Category: NHL

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Stadium Series gets TV ratings boost from outdoor games; Canes Andersen is on the way back from blood clotting; plus more news

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TV ratings were up 21% at the Met Life East Rutherford in the NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series on Sat Feb 17 with the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the New Jersey Devils and on Sun Feb 18 New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the NHL Stadium Series with the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils on Sat 17th and the New York Rangers and New York Islanders Sun 18th were big hits at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford. Both games combined for 150,000 fans and the TV rating were up 21% from last season’s Stadium Series. ABC TV had 1.37 million viewers and 449,000 in the 18-49 demographic.

#2 Len talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews he’s been unstoppable on Wednesday night he scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season in 54 games. Matthews also has 24 assists and a total of 75 points. San Ramon’s very own Matthews was born in your neck of the woods Contra Costa County.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings Patrick Kane for the first time this season. Bedard who will face Kane who has won the Stanley Cup three times and looks at it as a challenge and an honor to face one of the best former Blackhawks in history. Face off between the two teams at the United Center in Chicago is Sunday at 6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT.

#4 The Philadelphia Flyers after winning three straight games dropped their next two one to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the second to the New Jersey Devils. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was barking at his players during the Monday morning skate “not enough” and said he wanted “more from everybody” and it looked like it worked as the Flyers who took on the Blackhawks on Wednesday night and played a much tighter game and getting the win 3-1.

#5 The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers have expressed interest in a possible trade for the San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin and defenseman Mario Ferraro. Ferraro is in the third year of his four year $13 million contract and Kunin is under team control and would be a restricted free agent after this season. The Sharks would get a first rounder from either club.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcast Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Vegas completes season sweep of San Jose with 4-0 victory

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks continued their home stand against one of their most hated rivals the Vegas Golden Knights.

Taking over for San Jose today in goal was Mackenzie Blackwood who’s last start was against Calgary when they got a 6-3 win. For Vegas it was Logan Thompson who heading into this one was sporting a 2.77 GAA and .906 SV%.

If you wanted to classify today’s win in anyway it was clinical. Vegas did what it does best which is play their brand of hockey.

Though funnily enough the game did not start that away as they let San Jose hit the post twice early in the game.

Things looked to be in the home team’s favor until Michael Amadio sprung the zone and Zach Whitecloud hit him with a breakaway pass that he scored on getting his eighth of the season.

Vegas then continued to buzz ragging the puck in the Sharks zone until William Karlsson got the puck out front and stuffed it past Blackwood.

Thing continued to get worse when Jan Rutta took a tripping penalty putting Vegas on the power play 17:30 into the period.

The Golden Knights quickly got set up in the zone and Alex Pietrangelo found Mason Morelli wide open out front who tapped home his first goal career goal in his first NHL game. It was certainly a specail moment for the 28 year old who had toiled away for a longtime in the minors before finally getting his shot. On top of that as well they showed on the broadcast that his family was in attendance who got to celebrate his first career goal in person.

The middle frame saw the Sharks get an early power play but they were able to do little with it as Vegas easily killed it off.

Vegas pretty much did the same thing with the rest of the period as they completely shut down San Jose.

We wouldn’t get a goal until 18:44 in when Keegan Kolesar tapped home a pass from Alex Martinez making it 4-0.

The final period saw no goals as Vegas continued to play their brand of hockey frustrating the Sharks to no end.

In the third San Jose was pretty undisciplined being penalized four times though one of them was at the end of the game.

Thompson did end up recording the shutout making 30 saves which was actually his first shutout of the season.

After the loss San Jose’s record drops to 15-35-5 while Vegas notches it’s 33rd win of the season making their record 33-17-6.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Logan Thompson 2nd: Alex Martinez 3rd: Mason Morelli

San Jose will now have a four day break as they won’t play again until Saturday when they take on Nashville at 7 p.m at SAP Center in San Jose.

NHL Stadium Series game 2 Rangers vs Islanders: Rangers Panarin supplies goal for 6-5win in overtime against Islanders; Game delayed 45 minutes

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The New York Islanders Cal Clutterbuck bring the puck from the back of the net (far right) against the New York Rangers in the NHL Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey on Sun Feb 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Rangers beat their biggest rival, the New York Islanders, in an overtime 6-5 win in game two of the NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium that had similarities to the Super Bowl.

The NHL’s 41st outdoor game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon was the second of historic back-to-back games at the same venue.

Artemi Panarin made an unassisted shot 10 seconds into overtime to win it for the Rangers.

“The weather was great. Two teams played hard and you know they had their moments, we had our moments,” said Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. “It goes to overtime and obviously it was a big goal for us by Panarin but it was unbelievable.”

At 1:28 into the first period, Erik Gustafsson made a slap shot assisted by Kaapo Kakko and Jonny Brodzinski to put the Rangers up 1-0. A fight broke out on the ice shortly after.

After the Rangers’ first goal, it was all Islanders. At 4:20 in, Brock Nelson made a wrist shot goal, his 23rd of the season, assisted by Scott Mayfield and Cal Clutterbuck to even the score at 2-2. Then Bo Hovart made a wrist shot assisted by Noah Dobson and Adam Pelech at 7:18. Sixteen seconds later, Mathew Barzal had a tip-in power play goal assisted by Nelson and Dobson to boost the Islanders up 3-1.

The Islanders got off to a good start in the second period as well, with Andres Lee making a wrist shot power play goal assisted by Peirre Engvall and Mike Reilly at 1:03 in to extend their lead to 4-1.

The Rangers showed they were far from giving up as Vincent Trocheck made a wrist shot power play goal assisted by Panarin and Adam Fox at 5:36 into the period to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-2. Then at 18:24, Trocheck made a wrist shot assisted by Alexis Lafrèniere and Ryan Lindgren so the Rangers trailed by one point to end the period.

The Islanders started the third period strong too as Alexander Romanov hit a snap shot assisted by Dobson at 1:53 in to put them up 5-3. But Chris Kreider on a 6-on-4 power play made a wrist shot assisted by Panarin and Trocheck at 15:52 into the period to come within one point of the Isles. Then at 18:31 in another 6-on-4 power play, Mika Zibanejad made a slap shot assisted by Fox and Lafrèniere to tie the game at 5-5 and take it into overtime. The rest was history for the Rangers.

“It’s a game we’ve been looking forward to. The atmosphere was incredible and to win in the way we did was incredible,” said Zibanejad of the comeback.

It was a crushing blow for the Isles, who have lost multiple games this season in which they lead. But head coach Patrick Roy

“As a coach, ’cause I’m not a player, I feel good about our game,” he said. “Yes, those penalties at the end hurt us, but we did a lot of good things.”

When the puck dropped around 3:45 p.m. ET, it was 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Attendance was 79,690, exceeding game one of the Stadium Series on Saturday night when the New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3. The indie pop band AJR, who are from New York City, performed during the first intermission.

The first-ever back-to-back outdoor games at the same venue was a resounding success for the NHL. From the PreGame fan festival in the middle of tailgating lots to the NHL Stadium Series Park theme that incorporated park elements like grass and paths surrounding the ice rink, it was a larger than life hockey experience that proved that the league is in a spectacular place.

Panarin said he almost cried before the game.

“I had to hold back tears because it was such a spectacle,” he said in Russian. “The support we got from our fans was exactly what we needed to secure the win.”

The Rangers (36-16-3) remain in first place in the Metro division and host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. The Islanders (22-18-14) are fifth in the Metro division and visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Stadium Series game 1 Flyers vs Devils 2/17/24: Devils Hischier nets two goals in 6-3 win over Flyers at Met Life

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New Jersey right winger Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates putting the puck in the net against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period in the Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey on Sat Feb 17, 2024

By Jessica Kwong

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils dominated the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night with a 6-3 victory in game one of the NHL Stadium Series that is making history as the first-ever outdoor professional hockey event with back-to-back contests at the same venue.

The NHL’s 40th outdoor game was filled with spectacle at MetLife Stadium, which serves as the home for the NFL teams the New York Jets and the New York Giants. The Devils hosted their division rivals, the Flyers, and came away with a much-needed win that put them two points behind Detroit Red Wings for the wild card.

“It was a big game, big event but especially a big game against a rival, a four-point game there and it was a huge win for us so that’s a team we’re chasing,” said Devils captain Nico Hischier. “So I think everybody was ready to play and it was all business for us.”

Only 32 seconds into the first period, Hischier made a backhand goal assisted by Ondrej Palat to put New Jersey up 1-0. It was the second fastest goal in an NHL outdoor game after Colby Armstrong’s goal 21 seconds into the Winter Classic back in 2008. At 13:30, Tyler Toffoli made a wrist shot from Brendan Smith and Jack Hughes to boost the Devils up 2-0.

In the second period, Owen Tippett made a wrist shot assisted by Travis Konecny and Egor Zamula to cut the Flyers’ lead to 2-1. There was an outburst of scoring at the end of the second period. At 16:36, Smith made a wrist shot from Palat and Hischier to put the Devils up 3-1. New Jersey kept up their offense and at 17:48, Nathan Bastian made a snap shot from Timo Meier and Curtis Lazar to extend their lead to 4-1.

The Flyers answered back at 18:23 when Tippett made a wrist shot from Konecny and Morgan Frost and Philadelphia trailed 4-2.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella said the most important part of the game was when they got a roll in the second period and starting taking penalties.

“Not so much being man down but we’re man down, four on four,” said Tororella. “We needed another goal in the second and I thought we were right there knocking on the door, but then we took some penalties and it took us out of our flow.”

In the third period, Hischier made a wrist shot at 2:48 from Jesper Bratt and John Marino to bring the Devils up 5-2. The Flyers pushed to remain in the game as Nick Seeler made a wrist shot at 9:07 from Scott Laughton and Sean Walker to make it 5-3. But the Devils were relentless as Bastian made a wrist shot from Erik Haula and Lazar at 18:15 to lead and eventually beat the Flyers 6-3.

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff commended his team for coming through in the third period.

“As we talked this morning, we needed this win. If they beat us it puts them almost out of reach,” said Ruff. “You look at that game and you enjoy it and we move on to the next one now.”

It was 30.6 degrees Fahrenheit when the puck dropped at 5 p.m. PT for the first game of the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. There were 70,328 fans in attendance.

MetLife Stadium was transformed under the theme NHL Stadium Series Park, with the ice rink in the middle of the football stadium surrounded by grass, plants, paths, park benches and a couple of floor hockey courts. The teams’ mascots, the NJ Devil and Gritty, ran around the “park” and special guests watched a special pre-game concert on a grassy area behind one of the goals. The Jonas Brothers played the pre-game concert and during the second intermission.

The Devils travel to face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Flyers finish their three-game road trip at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Stadium Series continues at MetLife Stadium with the New York Rangers (5-16-3) versus the New York Islanders (22-18-13), first and fifth in the Metropolitan Division respectively. The puck drops at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET.

Sharks lose heart breaker against Columbus 4-3

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks looked to continue their winning ways against one of the bottom-feeders in the East the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In goal for the Sharks was Kaapo Kahkonen who’s last game was against the Jets when he made 38 saves but still lost. On the other side Elvis Merzlikins was in between the pipes who despite his trade requests is still stuck in Columbus with a 3.21 GAA and .904 SV%.

If you were looking to watch sloppy hockey you got just that to start in this one as it was turnovers galore on both sides. Obviously not all that surprising considering the standing of both teams.

Through all of the sloppiness a moment of beauty shined though as Anthony Duclair got loose for a breakaway. With a Kucherov like move he slipped the puck between Merzlikins legs putting the home crowd on their feet and scoring his 10th of the season.

Then it was Johnny Gaudrea’s turn to get a breakaway but despite getting Kahkonen on the deke Kaapo was still able to poke the puck away at the last minute. The Sharks then decided to let Gaudreau have another breakaway and this time he rang it off the post.

The Sharks luck eventually ran out though as Zach Werenski ripped one past a screened Kahkonen 15:16 into the period tying the game.

Columbus continued to push and less than a minute later Kirill Marchenko beat Kahkonen short side on one that he’d probably want back making it 2-1.

The middle frame saw more loose play as both teams exchanged chances. After a shot from the point Kahkonen struggled to carroll the rebound and sitting on the door step was Dmitri Voronkov who slammed the puck home.

With the life sucked out of the building the Sharks needed a quick response and they’d get just that as just 20 seconds later Duclair buried his second of the night. The goal came off a beautiful feed from Zetterlund who zipped one across to the streaking winger for the tally.

Later in the period Voronkov found himself in the penalty box putting the Sharks on their third power play of the game. On the power play this time it would be Zetterlund receiving the pass as he one timed home a beautiful feed from Calen Addison.

The final frame ended up being quite the opposite of the first two as the team tightened up their play.

It took until the dying moments when Boone Jenner broke past the defense and found himself one-on-one with Kahkonen. Jenner ended up making the right move as he deked to his backhand and snuck one in between Kahkonen’s pads. With only 12.9 seconds left on the clock San Jose did pull their goalie but to no avail as they’d lose 4-3.

The loss drops the Sharks to 15-34-5 while the Blue Jackets improve to 16-26-10.

Special teams favored the Sharks in this one as they went 1/4 while Columbus went 0/3.

The three stars of the game were: 1st Boone Jenner 2nd: Anthony Duclair 3rd: Fabian Zetterlund

The Sharks will look to bounce back on this home stand against Vegas on Monday at 1 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks open four game homestand starting with Columbus tonight at SAP Center

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The San Jose Sharks Justin Bailey is dazzled after scoring a second period goal against the Calgary Flames at the Saddledome in Calgary on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Filip Zadina scored two goals and had two assists and scored a career high four points in the Sharks 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night a contrast from their loss to the Winnipeg Jets the night before on Wednesday night 1-0.

#2 Zadina did point out that his line hadn’t scored in awhile but was glad to get the points and help the team, “We haven’t scored as a line in a little bit but we got rewarded for the work we’ve done recently.”

#3 Zadina did have a break out game on Thursday he had only one goal and two assists in his previous 18 games before facing off against the Flames.

#4 The Sharks did have a good offensive night against the Flames with Luke Kunin scoring twice and Justin Bailey with a goal and two assists it was Bailey’s first multi point game. Mikael Granlund also contributed with a goal.

#5 The Sharks have a go with the Columbus Blue Jackets at SAP Center in San Jose tonight for a 7:30pm PT face off. The Jackets are last in the Metropolitan Division at 16-26-10 with 42 points. They oppose the Sharks who are 15-33-5 and have 35 points. The Sharks are opening a four game homestand.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Douse Flames 6-3, Zadina and Kunin 2 Goals Each

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The San Jose Sharks Luke Kunin (right) and the Calgary Flames Brayden Pachal (left) watch the play in front of them in the first period at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

In their first meeting this season, the San Jose Sharks defeated the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Thursday. Mikael Granlund and Justin Bailey scored for San Jose, while Luke Kunin and Filip Zadina each scored twice. Mackenzie Blackwood made 31 saves for the win. Zadina had four points in the game, a career high. Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund and Andrei Kuzmenko scored for Calgary. Dustin Wolf made 25 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks forward Justin Bailey, who had three points in the game, said:

“Obviously things haven’t been easy for us as a group but I think the one thing that’s been a staple throughout the whole year is we’ve maintained a positive attitude, we’ve maintained trust and belief in the system of what we’re doing and nights like tonight when all things kind of seem to go in your favor, it feels good as a group.”

Nazem Kadri scored the only goal in the first period, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead at 4:19. Kadri deflected a rebound from Martin Pospisil’s shot in a three-on-one rush. The Flames had two power plays in the first period and out-shot the Sharks 13-8.

The Flames had another power play less than two minutes into the second period, but the Sharks killed that and tied the game at 4:52. Mikael Granlund scored with a wrist shot from the face-off circle. An assist went to Filip Zadina.

The Sharks took the lead at 7:50 with a goal from Justin Bailey. After a quick give and go in front of the net with Zadina, Bailey had an open net to shoot at.

At the very end of their first power play of the game, the Sharks made it 3-1 with a goal from Luke Kunin at 12:30. Kunin slipped the puck by Wolf right at the post. The goal came in what was really a 16 second power play for the Sharks, as most of the power play was eaten up by four-on-four play due to overlapping penalties. The goal was missed at first and only on review did the officials identify it. Assists went to William Eklund and Kyle Burroughs.

Mikael Backlund cut the lead down to one with at goal at 19:40. His wrist shot found its way through a crowd at the corner of the net. A scrum followed as Blackwood was knocked over by two falling skaters, one from each team. The Sharks challenged the goal on the basis of goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld. Assists went to Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.

Filip Zadina made it 4-2 at 4:38 of the third period. Zadina deflected Nico Sturm’s shot from the point, using the shaft of his stick while skating through the faceoff circle. Assists went to Sturm and Bailey.

Zadina scored again less than a minute later at 5:15. This time, he scored with a wrist shot while using a Calgary defender as a screen. Assists went to Bailey and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Luke Kunin scored his second of the game at 15:30 to make it 6-2. After the puck in the neutral zone, Kunin surprised the Flames and skated into the zone all on his own. He put the puck up under the crossbar to beat Wolf.

Andrei Kuzmenko redirected a shot by Chris Tanev to make it 6-3 at 16:40.

At 13:22 of the second period, Jan Rutta fell to the ice with some help from Walker Duehr’s wide-swinging leg that took out Rutta’s legs. He left the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Blackhawks Bedard back in line up tonight; Panthers Reinhart smartest forward in NHL says coach; plus more news

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Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard will return tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center in Chicago. Bedard who suffered a broken jaw in early January has returned a lot earlier than expected. (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Connor Bedard the number one NHL draft choice is back in the line up tonight from a broken jaw he and the Chicago Blackhawks will be facing off against the Pittsburgh Penguins His return is earlier than expected and Bedard leads the Blackhawks in scoring.

#2 Things are going relatively well for the Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart. Reinhart has a career high 39 goals. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said that Reinhart has the high IQ of a forward.

#3 Len, the Vancouver Canucks Phil Kessel will be working out at the Canucks AHL affiliate Abbotsford Canucks facilities. Kessel played all last season for the Vegas Golden Knights and has not played for Vancouver yet. Kessel is 36 years old and had 36 points, 14 goals, 22 assists in 82 games regular season games for the Knights. Kessel did not play in the Knights post season.

#4 The Philadelphia Flyers who will be in the Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series outdoor game this Saturday against the New Jersey Devils at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford are still waiting to see how Tyson Forester (lower body injury) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body injury) are coming along. Neither played on Monday against the Arizona Coyotes nor practiced on Wednesday.

#5 The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly who crossed checked the Ottawa Senators Ridly Grieg in the head was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for five games. Grieg as laid out after the cross check in Saturday’s game. The penalty happened within the last few seconds of the game as the Senators were leading the Leafs 4-3. Grieg scored on a empty netter with six seconds left and that’s when Reilly came up from behind Grieg and crossed checked him. Reilly’s motivation for the crosscheck was that Greig was piling on when the Sens had a one goal lead with six seconds left for a 5-3 Senators win.

#6 Tuesday the Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark was fined $5,000 for high sticking the the Tampa Bay Lightning’s forward Michael Eyssimont. The penalty was at 5:21 of the third period. Sometimes frustrations happen but apparently the officials ruled that Ullmark’s high stick went too far and Ullmark ended up getting the maximum fine by the NHL’s Department of Player safety.

#7 The San Jose Sharks wing man Tomas Hertl will miss several weeks after having left knee surgery. The surgery was performed to remove cartilage from the knee. Hertl after recovery will rehab and will be evaluated when he could return. Hertl was aware of the knee prior to playing the NHL All Star Game and decided to have the surgery after the All Star break.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series podcast with Jessica Kwong: Outdoor Stadium Series continues with Flyers vs. Devils; Rangers vs. Islanders this weekend at Met Life Stadium

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NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium East Rutherford New Jersey begins Sat Feb 17, 2024 with Philadelphia vs. New Jersey and Sun Feb 18, 2024 NY Rangers vs. NY Islanders (ESPN image)

On Headline Sports podcast with Jessica:

#1 Jessica lots of anticipated excitement regarding the 2024 NHL Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey.

#2 The first game features the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils on Sat Feb 17th. The outdoor game between these two teams has the Flyers who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division at 29-19-6. The Flyers have won four straight games. New Jersey is just behind the Flyers with a 27-21-4 in fourth place. This could be a pretty evenly match game. A 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET face off.

#3 In the second game Sun Feb 18 at Met Life it’s the battle of the crosstown rivals the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. The Rangers who are first place in the Metropolitan Division they have won five straight games 34-16-3 with a whopping 71 points. The Islanders are in fifth place 22-18-13 they have lost their last two games. No matter where these two teams are in the standings it’s a rivalry and expect neither to give in especially on a big stage like the Stadium Outdoor series. Face off on Sunday 12:00pm PT/ET 3:00pm.

#4 Met Life Stadium capacity is 82,500 and is expected to be a sell out. This attendance for this game could rival one of the NFL games that is played at the stadium on a regular basis that’s how popular these outdoor games are.

#5 One of the featured attractions of the Stadium Series this will be the 40th and 41st outdoor games this will be the first time that four teams will play at the same venue for the New York/New Jersey fans. This will be the fifth outdoor game for the Flyers (1-3-1), the Rangers have a perfect record in the outdoor games (4-0-0), the Devils and Islanders have played in just one outdoor game and share the same outdoor record (0-1-0).

Jessica Kwong hosts Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Jets Shut Out Sharks 1-0, Ferraro and Granlund Return, Hertl and Couture Out

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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) deflects the puck that goes wide as the Jets Dylan DeMelo (2) defends against the San Jose Sharks Mikeal Granlund (64) at Canada Life Center in Winnipeg on Wed Feb 14, 2024 (The Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shut out 1-0 by the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Morgan Barron scored the only goal in the game and Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for the shutout win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 38 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen said, of the many shots he faced: “They’re a pretty high shot volume team but overall I think what we did well was, even though they got a lot of shots on net, I think we boxed out, we kinda kept them outside so that was good for me.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn had a more dismal view of what the Sharks were doing with the puck:

“We had plenty of opportunities to make crisp passes and didn’t do it, I thought our puck play was really slow. I thought we were standing still when we got pucks. That really was the story to me of the night. I didn’t think we had any pace to our game with the puck.”

The Sharks started well in the first period, getting four shots on net before the Jets had any. The Jets turned that around and had 15 shots without allowing the Sharks any more in the period.

With 2:13 left in the period, the Jets scored. Morgan Barron deflected Adam Lowry’s shot from the point for his ninth goal of the season. Assists went to Lowry and Neal Pionk.

The Sharks took one penalty in the first period and allowed one shot to the Jets power play.

At 17:10 of the second period, it looked like Anthony Duclair might have tied the game. A review showed that the puck was stopped by Mark Sheifele, who had slipped in behind his goaltender.

The Jets again out-shot the Sharks in the second period, 16-8. Each team took a penalty in the second period. The Sharks allowed one shot to the Jets power play, and had one short-handed shot. They had no shots in their own power play.

Midway through the third period, Nico Sturm left the game after a hit from Logan Stanley, Stanley’s knee came up behind Sturm’s legs as Sturm fell, causing Sturm to hit the ice head and shoulders first.

In the final minute, Kaapo Kahkonen sustained what appeared to be a lower body injury. He was able to get to the bench so the Sharks could add an extra skater.

The final shot count was 40-18 Jets. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 38.5% of the draws. Nico Sturn led the team in shots with four.

Mario Ferraro and Mikael Granlund were back in the lineup after being injured before the All Star break. Both Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture were out. Hertl had scheduled knee surgery after the All Star Game. The team had advanced notice and, while the surgery was not emergent, it was needed. Logan Couture is having problems with the same lower body injury that kept him out for most of the season.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 6:00 PM PT in Calgary against the Flames.