Category: NHL

Hurricanes Blow Out Sharks 5-2

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo Carolina Hurricanes John Michael Liles (26) pass puck by the San Jose Sharks Melker Karlsson (68) in the first period of Friday’s game

The San Jose Sharks ended a three-game winning streak with a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Like the Sharks, the Hurricanes played the night before. Where the Sharks won their Thursday game in a shootout, the Hurricanes lost 4-2 in Ottawa. Friday, the Hurricanes bested the Sharks in every area of the game, in faceoffs, hits, shots, shot attempts as well as scoring.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer described it as a well-deserved loss:

They took the game over, you know, we didn’t have an answer. We pretty much got what we deserved I think tonight. I think we lost too many of the tough areas: the faceoffs, special teams. When you lose three or four significant areas in the game, you’re not going to win. They deserved the win and we deserved what we got.

The Hurricanes are this season’s least penalized NHL team so the fact that the Sharks did not have a power play in the game is not very surprising. The Hurricanes got two goals from Jeff Skinner, and goals from Chris Terry, Joakim Nordstrom and Jordan Staal. Cam Ward made 22 saves on 24 shots for the Hurricanes. Sharks goals were scored by Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl. Martin Jones made 32 saves on 36 shots for the Sharks.

The loss left the Sharks’ position in the standings unchanged from the night before, except for the loss of a game in hand over the Kings and the Ducks. The Sharks are still in third place in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Kings and one behind the Ducks.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski addressed the question of whether the Sharks’ tough schedule on this road trip had something to do with the loss:

They were in a similar situation, coming back last night. We weren’t very good all night. I was awful. That’s one of the worst games I’ve had in a while. There were a few plays out there, a lot of plays I’d like to have back… You never let that affect you though, three games in four nights. You’ve got to manufacture your game.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer had a similar take on the game: “It’s one of those games. We’ve been consistently good for a long time, and you’re going to have those once in a while. It’s how we respond to it. I think we just have to throw it away and get ready for the next one.”

For the third game in a row, the Sharks gave up the first goal. This time it was a curious shot that bounced high off Chris Terry’s stick and over Martin Jones’ head. Assists went to Noah Hanifin and Riley Nash.

The Sharks got it back near the end of the period, when a nice pass from Joel Ward found Brent Burns high in the slot. It was Burns’ 19th goal of the season and his first in 19 games. Assists went to Ward and Matt Nieto.

The teams ended the period tied in shots was well as goals with eight each.

Early in the second period, the teams played four on four while Melker Karlsson and Eric Staal sat in the box for and embellishment respectively. Neither team scored.

The first power play went to Carolina in the second period, a delay of game penalty to Tomas Hertl after he swept the puck out of play during a frantic scramble in front of the Sharks’ net. Carolina had three shots during the power play and the Sharks cleared the puck out twice, though not until the final half minute of the penalty.

Carolina took the lead back at 12:25 of the second. Joakim Nordstrom crossed the blue line without any pressure and his shot from high in the slot blew by Jones as if unseen. The Sharks had three skaters back but none got in Nordstrom’s way. Assists went to Jordan Staal and Bret Pesce.

Instead of tying the game up again before the period ended, the Sharks finished the period on the penalty kill. Mike Brown took issue with a hit on Marc-Edouard Vlasic and three penalties resulted: Brown for holding Jordan Staal, Staal for roughing against Mike Brown and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Brown.

The Sharks were badly outshot in the second period, 18-4. They were also losing in the shot attempts category 42-21 and the faceoff circle 21-6. It was hardly surprising that they were behind 2-1 on the scoreboard.

The Sharks started the third period with most of the Brown penalty still to kill. Before the first minute elapsed, Carolina seemed to score but the official called it back for incidental contact with the goaltender. Eric Staal seemed to hook Martin Jones under the pad and pulled him to the right while Jones was trying to reach to his left. Carolina challenged the call and the play was reviewed and the call was overturned.

The power play goal went to Jeff Skinner with assists to Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg.

10:38 into the third period, the Sharks cut the lead to 3-2. Patrick Marleau stole the puck from Carolina goaltender Cam Ward behind the net and passed it quickly to the front of the net. Tomas Hertl was there to tap it in. It was Hertl’s 12th goal of the season and Marleau’s 20th assist.

With just under five minutes remaining, Carolina took back their two goal lead when Jaccob Slavin’s shot bounced off a skate to Skinner in the slot. An empty netter from Jordan Staal sealed the deal at 17:35.

The Sharks next play in St. Louis against the Blues on Monday.

Forward Mike Brown was in the lineup for the first time since January 24, as Tommy Wingels was injured early in Thursday’s game in Sunrise. Melker Karlsson took the open spot on the third line with Joonas Donskoi and Logan Couture, and Brown took Karlsson’s spot on the fourth line with Chris Tierney and Dainius Zubrus. Brown had one hit and three blocked shots in the game. The top two lines remained as they have been, with Hertl, Thornton and Pavelski on the top line and Marleau, Ward and Nieto on the second line.

Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon missed his fourth game. Matt Tennyson has played in his stead with Dylan Demelo on the blue line. Tennyson finished Friday’s game with a -1 rating , a blocked shot and a hit.

Jones aids Sharks in resilient win

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Photo credit: Alan Diaz AP Photo

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Both San Jose and the Florida Panthers were resilient, but goalie Martin Jones made the saves down the stretch to keep his team in the game for a 2-1 win.

The game was tight, as evidenced by the decreasing shots in goal as the game wore on, especially starting in the second. However, the pressure remained intense.

It was the Sharks’ second straight comeback win away from home, as the road warriors played to the shootout a week after their last one. It was Florida’s second shootout in a row.

San Jose moved to 3-2 in the shootout, while overcoming the Panthers’ dominance there, now 6-2. Florida were without their top two in the shootout.

The Sharks’ Tommy Wingels left early in the first, as he hit the boards after a check gone wrong. Wingels, who never returned to the game, played just 1:54.

San Jose had three power plays in the second, but the way the first two went, it looked like it was the Panthers’ power play..

Despite that, Florida only had two shots on goal.

The Panthers’ Jaromir Jagr, the newly turned 44 year old, broke the deadlock 2:23 into the third period. Reilly Smith, from the opposite end faceoff circle, passed it to Vincent Trocheck at the blue line, who used good movement to get to the faceoff circle in the Sharks’ end. Tomas Hertl then blocked Trocheck’s puck with his stick and the rebound went to Jagr, who put the puck in five hole.

At 8:56, a new line change paid dividends. The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski got the puck to Joe Thornton behind the net, who went around and passed the puck up front to Logan Couture, who hit top shelf. Thornton now has a seven game point streak, as Couture got his third goal in six games. That was San Jose’s only shot on goal in the period.

Jones made a face-to-face stop against Trochek and also stopped him in overtime.

The Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a shot that went off the goalpost in overtime.

Hertl got the puck off a turnover and may have scored, if not for a slashing call that perhaps could have gone either way. San Jose got the 4-on-3 power play at 3:32, but could not break through.

With both goalies having clean shootout records at 2-0, one had to give.

The Sharks were a perfect 2 for 2. Both Joonas Donskoi and Pavelski went for different approaches, Donskoi with speed and Pavelski with more of a wait and see, against goalie Al Montoya. It was Pavelski’s second goal in as many games and his second game winner in less than a month.

Game notes: San Jose has now scored at least two goals in 18 straight games. They were outhit 31-18, Florida’s Dmitri Kulikov with six, and out-blocked 16-8. The Sharks had less giveaways, 8-20. San Jose will have to endure more resilience with the second of back-to-back games, if Wingels is absent. That game starts at 4pm on Friday.

Sharks avoid Lightning

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Photo credit: Mike Carlson AP Photo

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ After San Jose lost versus Tampa Bay last time, the Sharks returned the favor in a 4-2 win Tuesday.

It was all even strength goals this time around as San Jose evened the season series.

The Sharks kicked off their longest road trip of February with a second straight road win. This allowed them to gain ground on at least the Los Angeles Kings.

According to Darin Stephens, San Jose goalie Martin Jones when facing 30+ shots, is now 12-0-2 this season.

The only action of the first period came at 17:51. Lightning Andrej Sustr started the play from the other side and passed the puck to Alex Killorn, who was at the blue line. Killorn then found an open Ryan Callahan.

Things got a lot more active on the ice in the second.

Joel Ward tied the game through traffic 1:43 into the second period. The play started similarly to Tampa’s, as the puck moved quickly from Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the defensive zone, to Matt Nieto in the neutral zone before hitting Ward inside the blue line. Vlasic’s career high now reaches eight straight in points and assists.

The Sharks’ top line then made a 2-1 cash in at 6:34. Joe Pavelski actually started the play by getting the puck along the boards to Tomas Hertl. Hertl then sent the puck back that way past Pavelski to Joe Thornton, as Pavelski moved in front of net. With the attention on Thornton, he made the scoring pass as Pavelski slapped the puck past goalie Bishop. It was Pavelski’s first goal in February.

The Lightning re-tied the game at 8:46. J.T. Brown got the puck along the boards and passed to Cedric Paquette. As he did so, the puck hit Vlasic’s stick, Paquette created space from defender Justin Braun and scored through traffic from the faceoff circle.

The game winner 1:17 into the third was a different type of goal. Ward started it with a shot against the boards and in a speedy 2-on-1, Marleau passed to Nieto cross ice, who snuck the puck in between Bishop’s skate and the goal post. It was Nieto’s first multipoint game since October 13.

Tampa Bay had three penalties in the period, including a misconduct at the time San Jose scored their final goal.

Showing they were not content with the lead, the fourth and first line combined to score at 18:17. Thornton along the boards passed behind to Melker Karlsson, who scored for the first time in February too.

Game notes: Thornton now has a six game point streak. Burns had nine shots on goal. Lightning Braydon Coburn had five hits. The Sharks next play the Florida Panthers Thursday at 4:30pm.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks getting some success from early defensive measures

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa the Sharks early defense measures have made all the difference for the Sharks as it helped them with victories in St.Louis and in Chicago as the Sharks shocked the Blackhawks with a 2-0 shutout. The Sharks Joe Thornton says that the defensive strategy of keeping opponents away from the Sharks end of the ice has worked out well and holding the offense from taking shots on net have given the Sharks an advantage to focus on holding other teams off then get their own shots on net to score.

The Sharks are noted for being the stingiest team in the NHL when playing with the lead and they are tied for the most wins 11. The Sharks start a five game road trip on Tuesday night starting in Tampa Bay and later heading to Florida, Carolina, St.Louis, and Colorado.

Mary Lisa Walsh is the San Jose Sharks beat writer and does the Sharks podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

photo credit: nhl.nbcsports.com The San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton says team defense has improved the Sharks success

 

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Leafs cure all ills for Hawks 3 game skid; Habs lose season series to Yotes; and more NHL podcasting

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On the NHL podcast the Chicago Blackshawks got back in the win column with a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs by  a whopping five goal 7-2 victory. The Hawks who were on a three game losing streak wasted no time attacking the Leafs net and after getting shutout earlier this month by San Jose 2-0 that’s when the slow burn started and the Hawks are relieved to get a win.

The Montreal Canadiens are in a world of hurt since their number one goaltender Carey Price has gone down the Habs have not been like they were that team that started the season 9-0. Price will not return and in a team announcement over the weekend Price’s MCL right knee injury will keep him out the line up including post season. Price has tried to rehab the knee but that hasn’t worked and now the Canadiens are trying to see if surgery is an option. The Canadiens lost their two game season series to the Arizona Coyotes by a four goal loss 6-2 very uncharacteristic for Montreal.

AP photo Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price

There’s more on the NHL podcast with Joe Lami click below to hear the latest at http://www.sporsradioservice.com

 

Barracuda Fall 4-2 to Condors

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–The Barracuda lose to the Bakerfield Condors 4-2 on Valentines day at SAP

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Barracuda fell to the Bakersfield Condors by a score of 4-2 Sunday. The game winner was scored by Ryan Hamilton. Anders Nilsson was in net for the win, making 21 saves on 23 shots. For San Jose, Aaron Dell made 22 saves on 25 shots faced. Both Barracuda goals were scored by Ben Smith.

San Jose and Bakersfield were playing for third place in the division on Sunday. When the game started, the Barracuda had a two point lead over the Condors but had played one more game. With the win, the Condors jumped the Barracuda for third place in the AHL’s Pacific Division.

I remember when the Bakersfield Condors wore grey and burgundy and had the names of local businesses on the tails of their jerseys. That was when they were an ECHL team last year. Now the Condors look pretty much like the Oilers, especially from a distance far enough to not see the emblem. They wear the same colors but they differ in one important respect: they are doing well in their division this season.

The Barracuda were first on the power play, into the first period. Bakersfield was called for too many men on the ice and Anton Slepyshev served the penalty at 11:47. San Jose did not score. Instead, Bakersfield scored at . Barracuda goaltender Aaron Dell stopped the first couple of shots during a Condor attack during which the Barracuda could not clear the puck out. Andrew Miller’s shot went over Dell’s shoulder from the slot to give the visitors the lead. It was Miller’s twelfth of the season. Assists went to Rob Klinkhammer and Jujhar Khaira.

The Condors kept the Barracuda on their heels for the rest of the period. With San Jose defenders stuck in their zone, they were lucky to make it to intermission down by just one.

At the end of the period, the teams were tied on the shot clock but the home team trailed by one.

The second period was marked by a lot of hits and questionable stick use. By the ten minute mark, the Barracuda had added two shots and the Condors just one. Near the eleven minute mark, the game’s first fight broke out behind the Barracuda goal line. The scuffle landed Andrew Miller and Joakim Ryan in the box with roughing minors. Miller got an additional two minutes, so Slepyshev joined him in the box and a Barracuda power play commenced.

San Jose still could not score, but they did keep the Condors on the defensive. And defend they did. The Baracuda had very little time to take the shots they got credit for and many that just missed the net. With six minutes left, Bakersfield still only had one shot in the period but they still had a one goal lead.

The Condors got their first power kay with 4:13 left in the second. San Jose’s Julius Bergman went to the box for slashing. During their power play they finally got a few shots on goal. Half way through the power play, Karl Stollerysent the puck out of play and was called for delay of game. San Jose managed the three on five penalty kill and the minute of four on five that followed.

At the end of the second, the score was still 1-0 Condors and the shots were 17-15 Condors.

The third period started with an early chance for the Condors that hit a post. That seemed to wake the Barracuda up and they responded with several good shifts in the offensive zone. When the Condors pushed back, they were wrapped up in extended board battles and had few chances to score again until the middle of the period.

At, the Condors extended their lead. A neutral zone breakdown gave the Condors a two-then-three on one with Julius Bergman as the one. Jujhar Khaira scored the goal with assists going to Andrew Miller and Griffin Reinhart.

The goal unsettled the Barracuda and inspired the Condors. The orange and blue attack continued with the Barracuda scrambling defensively.

The Barracuda recovered somewhat in the second half of the period. At 12:05 they scored after John McCarthy and Ben Smith combined to win the puck off the boards. McCarthy carried it behind the net and tried a wraparound. That did not work but Smith was on the other side of the crease to catch the puck and put it in. It was his seventh goal of the season in eleven games played with the team. McCarthy received the lone assist.

The Condors did not let that go and stretched their lead back to two with 3:40 left in the game. Entering the zone fast two one two, Ryan Hamilton and Tyler Pitlick gave the Condors their third goal of the game.

The Barracuda made a game of it with just over a minute left. A good four skater rush through the neutral zone and some give and go between Smith and Bryan Lerg resulted in another goal for Smith.

Barracuda coach Sommer opted to pull his goaltender after that and with 26.2 left in the game, the puck escaped the neutral zone and only the Condors’ Klinkhammer was near enough to catch it. He put it in the Barracuda net.

Final score: 4-2 Condors.

John McCarthy led the Barracuda in shots on goal with five. Mirco Mueller, called up to the Sharks briefly after Brenden Dillon’s recent injury, was back with the AHL squad in time for Sunday’s game.

Raffi Torres, still on the Barracuda roster, did not play for the second game in a row. He has played five games with the Barracuda this year.

The Barracuda hit the road next week and will face the Heat on Saturday and Sunday in Stockton.

Sharks Defeat Coyotes 4-1

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: Sharks goalie Martin Jones stops a shot by the Coyotes Jordan Martinook during the second period of Saturday’s game

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 4-1 on Saturday. Matt Tennyson, Chris Tierney, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi all scored for the Sharks. Melker Karlsson earned two assists in the game, his first multi-point game since November. Martin Jones stopped  22 of 23 shots for the win. Martin Hanzal scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, while goaltender Louis Domingue stopped 24 of 27 shots from the Sharks.

Two very well-played periods were enough to give the Sharks another mark in the win column. While the Sharks were plying the Coyotes, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime. This moved the Ducks temporarily ahead of the Sharks in the standings. This fact added significance to an already important divisional contest.

The second period was the Coyotes’ only really strong one, or perhaps it was just a weak showing from the Sharks. While the Sharks did get goals from unusual scorers, their power play was a disappointment. It was not until Joonas Donskoi’s empty netter during the team’s fifth power play that the Sharks scored with the man advantage. By the same token, the Sharks penalty kill was perfect Saturday night.

The Sharks opened the scoring 2:59 into the first period. Matt Tennyson scored it with a laser beam from the point that went under Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue. It came back out so fast that it could hardly be seen in the net except on replay. It was Tennyson’s second of the season. Assists went to Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson.

The first penalty also went to the Sharks, near the halfway mark of the first. Dainius Zubrus went to the box for interference. The Coyotes managed one shot on the power play and the Sharks cleared it out three times.

With 4:04 left in the period, the Sharks had their first power play when Martin Hanzal went to the box for boarding. The power play did not produce but shortly after it ended, Matt Tennyson almost scored again and saw it disallowed by a quick whistle.

It did not sting too much. Seconds later Chris Tierney scored with a nice tap-in. Assists went to Brent Burns and Melker Karlsson.

With just 35 seconds left, Marc-Edouard Vlasic went to the box for holding.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led the Coyotes on the scoreboard by two goals to none. The Coyotes spent most of the period trailing in shots but by the end they had taken a slim lead of 10-9.

The Coyotes came out for the second hungry. They started with a couple of prolonged sieges to finish up their power play. Then Martin Hanzal intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and skated in alone to cut the Sharks’ lead in half. The goal came just 1:58 into the second, with an assist going to Tobias Rieder.

5:43 into the period, Antoine Vermette was called for hooking. The Sharks power play started with an early short-handed breakaway from Jordan Martinook. Martin Jones stopped his initial shot and Sharks skaters got control of the rebound quickly enough to prevent another shot.

After the power play ended, a scuffle in front of the Coyotes net landed Tomas Hertl and Shane Doan in the box with matching roughing minors. Less than 30 seconds later, the Sharks had a 4 on 3 power play after Martinook went to the box for holding. The power play was marked by a number of missed shots, both 4-on-3 and 5-on-4.

The period ended with no further scoring. The Coyotes did not run out of steam and had several good chances that Jones had to scramble to stop. The teams went to the dressing room tied in shots at 22 each, in a one-goal game.
By the middle of the third period, the Sharks had added three shots to their total and the Coyotes had none. Just under nine minutes in, the Coyotes got their first shot of the period, during a power play. Tommy Wingels was in the box for holding.

Just past the ten minute mark, Tomas Hertl had a goal called back for being off of a high stick. As with the first disallowed goal, the Sharks answered quickly with one that did count. Unlike the first case, this makeup goal was scored by the same person who lost it seconds earlier. The goal was a nice deflection of a Burns shot, done with his stick blade as low as it could get without digging a hole in the ice. It was Hertl’s eleventh goal of the season, with assists to Burns and Martin.

The Coyotes responded to the goal by quickly taking a penalty and putting the Sharks back on their thus-far ineffective power play. In was again ineffective, except for preventing offensive chances for the Coyotes.

With five minutes left, the Coyotes still only had one shot in the period. They did not get another. During a fifth power play opportunity for the Sharks, Arizona pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. As a result, Donskoi had an empty net to shot at during that final power play. It was his tenth of the season, with assists going to Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Tampa against the Lightning at 4:30 pm PT.

Sharks Erase 3 Goal Deficit But Fall to Flames in Shootout

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

AP photo Calgary’s defenceman Mark Giordano does the victory lap at the Flames bench after scoring a first period goal against the Sharks on Thursday night

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The question for the San Jose Sharks Thursday night was which team would show up for their home tilt with the Calgary Flames. Would it be the meek outfit that suffered a 6-2 knockout against the Predators in Nashville Saturday night taking the ice? Or could Team Teal replicate the World-beater performance that resulted in a 2-0 shutout of the vaunted Blackhawks offense at the United Center Tuesday night?

The answer is both.

The Sharks stumbled in the 1st period, allowing 4 goals to the visiting team while netting only one of their own, but scored 4 unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. Calgary forced overtime then rode a surprise appearance by Sharks nemesis Jonas Hiller to a 6-5 shootout victory. Sharks center Logan Couture picked up points (1g, 3a).

“I felt good,” said Couture who has missed significant time this year dealing with a leg injury and complications. “It was one of those games where the puck followed me around. It would have felt a lot nicer if we got the win.”

Wayne Gretzky said you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Thursday the Flames (25-25-3) missed on just under half of the first period shots they took against Sharks netminder Alex Stalock. Sam Bennett, Mark Giordano, Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund all scored in the opening stanza on 4 of Calgary’s total 9 shots.

The Sharks mostly rode the man-advantage to make up the difference over the final two-thirds of play, scoring 3 power play goals over 7 opportunities down the stretch.

“We had a feeling going out that something was going to get done,” said Sharks captain Joe Pavelski. “We battled all the way back. It was good to see some character.

Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau opened the scoring barrage in the 2nd period with a Flame stewing in the box. Couture potted his 5th of the season 48 seconds into the 2nd off a cross-ice feed from Brent Burns. Patrick Marleau tipped in a Joe Thornton shot-pass 11:17 into the frame for his 17th of the year. In total, the Sharks outshot the Flames 11-4 in a period in which Calgary picked up 6 penalty minutes.

San Jose completed the comeback 2:46 into the final period of regulation after Joonas Donskoi beat Kari Ramo for his 9th goal of the season. Just over 3 minutes later, Dylan DeMelo netted his 2nd career NHL goal on one of San Jose’s 9 power plays of the night to give the Sharks their first lead at 5-4 with just under 15 minutes to play.

The visitors would not be denied though, with defenseman Kris Russell taking a backdoor pass from Sam Bennett to tally his 4th of the year and knot the game 8:08 into the third. San Jose would have one last gasp in regulation.

With 3 minutes left Jonas Donskoi drove hard to the net, being tripped by Mark Giordano on the way in. Giordano collided with Ramo, forcing the starting netminder out of the game. During the same exchange, Sam Bennett elbowed Paul Martin, forcing Jonas Hiller to enter the game off the bench. Hiller dominated during the Sharks’ 5-on-3 power play, keeping the Flames in contention for two points.

“He played unbelievable,” said Couture of Hiller. “Kudos to him. He stepped in to a very difficult situation with the 5-on-3 and had some unbelievable saves. He basically saved them a couple points.”

“We thought we were going to get them,” added Pavelski. “When you get a 5-on-3 for two minutes. We just didn’t get things done. We felt we let one slip away.”

Hiller was equally as stout in the 3-on-3 overtime, flashing an athletic kick save amongst the 8 saves he made to force the game into a shootout. The Sharks also missed some opportunities by hitting a post and missing an open net when Hiller was pulled out of position.

“It’s tough,” said Couture. “I could have put the game away there. That one is going to keep me up tonight.”

 The red hot Couture beat Hiller, the only Shark to do so in the skills competition. Joe Colborne answered, then Hiller stoned Donskoi , Joe Pavelski and Marleau. Jiri Hudler slid the puck past Stalock to take the contest for the Flames.

The Sharks next take the SAP ice facing Pacific Division rivals the Arizona Coyotes. That contest will be Saturday evening.

Jones shuts down Hawks

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Photo credit: Charles Rex Arbogast AP Photo

~By Pearl Allison Lo

~San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones earned his first win against the Chicago Blackhawks  Tuesday, in a 2-0, 33-save win.

The last time Jones and San Jose had a shutout was January 9. On the other side, Chicago was shutout for the third time in seven games.

With the win, the Sharks remained in second place in the Pacific Division, as they halted the Blackhawks’ three-game win streak.

In the first, a goal by Chicago’s fourth line and former Shark Brandon Mashinter was waved off after a challenge based on goalie interference. San Jose is now 23-2-1 after scoring first. When leading or behind after two, respectively, the Sharks are now 20-0-2 and the Blackhawks 3-15-2.

San Jose outhit Chicago in the opening period 11-3. Five of the hits were made by Tommy Wingels. The Sharks also won the special teams battle overall, killing two of all three power plays in the first.

San Jose got their first power play opportunity at 8:30 into the second and were able to capitalize. Joe Thornton fished the puck from the boards, tossing it to Logan Couture, who passed the puck down the ice. Patrick Marleau then slapped the puck from the point, as it went off Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, off both posts and into the net.

The second did not end well for the Sharks, as Chicago caught up with shots on goal. Quick, slick passing set up Chris Tierney as the final link, but he was unable to seal the deal. Then with 21.2 seconds left, Tierney was called for tripping.  

San Jose killed off the last penalty to start the third.

The Sharks scored on their first attempt at the empty net at 18:18. Joe Thornon scored his third goal in as many games. The Sharks have now scored at least two goals in 14 straight games.  

The Blackhawks outshot San Jose 11-6 in the final stanza.

Game notes: Overall, the Sarks outhit Chicago 26-13 and San Jose lost faceoffs 22-34. Game leaders were the Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa with five shots, Wingels with six hits, San Jose’s Brent Burns with four blocks and the Sharks’ Marc-Edouard Vlasic with 30 minutes of ice time Chicago’s Artemi Panarin was a late scratch. San Jose’s Brenden Dillon did not come out for the second period. He suffered an upper body injury. With an even road trip trending up in the rear view mirror, the Sharks return home to host the Chicago Flames Thursday at 7:30pm.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Taking a look at the Nashville loss was it a matter of the Preds being that good or Sharks being that off?

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast, the Sharks are coming off loses in Anaheim and Nashville their getting ready for Calgary on Thursday they would like to have a strong return home. Also was the Nashville loss an indication as to what’s happening with the Sharks or is Nashville just a good solid team.

In the 6-2 loss to Nashville the Sharks goaltender Martin Jones was pelted with 34 shots on goal and allowed five and there was one empty netter. Mary Lisa talks about if this was an off game for Martin or the Preds were just prepared and had a good game plan of attack for Martin.

photo credit: San Jose Mercury News–Sharks goaltender Martin Jones

Mary Lisa Walsh is the San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below