, Klingberg was called for roughing, and Thornton received the same.

Seventeen seconds into the third, Stars captain Jamie Benn was called for hooking Joe Pavelski. As a result, the teams payed four on three for 1:40. The Stars went right to the man advantage when Dylan DeMelo was called for slashing, just as the Sharks power play expired.

Before the DeMelo penalty expired, Joel Ward put the Sharks on the board with a short-handed goal. Antti Niemi handled the puck behind the net and he made a pass up the wall. After the pass, Joel Ward skated in behind him and seemed to nudge him from behind. Niemi went down and was thus unable to get back to his crease before Ward could put the puck in an open net.

The Sharks closed the gap further at 5:48 with a goal from Tomas Hertl. Taking advantage of busy traffic in the slot, Brent Burns made a pass to Pavelski, who carried it a bit and tried a backhand shot. Hertl skated in behind him and caught the rebound for his 19th goal of the season. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

Alex Goligoski was caught hooking at 10:09, putting the Sharks back on their thus-far ineffective power play. It was not effective.

The Stars took another penalty at 13:24, this time to Mattias Lanmark for tripping DeMelo. Still no power play goal.

The Sharks took their time out with 1:35 left in the game, and set up for an offensive zone faceoff with their net empty. Dallas wont the faceoff and iced the puck. The Sharks made better use of the next faceoff and moved the puck around in the Dallas zone, but with 1:08 left in the game, the Stars’ Patrick Sharp took control of the puck, passed it to Jamie Benn and Benn put it in the empty net.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the visiting Los Angeles Kings at 7:00 PT.

Sharks lose to Edmonton, fail to clinch playoff berth or gain ground in the Pacific

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Oilers respond

By Morris Phillips

SAN JOSE–The Sharks said retribution wouldn’t satisfy them as much as clinching a playoff berth on Thursday with a win against Edmonton. But their intentions and their play in the deciding second period said something else entirely.

San Jose blew a two-goal lead, as the Oilers tallied four times in the second period to take control in a 6-3 win over the Sharks. For the second consecutive home game the Sharks failed to clinch a playoff berth after missing the playoffs last season for the first time in 10 years.

The out-of-town scoreboard brought promising results as well with the Ducks and division-leading Kings losing, but the Sharks also failed to make up ground on either Pacific Division rival and remain a point behind Anaheim in the race for home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoff’s first round.

“Disappointing, considering our first period,” Coach Peter DeBoer said. “We came ready to play.”

First period goals from Tommy Wingels and Joe Pavelski had the Tank buzzing, as well as a fight between Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse and San Jose’s Michael Haley three minutes in. Both players received fighting major penalties as the Sharks sought to send a message in response to Nurse’s vicious attack on Roman Polak March 8 in which Polak’s nose was broken and his eye socket damaged by Nurse before he could even remove his gloves and mount a defense.

Nurse was suspended three games for the incident, but the Sharks maintained to the media that the only retribution they sought was a critical, late season win over the Oilers and their old coach, Todd McLellan. But that turned out to be a misleading statement as the Sharks activated bruiser Haley before the game, and sent him to the ice in search of Nurse just three minutes in.

The fight and the two Sharks’ goals had Edmonton reeling, but three goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period allowed the Oilers to take control. While Edmonton was surging, the Sharks managed to put just one shot on goal.

“There were times in the first where it was men against boys, but I thought we responded well,” McLellan said.

Edmonton came in with just 11 road victories on the season and without highly touted Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was injured in the team’s previous game at Arizona. But second-period goals by Lauri Korpokoski, Taylor Hall, Patrick Maroon and Adam Clendening turned the tide. Clendening’s goal came just 45 seconds after Hall’s, giving Edmonton a 3-2 lead. But after Patrick Marleau’s power play goal got the Sharks even, Maroon responded with the go-ahead goal in the final two minutes of the period.

Maroon also picked up an assist in Edmonton’s outburst and Clendening’s goal was his first after 46 games without one. Jordan Erberle added an insurance goal for the Oilers, and Hall tallied again on an empty-netter in the third period.

James Reimer made 16 saves for San Jose, while Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots for Edmonton and picked up the win.

Five of San Jose’s remaining eight games are at home, beginning with a visit from the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks see the division-leading Kings for a final time on Monday. The Kings have a five-point lead on San Jose for the top spot in the Pacific.

“It’s that time of the year where you’re more concerned with the response,” DeBoer said when asked when he had last seen his club play so poorly.

Edmonton won in San Jose in regulation for the first time since January 2011, and gave McLellan his first win in San Jose as the visiting coach. While happy with the win, McLellan said it carried little extra significance.

“It wears off fairly quickly,” McLellan said when asked if there was additional satisfaction in defeating his old club. “I with my new family now.”

 

 

 

 

 

San Jose Sharks Tuesday game wrap: Elliot, Blues Delay Sharks Postseason Clinching

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo: St Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott juggles with the puck as Elliott and the Blues throw a 1-0 shutout against the Sharks on Tuesday night

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks had a golden opportunity to make the Pacific Division race a much tighter affair with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks both losing earlier in the night. Instead, team Teal missed out on a chance to pull within three points of the division-leading Kings with 9 games left to play by falling to the St. Louis Blues 1-0 at the SAP Center Tuesday night.

“It’s a missed opportunity,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski. “There’s not many games left to pick up a lot of points. You’ve got to make a chance like that count.”

Blues netminder Brian Elliot made 37 saves for his second shutout in as many games after a return from injury, while rookie sensation Robby Fabbri scored his 17th goal of the season halfway through the 3rd period to keep the Sharks playoff aspirations in a holding pattern. Had either San Jose won or the Arizona Coyotes lost Tuesday the Sharks would clinch a playoff berth.

“All these games are important,” said Sharks goalie Martin Jones. “This was disappointing to not get some points. But we have plenty of games left and it’s time to make the most of them.”

The Sharks (41-26-6) nearly tied the game late in the 3rd after a pair of Blues gaffes in the final 3 minutes of regulation. First Carl Gunnarsson went to the box with 2:45 left for firing the puck over the glass then David Backes joined him 1:22 later after cross-checking Joe Pavelski in the face during a netfront scrum. Despite 38 seconds of 6-on-4 hockey (Sharks coach Peter DeBoer opted to pull Jones for the extra attacker) the Sharks couldn’t crack Elliot and the St. Louis defense.

“You always want urgency,” said Pavelski. “5-on-3, it’s a chance to create a really good shot. We didn’t get as many of those as we could have. We didn’t find that way.”

The two teams played a tight, checking contest for the full 60 minutes. It became evident early in the 3rd that the first team to score would be the winner. Through the first two periods, St. Louis (43-22-9) fired just 15 shots on Jones. In total, Jones made 23 saves.

“The way we’ve been playing lately we’ve had stretches like that,” said Jones of the spurts of not seeing too much rubber thanks to his stout defense corps. “That’s a good thing. I just try to stay focused.

The only shot Jones couldn’t save came from Fabbri on a two-on-one rush. After defenseman Dylan DeMelo and Pavelski failed to stop the rush, defenseman Justin Braun was left to handle a two-on-one. Braun took away the pass to a streaking winger, but Jones was left to face down the lethal Fabbri. With Fabbri coming down the wing to Jones’ left, the youngster ripped a shot that beat Jones for the game’s only goal 9:55 into the period.

“It didn’t feel like they had a whole lot all night,” said Pavelski of St. Louis’ offense. “Me and (DeMelo) got caught up with some miscommunication there and they had a chance and found a way to sink one in.”

The Sharks hope to avoid another rookie sensation spoiling their potential playoff lockup. Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers come to SAP Thursday night for the 4th game of a season-high 6 game homestand. San Jose is currently 2-1 during that stretch.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Hertl key on offense, Donskoi with assist on power play line; Sharks get ready for the Blues

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AP photo: The Arizona Coyotes Shane Doan gets his shot directed by San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer (34) in the second period on Sunday at SAP Center

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa the Sharks get some strong defense in place of the much missed Marc Eduard Vlasic who is out with an injury. Tomas Hertl scored a key goal for a power play goal that sparked the team on Sunday against Arizona. Joonas Donskoi helped Hertl with the assist as his assist was valuable for that score. Sharks goalie James Reimer picked up his second straight shutout in four game with the Sharks. Reimer faced 25 shots

The Sharks host the St.Louis Blues tonight at SAP Center the Bluse are no pushover with 93 points and 21-11-5 on the road. Can the Sharks make it work against one of hockey’s toughest teams?

Listen to the podcast with Mary Lisa click below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Flyers take a big bite out of the Big Apple 5-2 win in Brooklyn; Blackhawks continue to struggle; Preds get lots of help in win over LA 5-2

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AP photo: The LA Kings Nick Shore (21) studies his options against the Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (35) on Monday night

On the NHL podcast with Joe Lami The Philadelphia Flyers got a big win against the New York Islanders at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn on Monday 4-1. The Flyers Brandon Manning scored his first NHL goal in the contest. The last time we talked about the Chicago Blackhawks they were struggling and it’s looks like the same discussion this week as the Hawks dropped a 3-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild. Chicago goalie Carey Crawford remains out with an upper body injury.

The Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen scored a goal and two assists to help beat the LA Kings 5-2 on Monday night. The Preds got scoring help from James Neal, Mike Fisher (also playing in his 1000th NHL game), Flip Forsberg, and Roman Josi. The New York Rangers win over the Florida Panthers help elevated the Rangers two games over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers defeated the Panthers with the Rangers goalie Hendrik Lundqvst stopping 25 shots by the Panthers. Sharks goalie James Reimer gets his second shutout in four games shutting out the AZ Coyotes 3-0.

Joe Lami will go over all of these subjects on this edition of Sportstalk and the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Categories NHL

Sharks Shut Out Coyotes 3-0

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl scores a second period goal and goes to the Sharks bench for a brief victory lap Sunday

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 3-0 Sunday. James Reimer made 25 saves for the shutout. It was his second shutout in four starts for the Sharks. Sharks goals came from Joel Ward, Tomas Hertl and Joe Pavelski. Brent Burns picked up an assist on Pavelski’s goal, setting a new record for most points by a Sharks defenseman in a season with 65.

The Sharks owed the Coyotes a good performance after their unimpressive loss last Thursday. The Sharks also needed a win against a non-playoff team, if for no other reason than to get one. Their recent record is littered with losses to the wrong teams, and wins against top tier opponents. This is not a problem that is likely to come up during the playoffs, but selective competing is not something the Sharks want to fall back into. For this reason, beating the Coyotes was a very good thing for the team.

Near the 14 minute mark of the first, Logan Couture blocked a shot and ended his shift a little early, but he did not leave the game. Justin Braun took the first penalty of the game, an interference penalty at 14:07. The Sharks were able to clear the puck twice in the first minute of the Coyotes power play, and allowed just one shot in that minute.

1:21 into the penalty, Patrick Marleau was called for high sticking and the Coyotes had a five on three for 39 seconds. The Sharks killed off the five on three, but had their hands full. The Coyotes added another shot before Braun came out of the box, but no more after that.

At 18:20, the Sharks took the lead with a goal from Joel Ward. He deflected Brenden Dillon’s shot from the point, a one-timer on a pass from Joonas Donskoi. Donskoi made the pass from below the blue line, for his 22nd assist of the season. It was Ward’s 20th goal of the season and Dillon’s seventh assist.

At the end of the first, the shots were 13-7 Sharks.

2:26 into the second, Brent Burn went to the box for tripping. The Sharks killed it off and finished the kill with a short-handed chance.

The Sharks had their first power play at 5:48, a holding penalty to Klas Dahlbeck. The Sharks power play had some difficulty establishing themselves in the Arizona zone. Eventually they did get set up, but the power play did not generate a goal.

They had another chance at 11:05, when Boyd Gordon went to the box for holding Melker Karlsson. the Sharks’ first unit again looked somewhat disorganized and the second jumped in for a faceoff and went right to work. In the space ofa few passes, they had the puck in the net. This time they got a little lucky as Hertl’s attempted pass to Ward hit Arizona’s Murphy and bounced back under Mike Smith. The goal went to Hertl, with assists to Donskoi and Paul Martin.

The Sharks went right back on the power play at 13:50, when Kevin Connauton was called for delay of game after sending the puck over the glass, but did not score. The Sharks finished the period on a penalty kill, as Nick Spaling was called for interference. The shots at the end of the second were 22-18 Sharks.

The Sharks completed the penalty kill to start the third period, and 13:10 in they had another power play. The Coyotes took yet another penalty at 17:55, a hooking penalty to Michael Stone.

The Coyotes pulled their goaltender with just over a minute left and briefly threatened in the Sharks zone. It was quite brief, and then Brent Burns took control of the puck in the neutral zone and passed it to Joe Pavelski for the empty net shot. It was Pavelski’s 34th goal of the season. Assists went to Burns and Joe Thornton.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:30, hosting the visiting St. Louis Blues.

Matt Nieto and Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed their second game after being injured last Thursday.

Sharks Sink Rangers 4-1

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski is congratulated by Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl after scoring third period goal vs. the NY Rangers on Saturday afternoon

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks overwhelmed the New York Rangers in a 4-1 win Saturday. It has been a while since the Sharks passed the 50 shot mark in a game, but they did so Saturday. They pummeled Henrik Lundqvist with 47 before he left the game, and Antti Ranta faced five more, for a total of 52 shots. At the other end, Martin Jones faced 25 shots and stopped 24. Two San Jose goals were scored by Joel Ward, one by Joe Thornton and another by Joe Pavelski. Tomas Hertl picked up three assists in the game, while Patrick Marleau picked up an assist in his 1400th career NHL game. The lone Rangers goal was scored by Dan Boyle.

Three of the Sharks goals came in the third period, after a hard-fought two periods. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said: “I liked our game through 40 minutes. I thought that if we stuck with it, kept pushing and kept pushing, eventually we would find a crack and I think that’s what happened.”

Missing from the Sharks lineup were Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Nieto, both injured in Thursday’s game against Arizona. Neither injury is expected to be long-term and the team anticipates they will both be back in time for playoffs. Dylan DeMelo was in for Vlasic, while Tommy Wingels returned from injury to fill out the forward lines. He was slotted in on the fourth line, while Chris Tierney moved up to play with Marleau and Ward. That was where Tierney had finished Thursday’s game as well.

After the game, Tommy Wingels talked about how the team should be able to handle the absence of key players:

Guys earn each other’s confidence. When you can show your linemates that you can contribute, you can show your teammates that you can be relied on, the depth shines. To go far in this league you need guys, you need a full team of guys who can do that. I think in this last stretch here, these past 25 games, we’ve really shown each other that any guy can stand up at any moment and that’s what you need.

3:16 into the first period, the Sharks were on the penalty kill. Just back from injury, Tommy Wingels was called for closing his hand on the puck. The Sharks killed the penalty off and followed up with a fairly amazing shift in the Rangers’ zone, complete with last-ditch keep-ins, falling pass interceptions and a couple of good shots. The team looked ready to play.

The Rangers responded with some strong shifts in the Sharks’ zone and the first period went back and forth that way without a goal. At the first intermission, the Sharks held slight leads in faceoffs and shots, and had half as many giveaways as the Rangers. The Rangers had blocked nine shots to the Sharks’ three.

Wingels went to the box to start the second period as well, taking Tanner Glass with him at 2:14. Wingels went for tripping Mats Zuccarello, Glass for roughing Wingels. No harm was done, but no benefit gained either as the four on four elapsed with the game still scoreless. The Sharks had their first power play at 6:01 of the second, for too many men on the ice. J.T. Miller did the time for the Rangers.

The Sharks power play was a bit unsteady at first, but found traction with the second unit. With 11 seconds left, Joonas Donskoi controlled the puck as it came around behind the Rangers net, and sent a quick reverse pass to Joel Ward in the slot. He wasted no time taking the shot for his 19th of the season. Assists went to Donskoi and Hertl.

Dan Boyle tied the game with 2:28 left in the second. Derrick Brassard and Dan Boyle surprised the Sharks with a two on one. Brenden Dillon went down to block Brassard’s pass to Boyle, but the puck got around him. It looked like Jones would stay with Boyle and stop the shot but Boyle waited him out and put the puck in with a nifty backhand. Assists went to Brassard and Marc Staal.

At the end of the second, the Sharks held a 37-18 shot lead.

Five seconds into the third, Marc Staal went to the box for delay of game. The Sharks power play started more quickly this time around but did not score. The Sharks had a series of good chances almost five minutes in, with as many as three tries in fewer seconds but Lundqvist stopped all of them.

Just past the five minute mark, though, the Sharks took the lead back. Tomas Hertl carried the puck over the line and fought his way around the Rangers defense. He carried the puck through a tight turn and to the front of the blue paint. Lundqvist stopped his shot but as Hertl was being taken down to the side of the net, Joe Thornton arrived in front to pick up the rebound and put it away. Assists went to Hertl and Joe Pavelski.

1:49 later, Marleau, Ward and Tierney skated in three on two. Instead of passing, Ward scored his 20th with a shot from the left circle. Assists went to Marleau and Paul Martin. The floodgates were open. Joe Pavelski scored his 33rd of the season in a two on none breakaway at 9:05. Tomas Hertl picked his third assist of the game, and Antti Ranta came in to relieve Lundqvist in goal. At that time, the Sharks held a shot lead of 47-21.

The Sharks took another penalty at 10:32, but not to Wingels. This time it was Dainius Zubrus, for tripping Ryan McDonagh. The Sharks killed the penalty handily, throwing in a couple of short-handed chances to boot. The Rangers looked deflated after that. They managed few shots, and took one more penalty with 1:07 left in the game. The penalty was to Dominic Moore, for boarding Dylan DeMelo. The Sharks made a modest effort to do something with the power play, but Paul Martin ended by holding the puck behind the Sharks net for the last several seconds of the game. It was a reasonable choice.

The Sharks next play on at 7:00 PT Sunday at SAP against the Arizona Coyotes.

Coyotes edge Sharks on late goal by Doan

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By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 17, 2016

AP photo: Coyotes Shane Doan (19) tries to outskate the Sharks Nick Spaling (16) with the puck, Doan ended up scoring the go ahead goal on Thursday night

GLENDALE, Arizona – If nothing else, it was a busy night for the video review judge Thursday at Gila River Arena.

Three times in the first two periods, a goal was challenged. The Arizona Coyotes won the first of those decisions, while the San Jose Sharks were 0-for-2.

In the end, it was Shane Doan, the Coyotes’ 39-year-old captain, who broke a 1-1 deadlock with another of his “ugly” goals. Doan’s go-ahead tally at 18:29 of the third period gave the Coyotes a 3-1 victory over a frustrated San Jose squad.

“I haven’t scored too many pretty ones this year,” Doan said of his 25th goal of the season and 393rd of his career. “It was one of those ones that just landed on (Jones’s) pad and fell in.

“(Teammate) Jordan Martinook is adamant that I’ve only scored 10 legit goals!” he added. “I don’t really care. Ask how many, not how.”

The win keeps the Coyotes’ slim playoff hopes alive, Arizona (31-32-7, 69 points) is fourth in the Pacific, seven points away from the second Wild Card.

San Jose (39-25-6, 84 points) hangs on to the No. 3 slot out of the NHL Pacific Division, one point over the Wild Card qualifiers. The Sharks had a two-game winning streak snapped following crucial victories over Washington and Boston.

On what appeared to be an attempted centering pass, Doan snuck a shot in from an extreme narrow angle, and the puck bounced and rolled past the glove side of Sharks goaltender Martin Jones at 18:29 of the third period.

Moments later, after the Sharks pulled Jones for a sixth attacker, the Coyotes’ Antione Vermette popped in an empty-net goal with :50 to play.

“Brownie (assistant coach Newell Brown) and I were talking at morning skate that I had to try slipping the puck to a battle in front with Brad (Richardson) and Max (Domi) and just create scrambles,” Doan said.

Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, who recently returned from a 40-game absence to recover from a core muscle injury, stopped 27 of 28 shots, five days after making 44 saves in Arizona’s win over Edmonton.

It didn’t hurt Smith’s effort that two of San Jose’s goals were disallowed.

San Jose nearly had the first lead of the game with 7:25 left in the first period, when Dainius Zubrus took a pass in the slot, and sent a wrister past Smith on his stick side.
After a review, it was determined the play was offside and the goal was nullified.

Michael Stone gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 13:23 when he teed up a pass from Tanguay at the right point and fired a slap shot through Martin Jones’s legs. In turn, San Jose challenged the play, claiming it was offside. Officials reviewed the play and ruled the goal was good.

The Sharks lost their second review of the game at 6:28 of the second period during a power play that followed a fight between Arizona’s Max Domi and San Jose’s Marcus-Edouard Vlasic which included an additional cross-checking minor to Domi.

Chris Tierney was cruising in as a trailer, sent a bouncing puck past Smith from just outside the crease. Arizona challenged the ruling, claiming the puck was kicked in, and won the review, nullifying the goal.

San Jose’s persistence paid off at 10:29 of the second period when the Sharks finally scored a goal that counted. Tomas Hertl, skating across the slot, knocked in the rebound off Paul Martin’s shot. Joe Thornton had the second assist on the Sharks’ equalizer.

“This is the NHL. Nobody should beat anybody,” Sharks Coach Peter DeBoer said. “These guys (Arizona) are still a quality team, they’re well coached and they’re going to win some games. They’re not going to lose every game down the stretch.

“They came out and played well enough to win some points tonight, and we didn’t. We’ll have to pick ourselves up and get ready for the next one.”

The Sharks return to San Jose for a six-game homestand, starting Saturday with the New York Rangers and a visit from the Coyotes on Sunday.

TAGS: San Jose Sharks,Arizona Coyotes,NHL,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum

Sharks Fend Off Bruins in 3-2 Win

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: The Sharks Logan Couture (39) battles with the Bruins Ryan Spooner for the puck during a second period face off on Tuesday night

SAN JOSE– For the second time this season, the San Jose Sharks defeated the Boston Bruins. The score was 3-2, with Sharks goals from Joonas Donskoi, Melker Karlsson and Brent Burns. With his 26th goal, Brent Burns tied the Sharks record for goals scored by a defenseman in a season, set by Sandis Ozolinsh. With 11 goals and 31 points, Donskoi is the highest scoring Sharks rookie since Logan Couture.

James Reimer made 21 saves on 23 Boston shots for the win. David Krejci and Loui Eriksson scored for the Bruins, with Tuuka Rask making 24 saves for Boston on 27 San Jose shots.

Melker Karlsson opened the scoring for the Sharks at 8:44. After winning the puck along the boards, Karlsson dropped it to Logan Couture and went to the front of the net. Couture sent the puck behind the net to Donskoi, who passed it ahead for Karlsson to put away. Assists went to to Donskoi and Couture.

The Bruins answered back at 11:26. David Pastrnak got by the Sharks defense and took a shot into Reimer’s pads. Reimer kicked the puck back out but right in David Krejci’s wheelhouse. His quick shot went under Reimer to tie the game. Assists went to Pastrnak and Torey Krug.

The first penalty of the game came with just 2:54 left in the first period. It was a hooking call against Jimmy Hayes. The power play did not go very well for the Sharks, and 39 seconds in, Boston scored short handed. Loui Eriksson broke away,and it was the second Boston breakaway in that power play, to beat Reimer and give the Bruins the lead.

The Sharks had one second of five on three, and then the rest of the period five on four against Boston. At the end of the first penalty, David Krejci finished up another breakaway with a slash to James Reimer, after the whistle blew.

The period ended with the Bruins up 2-1 and the Sharks ahead in shots 12-10.

The Sharks finished the remainder of that power play to start the second period. They did not give up another short handed goal and they did add a couple of shots to their tally.

At 11:46, Brent Burns tied the game. Burns made a pass through the slot in the direction of Thornton, but instead the puck hit Ryan Spooner and bounced into the net.

The game winner did not come until the third period, during the dying seconds of another Sharks power play. Jimmy Hayes was in the box for an illegal check to the head of Sharks defenseman Justin Braun. The Sharks’ first power play unit had been unsuccesful, allowing another short-handed chance, this time to Brad Marchand. Marchand also made some little extra contact with Reimer after his shot was stopped. That drew some reaction from the Sharks. The second unit came on with 1:22 left in the power play, with Tomas Hertl taking a defensive zone draw. The Sharks controlled the puck but after their first dump-in the Bruins pushed the puck back out quickly.

Donskoi dumped the puck in on their next entry and the Sharks retrieved the puck along the end boards. A pass from Vlasic to Burns wound up on Burns’ skate. Burns moved the puck from skate to stick, and found Joel Ward on the far side of the slot. Ward waited a beat and picked his shot. Donskoi was in front of the net, with his stick on the ice in front of Rask. The deflected shot went just under the diving goaltender and in the net. Assists went to Ward and Burns.

The Sharks took their first and only penalty at 10:20 of the third period. Donskoi went to the box for holding the stick, but the Bruins power play did not change the score, and the Bruins did not get any shots despite a couple of good attacks.

Back at even strength, the Bruins made a push in the final minutes of the game but the Sharks held them off for the win.

The three stars of the game were Joonas Donskoi, Melker Karlsson and David Krejci.

Sharks forward Tommy Wingels was off IR Tuesday, but did not play.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Arizona, against the Coyotes at 7:00 PT.