Category: NHL

Blackwood shines for Sharks in debut but falls to the Avalance in the shootout 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks Twitter. Mackenzie Blackwood is dialed in (photo taken on 10/14/23).

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- Despite a stellar debut for Mackenzie Blackwood making 51 saves the Sharks still lost to the Avalanche 2-1 in the shootout.

Making his debut for Team Teal was Blackwood as he was acquired in the offseason. For the Avalanche Alexander Georgiev got the start.

This one would be a tight one all the way down to the wire all thanks to the heroics of Blackwood.

Thomas Bordeleau got the scoring going in the first on a tip-in as Matt Benning thew one to the front of the net.

After that things went quite offensively for both teams though the Avalanche would dominate in the shot totals period after period.

Colorado eventually broke through late in the third as Cale Makar scored his second goal of the season on a nice wrister from past the blue line.

That goal forced overtime though neither team was able to break through meaning the shootout was next.

In the shootout, no Sharks found the net but Mikko Rantanen would score, helping get the Avalanche the victory 2-1.

Overall Blackwood made 51 saves the most for a goalie in his debut since 1955. Both teams also could not score on the power play as the Avalanche went 0/5 while the Sharks went 0/4.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Mackenzie Blackwood 2nd: Cale Makar 3rd: Thomas Bordeleau

The Sharks will look to get their first win of the season on Tuesday against the Hurricanes at home at 7:30 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks try to get in win column tonight against Avalanche at SAP Center

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson (right) puts the stop on the San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (left) in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Oct 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Vegas Golden Knights got a come back on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at SAP Center when the Knights Nic Hague and Nicolas Roy scored in the last two minutes of the second period and it was pretty much icing on the cake for the Knights in their three goal 4-1 win.

#2 Mary Lisa, this game was pretty dead even with Sharks and Knights tied at 1-1 until the second period when Hague and Roy scored just 53 seconds apart.

#3 The Knights Michael Amadio scored a goal and Brayden Pachal picked up his first NHL career goal as the Knights now have won their second straight game.

#4 The Sharks were expected by the oddsmakers to be struggling team and head coach David Quinn said that the Sharks are still trying to put a lot of things together. Quinn did point out that for 38 minutes it was a 1-1 tie and the Sharks kept up with the Knights.

#5 The Sharks now face the Colorado Avalanche tonight at SAP. The Aves rolled over the Los Angeles Kings in their last game 5-2. The Avalanche like the Knights have some offense. They got two goals from Mikko Rantanen and a goal each from Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Miles Wood. It’s the Avalanche and Sharks tonight in San Jose how do you see this match up.

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

Sharks Drop Season Opener To Vegas Knights 4-1

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The San Jose Sharks right winger Filip Zadina (18) gets a first period pass off against the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Oct 12, 2023 (AP News photo)

Thursday, October 12th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The season has officially started for the San Jose Sharks and they get the “luck of the draw” opening their season against the defending Stanley Cup champion the Vegas Golden Knights. The Knights opened their season beating a good Seattle Kraken team 4-1 with Marchessault and Eichel scoring a goal, Mark Stone locking in two assists, and goalie Adin Hill had 32 saves making their season opening, banner raising ceremony a sign of no slowing down for the Golden Knights.

In this packed Pacific division where the Oilers, Kings, and Kraken who all made the playoffs last season lost to kick off their campaigns to fellow foes in the division Vancouver, Vegas, and Calgary, the Sharks don’t want to get lost in this crowded sea.

San Jose may be in a rebuilding stage, but they still have things to look out for. William Eklund and Alexander Barabanov as possible leading scorers and new editions like Anthony Duclair. For this team, a challenge like the defending Stanley Cup is what they need to set the tone for this new season of teal hockey. 

The first period started with the William Eklund line with him, Mikael Granlund, and Luke Kunin against the Jack Eichel line with Jonathan Marchessault, and Ivan Barbashev and the tone of the game was set early when starting Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs dropped the gloves and fought Keegan Kolesar five minutes into the first period.

Even though Burroughs lost the fight the SAP Center was electric. The Eklund line already seems like a change of pace for San Jose in a great way. They are faster and generate an attack that keeps up with Vegas all period.

The Sharks went 0/2 on the power play, but the first score for either team came from Vegas after William Karlsson wrapped around the net, passed the puck to Michael Amadio, who one timed a shot past Kaapo Kahkonen and the score was 1-0 15 minutes into the first period (also assisted by Nicolas Hague).

Kahkonen was lights out except for the one goal, stopping every shot in his path, but the giveaways from San Jose kept Vegas in control possession wise. San Jose would tie this game up 18 minutes into the first period with a laser wrist shot from Filip Zadina (assisted by Henry Thrun and Tomas Hertl), 1-1.

The period would finally close, but Kahkonen still blocked two Vegas shots that seemed like go ahead goals, but no success and the horn went off and the Sharks went into first intermission tied with the defending champs and they walk away knowing that they dodged a bullet with Vegas not fully capitalizing on San Jose’s mistakes.

Second period and Sharks come out more physical with more shots on goal. The Anthony Duclair line with Bordeleau and Barabanov had great chances that actually had Vegas on their toes and the San Jose crowd hype like the game just started.

The Sharks got their first minor penalty after a Matt Benning tripping call, but they killed off the penalty and it seemed like this Sharks defense was locked in, but that changed. The period was flying by with both teams trading attacks, but Vegas broke the stalemate from a Nicolas Hague slapshot assisted by Pietrangelo and Eichel, 2-1 Vegas.

Not even a minute later Vegas scored again and it was by a different Nicolas this time, Nicolas Roy. assisted by his linemates Jonas Rondbjerg and Keegan Kolesar with 36 seconds left in the period, 3-1 Vegas.

The period ended and it felt like an accident happened in front of the crowd, because they were silent and unsure if their Sharks would come back. The confidence everyone had in Kahkonen was depleted, but there was still one more period and the Sharks weren’t ready to give up.

The final period was just a continuation of the second where the Knights continued the domination. Brayden Pachal scored off an assist by Karlsson and Pavel Dorofeyev making it 4-1 Knights. The Sharks attempted to generate some type of offense by sending shots at Logan Thompson, but the whole third period felt like a brick wall was built in the Knight’s net. The third ended with Vegas on top and another one in the win column for the Golden Knights. 

For the Sharks it’s going to be a long season, especially with their next game being against the Colorado Avalanche in San Jose this Saturday at SAP. The turnovers this game need to change if the Sharks want a chance at victories and the defensemen need to give Kahkonen a chance to actually stop shots like he did in the first period.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Matthews picks up hat trick and 100th career goal in Leafs win; Skjei scores game winner for Canes; plus more NHL news

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The Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews (34) gets congratulated by his teammates in the third period. Matthews ended up scoring a hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wed Oct 11, 2023 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews scored a hat trick and had a quite a night and also scored his 300th career goal. Matthews got the tying goal and the Leafs later defeated the Montreal Canadiens in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

#2 Defenseman Brady Skjei scored a goal and got an assist for the Carolina Hurricanes to come back on the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena in Carolina on Wednesday for a 5-3 win. The Hurricanes got a goal each from Jordan Staal, Michael Bunting, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jacob Slavin.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard scored his first NHL goal in a loss to the Boston Bruins, The Bruins David Pastrnak scored two goals. It was the Bruins 100th season and they won their opener 3-1 at TD Waterhouse Garden in Boston.

#4 The Vegas Golden Knights Brett Howden was suspended for putting a head check to the head of the Seattle Kraken’s Brandon Tenev at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas. Howden rather than go low or below the shoulder for the check hit Tenev helmet to helmet which turned Tenev’s head and the NHL ruled it an illegal check. As a consequence Howden has been suspended for tonight’s game in San Jose and the next game on Sat 14th in Anaheim.

#5 In what many oddsmakers predict the San Jose Sharks will have a worse season this season than last year. The Sharks struggled all last season and that was with the help of former defenseman Erik Karlsson who is now with the Pittsburgh Penguins. This year they have to depend on a handful of veterans, Marc- Edouard Vlasic, Nico Sturm, Logan Couture, Ryan Carpenter, and Thomas Hertl as they open tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights in San Jose.

Join Len for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks prepare for opener with Golden Knights on Tue Oct 17th at SAP

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Los Angeles Kings left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) and San Jose Sharks Kyle Burroughs mix it up in the third period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thu Oct 5, 2023 (still photo by the San Jose Sharks)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks came up a goal short to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night in their final pre season game in overtime 4-3. The Sharks got goal help from Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman and Thomas Bordeleau.

#2 The Sharks in the first period, Mikael Granlund impressed forechecking the Kings Drew Doughty and stole the puck and dished it off to William Eklund but Eklund’s shot was turned away by Kings goaltender Phoenix Copley.

#3 Also in first period action the Kings Adrian Kempe got behind the Sharks Bordeleau and got a pass off. Bordeleau went to block the pass instead of going in for Kempe and Matt Benning got on Kempe but the skill set of Bordeleau trying to block was impressive.

#4 Bordeleau scored twice and his goal coming in the third period, as Eklund passed to Bordeleau as Eklund was on the same skate speed with Bordeleau who beat Copely in a strike that lit the lamp.

#5 Sharks open up the regular season on Thu Oct 12 at SAP Center in San Jose against the NHL Champions Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks who beat the Knights on Tuesday is not an indicator as both teams were using their bench, free agents, and trying to see who will make the final roster cuts. Opening night will be a true test for San Jose against Vegas.

Join Mary Lisa for the SJ Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com. This is Mary Lisa’s 11th year covering Sharks hockey and will be doing the Sharks road games for 2023-24.

Sharks Fall to Kings 4-3 in OT, Preseason in SLC

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Los Angeles Kings left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) and San Jose Sharks Kyle Burroughs, top, fight during the third period in pre season action Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings during regulation. Adrian Kempe scored the OT winner.

Pheonix Copley made 24 saves for the win. Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman and Thomas Bordeleau scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves in the loss.

Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois opened the scoring at 8:27 of the first period. Kevin Fiala and Vladislav Gavrikov got the assists.

Late in the period, Carl Grundstrom was called for tripping. In the ensuing power play, Sharks winger Alexander Barabanov tied it up at 17:39. Mikael Granlund and Anthony Duclair earned the assists.

The shots were close in the first period, at 12-10 Kings. The Sharks killed their only penalty in the period and scored on one of two power plays.

Anze Kopitar gave the Kings their second lead of the game at 8:16 of the second period. Drew Doughty got an assist on the goal.

Sharks winger Mike Hoffman tied it back up at 14:45 of the period, with assists going to Tomas Hertl and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.

The Sharks killed both of two penalties they took in the period. They had one unsuccessful power play in the final minutes of the second frame. The shots were 12-9 Sharks.

Trevor Moore gave the Kings a third lead just 3:28 into the third period. Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault got the assists.

Sharks center Thomas Bordeleau tied the game for the third time at 14:15 of the period. William Eklund got the assist.

The penalties exploded in the third period, with two sets of matching double-minors, four misconducts, an interference and two unsporstmanlike conducts distributed among six players. The shot count for the period heavily favored Los Angeles, 15-5.

Adrian Kempe’s overtime winner was the only shot of the period and came just 17 seconds into the extra frame. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty got assists.

This was the final 2023 preseason game for the Sharks. The Sharks’ next game will be October 12 at home against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop at 7:30 PM PT.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Ducks Zegras is singed up and Game On ready; Ekholm and McLeod should be ready for Oilers regular season; plus more NHL news

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The Anaheim Ducks Travis Zegras is seen taking in the morning skate. Zegras missed two weeks of training camp and is back after signing a three year deal with the Ducks on Mon Sep 3, 2023 (photo from the Anaheim Ducks)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Anaheim Ducks Travis Zegras says he’s got a little catching up to do as he missed the first two weeks of training camp. Zegras was without a contract which he signed and the Ducks came to an agreement on Monday. Zegras signed on for three years.

#2 Both the Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm and forward Ryan McLeod are both out for the pre season. Ekholm is trying to recover from a hip flexor injury and McLeod has a soft tissue injury. Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft says he’s looking forward to having both players back for the regular season.

#3 The Carolina Hurricanes center Derek Stepan is retiring. Stepan 33, has played in the NHL for 13 seasons, for four teams, 890 games, and had 515 points. Stepan said after 13 seasons he’s looking forward to family and the next chapter in his life. Stepan played for  Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Ottawa Senators and Hurricanes. 

#4 Len, it was a big deal last night as the Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard faced off against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Bedard has two assists, one goal and three assists. He does look small on the ice.

#5 Ty Emberson is ready to skate for the San Jose Sharks. Sharks head coach David Quinn had Emberson play on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Emberson was picked up on waivers from the New York Rangers. Quentin Musty played 15:10 and plus one and was a second round draft pick.

Join Len Shapiro for the San Jose Sharks podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Beat Golden Knights 2-0 in Preseason Match Up

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San Jose Sharks forward Alexander Barabanov (94) congratulates defenseman Jacob MacDonald (24) after scoring at 12:09 in the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Tue Oct 3, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-0 Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Thomas Bordeleau and Jacob MacDonald scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 18 saves for the win. Vegas goaltender Adin Hill made 14 saves on 15 shots and Logan Thompson made 13 saves on 14 shots.

In a scoreless first period, the Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 11-6. Each team took a penalty but neither power play scored.

At 6:51 of the second period, Thomas Bordeleau scored the first of the game with a snap shot. An assist went to William Eklund.

Defenseman Jacob MacDonald scored on the power play for the Sharks at 12:09. Assists went to Alexander Barabanov and Filip Zadina.

The second period shots were closer, 10-8 Sharks. Again, each team took a penalty but only the Sharks scored with the man advantage.

The third period saw several penalties, most of them from the Sharks forward Givani Smith. He took an interference penalty on Jakub Demek at 7:09. At 15:35, Brayden Pachal was called for slashing Smith, and Smith was called for high-sticking and roughing Pachal. Finally, Smith was given a misconduct. The Golden Knights took two more penalties to round out the period. The shot count was 8-4 Sharks, bringing the game tally to 29-18 Sharks.

The next Sharks preseason game will be on Thursday at 6:00 PM PT against the Kings in Los Angeles.

Sharks lose final home preseason game in overtime against the Kings 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks played a tight-checking affair against Los Angles but came up short losing 2-1.

Getting his first start during the preseason was Magnus Chrona who played last season in college. The Kings had veteran goalkeeper David Rittich who they got from Winnipeg get the start.

This game overall was pretty tightly played as neither team was able to score until the third period. The player who broke the ice was Alex Laferriere as he tipped home a shot from Jacob Moverare.

The third also saw Jacob Doty lay a big hit on Jan Rutta that got a response from Scott Sabourin who dropped the gloves for a spirited tilt. The hit was a little high so we’ll see if there is any suspension handed down from the league. Rutta did not return to the game after the hit.

Later in the third with the goalie pulled Thomas Hertl would tie it with a shot low on the blocker side of Rittich. The assists went to Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mario Ferraro.

In overtime, the game-winner came from Samuel Fagemo on the power play as he one-timed a shot from the point to end it.

Special teams were of note tonight though mainly the penalty kill as the teams combined to go 1/11 with the extra man.

Chrona ended up looking solid in tonight’s game making 28 saves and both goals not being his fault.

The shots finished at 35-30 in favor of the Sharks.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Samuel Fagemo 2nd: Thomas Hertl 3rd: Magnus Chrona

The Sharks will look to bounce back on the road against the Golden Knights on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Walsh: Sharks host Kings tonight at SAP Center; Couture still hopeful for opening night

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Defenseman Nick Cicek (59) was off and playing some defense against the Anaheim Ducks last Wed Sep 27, 2023 at the Honda Center in Anaheim (@SanJoseSharks photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks were beaten by the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 in their last pre-season game on Wednesday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Pavel Mintyukov, Chase De Leo, Brett Leason and Brock McGinn scored for the Ducks. Lukas Dostal made 45 saves for the win.

#2 Justin Bailey and Nathan Todd scored their firsts of the preseason for the Sharks. Georgi Romanov made 22 saves in the loss.

#3 Bailey scored the first goal of the game at 9:36 of the first period. The goal came on the power play while Nathan Gaucher sat in the box for slashing Jacob MacDonald. Assists went to Danil Gushchin and Henry Thrun. It was Bailey’s first goal of the preseason.

#4 At 18:21, a bad hit by Alex Killorn on Filip Zadina spilled over into several penalties, including a 10 minute misconduct for Radko Gudas and a hi-sticking penalty for Matt Benning. Killorn was called for boarding. Zadina left the ice injured.

#5 Mary Lisa, Logan Couture is still hoping to get in the line up for opening night against the Vegas Golden Knight at SAP Center on Thu Oct 12th.

#6 The Sharks are at home tonight to host the Los Angeles Kings in pre season game #4. The Sharks after tonight’s game head to Las Vegas to face the Golden Knights for pre season game #5 on Tue Oct 3.

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