Category: NHL

Marleau Scores 1000, Sharks Win Streak At Five

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: tjcnewspapers.com Patrick Marleau skated to his 1000th career point vs. Pens 11-21-15

In a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau earned his 1000th career point, and his 1001st. Former Penguin, now Sharks defenseman Paul Martin scored his first goal of the season, and the Sharks extended their winning streak to five. Brent Burns scored two goals and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 38 of 39 shots. The Sharks did this despite the absence of head coach Peter DeBoer, who was away due to a personal matter.

The win holds added promise as the team changed their lineup somewhat from the group that won the last game in Philadelphia. Defenseman Matt Tennyson was in, Mirco Mueller was out. Nikolay Goldobin was in, while Micheal Haley was out. This was also the first game of this road trip that the Sharks won by more than one goal. It was a step forward in an already excellent road trip. After the game, Patrick Marleau described the team’s success on this road trip:

I think when we haven’t been our best, there’s different guys stepping up and playing key roles. Jonesy’s been playing great, but finding a way  to get those points, those wins is big. You’re not going to have it every night, and I think last game against Philly we saw that and we still found a way to get it in overtime. I think tonight we played a pretty strong sixty minutes against a very powerful offensive team with a  lot of good players over there.

The first power play of the game went to the Penguins, after a hooking call against Melker Karlsson. The Sharks penalty killers kept the Penguins at bay and only allowed one shot to get through to Martin Jones. The penalty ended in a two on one for Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Marleau opted to shoot, but he hit the near post.

The penalty kill seemed to energize the Sharks. After the break, they spent three long shifts in the offensive zone. During the third one, Brent Burns picked up a rebound from a Ward shot and put the puck in an open net. The second assist went to Marleau.

The assist was Marleau’s 1000th career point. When this was announced, the Pittsburgh crowd gave Marleau an understandably subdued but gracious round of applause.

The Sharks had to kill a second penalty when Mike Brown was called for kneeing at 12:40. The Sharks killed that off and had two unsuccessful power plays of their own before the first period ended. At the first intermission, the shots stood at 12-9 Pittsburgh.

The Sharks took another penalty early in the second. Joe Pavelski was called for high-sticking Rob Scuderi at 6:39. The stick drew blood so the Penguins had four minutes with a man advantage. It took the Sharks 90 seconds to clear the puck the first time. On a third zone entry, Phil Kessel found some space and tied the game. The goal came just shy of the two minute mark, so the Sharks had to kill the second minor despite the goal.

The Sharks regained the lead at 13:06 when Burns took a shot from the point just as Ward cruised across in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. The puck clipped Scuderi enough to change direction and make the Penguins goalie’s job harder. Assists went to Paul Martin and Patrick Marleau.

The Penguins had another power play at 17:21. when Paul Martin was called for high-sticking. Pittsburgh had an early shot but the Sharks kept them out of the zone for most of the penalty.

San Jose failed to convert on yet another power play early in the third, but some good chances set the tone for a strong period. 8:27 into the third, Paul Martin extended their lead to 3-1. His shot from the blue line went through traffic and Fleury after a great shift from Matt Nieto, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi. While Nieto and Hertl wreaked some havoc near the Penguins net, Donskoi sent the puck up to Martin for the shot. An assist went to Donskoi.

By the end of the game, the Penguins had a shot lead of 39-29 but the score was still 3-1 Sharks.

Logan Couture skated on Saturday in full gear. Couture explained that this was part of the process, and that he still had no specific return date: “I don’t plan that far in advance, I didn’t plan this whole trip in advance, like I said it’s kind of a day by day thing. All how it reacts.”

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 2:00 PT, in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. It will be their second meeting of the season. The Blue Jackets defeated the Sharks 5-2 on November 3 at SAP.

Jones and Karlsson give Sharks the edge

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By Pearl Allison Lo

AP photo SJ Sharks Martin Jones shutting out Philadelphia

~ San Jose took part in a markedly different game than Tuesday’s, as they waited until overtime to score, in a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Thursday’s game had many different parallels.

The Sharks’ fourth win in a row matched their season-high win streak from the beginning of the season.

San Jose’s Martin Jones’s last shutout was also part of that winning streak. It was the Sharks’ third game of the season, October 13 against the Washington Capitals.

The deciding period as well, ended up being a familiar scene for both teams. It was the Flyers’ third straight game going at least as far as overtime. On Saturday, the game before last, both teams won their games in overtime.

That same game for San Jose, halted an eight-game losing streak against the Buffalo Sabres. This game was the Sharks’ eighth straight win against Philadelphia.

A quiet first period led to the game’s highest shot period in the second. The Flyers outshot San Jose 15 to 5. Neither team saw any action in the box in the game, either, until 7:41.

The Sharks’ third of four power plays came at 10:40 of the third. Nick Schulz was called for closing his hand on the puck.  The power play was cut short though when Joe Thornton was called for tripping.

San Jose received their fourth power play with 18.9 seconds left, leading to 4-on-3 overtime.  

The game-winning play started in the Sharks’ end with Paul Martin passing to Joonas Donskoi. Michael Del Zotto tried to dive and put out his stick in a blocking attempt, but Donskoi waited and used a saucer pass to reach Melker Karlsson. Karlsson was quick to release and the puck passed goalie Steve Mason with 1:15 left. It was Karlsson’s second goal in as many games.

Game notes: Jones’s 34 shots faced and saved was a season-high. San Jose’s Brent Burns had a game-high eight shots on goal, the Sharks’ Justin Braun had a game-high seven blocked shots and Philadelphia’s Radko Gudas had a game-high six hits. San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic saw the most ice time with 28:39. The Sharks will go for a season-high five game win streak when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins at 4pm Saturday.

NHL Podcast with Joe Lami: Rising Stars with top record; LA Kings prospect up for domestic charges; Sharks look to go five straight

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On the NHL Podcast with Joe Lami the Dallas Stars success keeps on growing after handing Buffalo a defeat that helped improve the Stars NHL best record to 15-4-0 with 30 points. The LA Kings goalie prospect 22 year old Patrik Bartosak from their AHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs has been accused of 12 counts of domestic violence and trying to strangle his girlfriend. The case is under investigation.

The San Jose Sharks are on a four game win streak in their last two games they got an overtime win over the Buffalo Sabers and a one goal win over the Boston Bruins. As things start to jell for San Jose after losing eight of 11 before the win streak the Sharks prepare for the Broad Street Bullies the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.

MSG photos of Dallas Stars goalie Antti Niemi who had misspelled jersey on left and corrected on right before Buffalo game on Tuesday night

Joe Lami does the NHL podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen below for all the latest

 

Sharks win in scoring special

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By Pearl Allison Lo

AP photo SJ Sharks Joe Thornton scored game winner at 9:21 in the third period

~ San Jose emerged the winner amidst a flurry of goals, as they continued their perfect road trip, while the Boston Bruins’ win loss pattern continued in a 5-4 loss Tuesday.

Both teams combined had four goals in each of the first two periods, as the Bruins had a lead twice.

Boston’s special teams had an edge in that they broke the Sharks’ pristine penalty kill record for the first time in five games, with two power play goals.

For goals against, San Jose’s Martin Jones matched a season-high and the Bruins’ Tuukka Rask was one shy of his season-high.

The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski started off the scoring with a goal 42 seconds in, his team-leading tenth goal. Melker Karlsson almost had the goal, but settled for his first assist as the puck clanged and Pavelski scored from Rask’s unprotected right side. Brent Burns also aided on the play. It was Pavelski’s second goal in three games.

Tyler Randell tied the score at 9:20, helped by Dennis Seidenberg. It was Seidenberg’s first assist.

Boston then got the 2-1 lead on the first period’s only power play goal. Brad Marchand was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Brett Connolly at 11:50.

Joonas Donskoi re-tied the game at 15:08, aided by Paul Martin and Tommy Wingels.

The Bruins then went back up with a goal 1:53 into the second period. David Krejci and Seidenberg helped.

The game’s third and last tie came at 5:56. Karlsson was assisted by Joe Thornton and Pavelski.

Three minutes from the last goal, the first of three straight power play goals ensued. San Jose’s Patrick Marleau was aided by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Burns. Marleau now has 999 career points.

Thornton made it 5-3 at 9:21, what would be the game winner, helped by Pavelski and Burns.

With the only goal of the third period at 6:28, Patrice Bergeron made it interesting. He was assisted by Ryan Spooner and Krejci. It was Krejci’s team-leading 12th assist.

Game notes: Bergeron now has a five game point streak. Burns has a three game assists and points streak with five assists during the road trip. The Sharks will go for a fourth straight win in the fourth game of the road trip, Thursday 4pm against the Philadelphia Flyers.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Vlasic a power for the power play; Marleau looks like a keeper as trade talks fades

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On the San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa discusses the Sharks winning the first two games on this current six game road trip. The Sharks have lost three in a row and look to keep the win streak going against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at TD Waterhouse Garden in Beantown.

Also Patrick Marleau’s key goal on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabers in overtime sparked the club before winning the three straight. The Sharks had lost eight of their last 11 and hope to recoup some of those loses on this trip. Marleau who had been the topic of trade rumors looks to be a keeper as there was been no further talk of trading him.

Mark-Edouard Vlasic has added help to the Sharks power play with a goal and an assist last Saturday in Buffalo. Vlasic also has been getting more minutes on the power play chalking up 25 more minutes in his last three games. Vlasic came up with a key goal and an assist and it was his first multi point game of the season.

AP photo: SJ Sharks Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Listen to the rest of the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda complete back-to-back wins over Gulls

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By: Eric He

photo credit SJ Barracuda

The San Jose Barracuda hung on on Saturday night for a 4-3 win over the San Diego Gulls to complete a back-to-back road sweep.

The Barracuda won in a shootout on Friday night, but on Saturday they needed just 60 minutes to come away with the victory.

Taking a 4-1 lead into the third period, the Barracuda hung on after the Gulls converted on a 5-on-3 midway through the period and scored with 2.1 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to 4-3. But it was too little, too late.

San Jose started off fast with two goals in the first period. Jeremy Langlois and Karl Stollery converted on goals. Early in the second period, Mark Cundari scored a power play goal on a shot from the point to give the Barracuda a three-goal lead.

It was enough to hold off the Gulls and advance the Barracuda’s road record to 4-2-0-0. San Jose is 5-6-0-1 overall.

Up next, the Barracuda will play the Condors in Bakersfield at a special 10:30am start time on Wednesday.

Sharks Break Buffalo Curse With 2-1 OT Win

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit AP Sharks Joe Pavelski scores first period goal vs. Red Wings

The Sharks finally defeated the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, breaking a ten year losing streak with an overtime win. Before Saturday, the Sharks had only won one game in Buffalo and that was in 2005. After the win, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

It’s a good feeling. It’s a big weight to carry around: ten years. I didn’t know it was that long until kinda dug into it here today, so I think the guys were happy to get that monkey off our back. It was a hard fought game, we pushed out early and they came back at us. Both goaltenders I thought were excellent. It was a good game.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski picked up his 500th NHL point. It was just the second time that Sharks goaltender Martin Jones played in back-to-backs, and the second time he won both games. It was just the second time the Sharks went to overtime this season, and they won both games.

The game was remarkably even, though each team had moments of dominance. The shots were 32-31 Sharks, faceoffs were 31-29 Sabres. Each team had three power plays, and the Sharks scored on one. The teams were within one on giveaways and takeaways, and the Sharks blocked eleven shots to the Sabres’ eight. It was only fitting that such a close game go to overtime.

The Sharks drew a penalty in the first minute of play, when Tommy Wingels skated into the Buffalo zone and was slashed by Jake McCabe. As a result, the Sharks took the lead on a power play goal from Marc-Edouard Vlasic, at 1:48. Patrick Marleau screen Buffalo goaltender Chad Johnson. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. It was Pavelski’s 500th career point.

The Sharks took their first penalty at 8:26, for having too many men on the ice. Just 34 seconds into that, Marc-Edouard Vlasic made contact with Ryan O’Reilly’s upper body, and was called for tripping. Martin Jones, Paul Martin, Joel Ward and Brent Burns weathered some close calls during the five on three time. Pavelski, Dillon and Hertl went out for the second part of the kill, and finished it off.

With 1:36 left in the period, Joe Pavelski was called for tripping Jake McCabe. The Sharks had a steady penalty kill, leaving the Sabres with just 26 seconds left of power play to start the second period. at the end of the first, the Sharks held a 9-8 lead in shots as well as the 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.

The Sabres took their second penalty at 7:34 of the second period. Carlo Colaiacovo was called for tripping Joe Pavelski. San Jose’s second power play was much less effective than their first. The Sabres penalty killers not only kept the Sharks out of the zone, but backed them into the defensive own zone and took a shot or two.

In the final four minutes of the period, Mike Brown went to deliver a check on Tyler Ennis. Ennis seemed to lose his footing before being hit and fell backwards awkwardly into the boards. He appeared to be shaken up but he did not leave the game.

The Sabres dominated play in the final minutes of the period, but could not beat Martin Jones. Except for the one penalty, the second period was quite even. The shots were tied at nine each for a total of 18-17 Sharks.

Early in the third period, coach DeBoer started adjusting his lines, moving Matt Nieto into Goldobin’s spot and alternating others with the fourth line. Late in the second period, Goldobin lost track of the puck at an inopportune moment, allowing a dangerous scoring chance for Buffalo. That seemed like a forgivable offense but in general his play had not been as strong as prior games Saturday.

At 4:33, Buffalo defenseman Cody Franson left the game after sliding into the boards feet first.

While Goldobin’s second period miscues did not result in a goal against, the new second line was on the ice at 6:27 when Ryan O’Reilly won the puck away from Paul Martin near the Sharks blue line. O’Reilly had time to take a clean shot past Jones on the far side. Assists went to Rasmus Ristolainen and Josh Gorges.

At 14:35 of the third period, Tommy Wingels lined up Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons for an open ice hit, but Girgensons seemed to duck and Wingels sailed over him. Wingels may have caught Girgensons in the head with a knee as he fell over his target. Girgensons stayed down. Colaiacovo went after Wingels, and was called for the roughing. Girgensons went to the dressing room.

The Sharks power play started pretty well, and Brent Burns had a chance one on one with the goalie, but his shot caught the edge of the goalie’s pad and wound up hitting the post. The Sharks spent the rest of the power play in the offensive zone but could not score.

In the final 20 seconds of regulation, Jack Eichel took the puck and skated end to end around every Shark that tried to get in his way. Eichel did get a shot off but Jones stopped it. The Sharks that had been chasing Eichel almost ran over Jones as he tried to corral the puck. He did keep it out.

The teams headed to overtime three on three. DeBoer opted to start with Thornton, Pavelski and Burns. The Sabres started with Ristolainen, Gionta and O’Reilly. Hertl, Vlasic and Marleau went next for the Sharks, then Vlasic, Wingels and Karlsson. Cody Franson had to defend all three Sharks skating into the zone, and opted to fall over Wingels’s stick to prevent a shot or a pass.

With 2:10 left in overtime, Tomas Hertl had the puck along the boards. He fell but held on to the puck and managed to turn and skate into the slot to take a shot. The rebound started a flurry of shots from the Sharks. Vlasic took a slap shot from the blue line that created a rebound for Marleau to pick up near the net. He put the puck over Johnson for the game winner.

Patrick Marleau led the team in shots with five, Tommy Wingels led in hits with six. Martin Jones made 30 saves on 3 shots for the win.

The only change to the Sharks lineup was on defense, where Mirco Mueller got a look, in Matt Tennyson’s spot with Brenden Dillon. Mueller and forward Nikolay Goldobin, both rookies, skated very limited minutes in the game but neither were on the ice for goals against.

Zemgus Girgensons led the Sabres in shots with five, and Josh Gorges led the team in hits with four. Former Shark Jamie McGinn had three shots and three hits. Chad Johnson made 30 saves on 32 shots.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Boston against the Bruins at 4:00 PT.

Sharks Start Road Trip With 3-2 Win in Detroit

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Detroit Red Wings on Friday by a score of 3-2. It was an excellent start to a six game road trip. Sharks goals were scored by Matt Nieto, Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson. Five Sharks defensemen had points in the game, and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win. For the Red Wings, Dylan Larkin made an excellent impression skating in his first NHL game. He set up the Tomas Tatar for Detroit’s first goal. The other Detroit goal came from Teemu Pulkkinen in the final minute of the game.

The Sharks gave up the first goal early in the game, something they have been doing a lot lately. Despite giving up the first goal yet again, Martin Jones had a good bounce back game. After the win, he said:

I’ve got to find a way to come up with a save early in the game. That’s a lot of games in a row that we’re coming from behind here so… It makes it tough on us. You know, the guy makes a good shot but I’ve got to find a way to come up with a save early.

The most noteworthy change to the Sharks lineup was that Patrick Marleau moved to center the second line, with Joel Ward and Nikolay Goldobin on the wings. Melker Karlsson started on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Tomas Hertl centered the third line with Tommy Wingels and Joonas Donskoi. That left a fourth line centered by Chris Tierney with Matt Nieto and Mike Brown.

For the Red Wings, Pavel Datsyuk entered the lineup for the first time this season.

The Red Wings opened the scoring at 3:13 of the first period. A three on two was slightly aided when an official got in the way of Joe Thornton. Dylan Larkin carried the puck into the zone, then made a pass to Tomas Tatar on the wing. Tatar took the shot from above the circle and beat Jones on the far side, in the top corner. The goal went to Tatar with assists to Larkin and Niklas Kronwall.

Nikolay Goldobin earned the Sharks a power play by falling down and having it mistaken for a trip. It took Detroit almost a minute to clear the puck the first time. Later in the power play, Tommy Wingels was called for holding Darren Helm. That gave the teams 33 seconds of four-on-four play before the Red Wings power play. The Sharks penalty kill stopped the Red Wings from getting set up and gave them very little time to play in the offensive one.

Just as the power play ended, Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson passed the puck out of the Sharks zone to Joe Thornton in the neutral zone. Thornton carried it in, pushed a weak shot at the net, then retrieved it behind the net, fighting off Drew Miller and Mike Green. As Thornton slid the puck back around in front of the net, Melker Karlsson arrived and popped it over Jimmy Howard’s pad to tie the game. Assists went to Thornton and Tennyson.

The Sharks survived another Detroit power play at 8:56, when Joel Ward was called for tripping. It was the first penalty of the season for Ward.

The Sharks took the lead late in the first, when Matt Nieto caught the puck on the left side of the net, carried it behind the net for a wrap around try, which did not go. He was ready for that, caught the rebound and put a shot up under the cross bar. The assists went to Brenden Dillon and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Nikolay Goldobin was still on the second line to start the second period. The way he was pulled off the first line in earlier games, his continued presence on the second line suggests that his coach is gaining confidence in him. The first half of the second period was relatively uneventful. There were no penalties and no goals.

Just past the halfway mark, The Sharks looked like they were getting set up in the offensive zone. Paul Martin saw an early opening and took a shot from the blue line as Joe Pavelski was skating across in front of the net. Pavelski turned and skated backwards to get his stick in position, then deflected the shot perfectly past Howard. The assists went to Martin and Justin Braun. The goal put Pavelski one away from 500 career points.

With less than a minute left in the period, some rough stuff in front of the Red Wings net put Joe Thornton and Luke Glendening in the box with two minutes each for roughing. Actually, it sent them to the dressing room since there were only 56.7 seconds left.

At the end of the second, the shots were 22-11 Detroit, the score 3-1 San Jose.

The third period rolled along without penalties or additional scoring. The Sharks only got credit for three shots during the period, but they limited the Red Wings to just six in the period.

With their goaltender pulled and 1:52 left in the game, the Red Wings closed the gap. With all of the Sharks and a couple of Red Wings lined up in the slot, Tomas Tatar passed the puck to Jakub Kindl at the point. Kindle passed it along the blue line to Teemu Pulkkinen, who slapped it into the top corner. Assists went to Kindl and Tatar. After that, the Sharks pushed back a little harder and tried, unsuccessfully, for the empty net.

Final score: 3-2 Sharks.

None of the Sharks had more than two shots, and those with two were Brent Burns, Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto. Justin Braun and Melker Karlsson led the team in hits with four each. Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time with 26:54.

Pavel Datsyuk led the Red Wings in shots with four. Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader led the Red Wings in hits with four apiece. Jimmy Howard made 11 saves on 14 shots.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 4:00 PT in Buffalo against the Sabres.

NHL Podcast with Joe Lami: Lindros to get Hall of Fame induction; Habs backup goalie Condon doing just fine; Marleau could be traded before end of current road trip

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On the NHL Podcast Joe discusses Eric Lindros NHL Hall of Fame induction and going in as a Philadelphia Flyer. Lindros broke into the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques and wanted to play for a team with a better record. Lindros had his father for an agent and played proudly with the Flyers.

The Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price will be out at least for one more week and back up goalie Mike Condon has done a great job between the pipes working in Price’s place. The Habs are 13-2-1 and the continue their success as one of the NHL’s best.

The San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau is reportedly considering waving his no trade clause to move on with the Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks,  LA Kings, the Anaheim Ducks, or the New York Rangers. This could cause dissention in the dressing room with Marleau a team leader not wanting to be a part of the team as the Sharks embark on a six game road trip. Marleau could most likely be traded during the current road trip.

Joe Lami does the NHL podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

photo credit AP Patrick Marleau SJ Sharks

 

Early Deficit Undoes Sharks in Homestand Finale with Islanders

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. –True to recent form, a poor start once again took a bite out of the San Jose Sharks chances for a win Tuesday night at SAP Center. The Sharks (7-8-0) allowed two goals to the New York Islanders in the opening five minutes and never managed to dig themselves out of the quick hole they found themselves in, falling 4-2. Joel Ward and Brent Burns tallied the Sharks goals, while Alex Stalock made 20 saves in a relief appearance. Perennial Hart Trophy candidate John Tavares netted a pair of goals to lead the Islanders (8-5-3) to victory.

“We wanted to get a better start and it just didn’t happen,” said Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski after the game. “A bad bounce or bad change, it happens. You’ve got to fight through it.”

San Jose has now lost 7 of 9 games this season when allowing the opponent to score first. The Sharks scored first in their first 5 games of the season, but have yet to score first in consecutive games since. Over the last 10 games, the Sharks netted the first goal only twice. Their record over the last ten games now stands at 3-7-0.

Sharks starting goalie Martin Jones’ night ended after facing just three shots. San Jose coach Peter DeBoer had seen enough from Jones and opted to pull his netminder for Alex Stalock after goals from John Tavares and Mikhail Grabovski in the first 3:30 of play.

“We need a momentum change,” said Jones. “Alex stepped in the last couple games and played great. It’s no fun being pulled but I’m not surprised.”

“You’ve always got to be ready,” said Stalock. “That’s the job of a back-up, injury or change of pace.”

The Islanders captain Tavares struck the opening blow on a rebound of a Brock Nelson shot, the first two shots of the game, at the 36 second mark. Three minutes later, Grabovski managed to turn a defensive zone faceoff into a rush up ice and a wrist shot for his third goal of the season.

“You can give up a bad goal in this league and recover,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “You can’t give up two goals and expect to win.”

Joel Ward regained a stake of the team lead in goals in the second period on a piece of strong forechecking against Travis Hamonic. Ward lifted Hamonic’s stick along the boards, picking the Islander’s pocket before power to the net. The veteran beat former Shark Thomas Greiss in the crease for his 8th goal of the season at the 10:14 mark of the period.

“We got within one, which gives us a chance,” said Pavelski. “But we want to be playing with the lead.”

Despite only cutting the deficit in half, the Sharks second period performance gave plenty of hope to fans and coaches alike. San Jose outshot the Islanders 14-6 in the frame, drawing the 16,558 fans in attendance to a standing ovation following one specific spectacular shift.

All the momentum built up from a strong second was zapped from the building with another quick strike to open the third. Isles defenseman Johnny Boychuk scored his second goal in as many games, rocketing one of his patented slap shots past Stalock clean for a 3-1 lead 45 seconds into the final frame of regulation.

“I thought it was going to hit my pads,” said Stalock. “It’s a bad feeling when you have no sensation of a puck.”

Brent Burns made the game interesting late, taking a Thomas Hertl pass from behind Greiss and slicing it past Greiss pad for his 5th goal of the season with 5:11 left to play. Despite an offensive surge for the Sharks, Greiss managed to hold on for the win following his 34 save effort. John Tavares added an empty net goal to ice the win for New York.

With the Sharks going 1-3 on a recent homestand, they’ll be looking forward to the road. They’ve fared much better away from SAP (4-3) than at home. They’ll open a six-game road trip with back-to-back contests in Detroit Friday night and a meeting with Jack Eichel’s Buffalo Sabres Saturday afternoon. The six city trip will also make stops in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

Notes: The Sharks had one power play on Tuesday and failed to score, running the streak to 21 straight power plays at home without a goal. They have yet to score on the man advantage at home this season…Melker Karlsson returned to action with the Sharks, playing almost 16 minutes and registering 3 shots on goal while primarily playing on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. On having Karlsson return to the line-up DeBoer said: “I thought he was good. First game in a long time. You can see that he’s an NHL player. He can help us”.…The loss puts the Sharks below .500 for the first time all season.