Category: NHL

Second period collapse by Sharks gives Blues the victory 6-3

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks. Andreas Johnsson gets warmed up before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On home ice the Sharks had a good start that fell away to a terrible second period giving the Blues the victory by a final of 6-3.

In goal tonight for the Sharks was James Riemer while Thomas Griess got the start for the Blues.

San Jose’s offense got off to a quick start in this one as just 3:50 into the first period Andres Johnsson flipped the puck out to a streaking Alexander Barabonov. Despite their being a Blues defenseman back Barabonov dangled Justin Faulk and put one in past Griess to make it 1-0. On that goal Johnsson got his first point in a Sharks uniform.

Smelling blood in the water just a few minutes later Erik Karlsson dropped a pass to Logan Couture that he one-timed past Griess to extend the lead to two.

The rest of the first period was rather quiet with the Blues in particular struggling to get much going on offense.

At the end of the first the shots favored San Jose at 10-4.

During intermission it seems that St. Louis got a thorough talking to as they came out in the second period with a new sense of urgency.

That urgency ended up paying off as 2:35 into the second Colton Parayko snuck in back door and tapped one home to make it 2-1.

Feeling the pressure just a few minutes later the Blues went on the power play as Barabonov took a tripping penalty.

On the power play Jordan Kyrou found himself wide open in the slot and fired one past Riemer to tie the game up at two.

St. Louis was not just content with tying it though and Logan Brown obliged sniping home his first goal of the season and giving the Blues the lead.

Late in the second period Radim Simek took a tripping penalty giving the Blues an opportunity to extend their lead.

The Sharks penalty kill once again came up short as Brayden Schenn was left open backdoor and scored his 17th goal of the season.

At the end of the second period the shots favored San Jose at 19-16.

In the third San Jose got off to a rough start as at the 14:29 mark of the period Kevin Labanc was called for tripping.

While the other two power plays had gone well for the Blues this one did not as short handed Steven Lorentz scored to make it 4-3. After the goal the Sharks continued to push for the equalizer.

Late in the third period Jacob Macdonald made a terrible turnover in the neutral zone that lead to Tyler Pitlick taking the puck and scoring. The goal was Pitlick’s fourth goal of the campaign and sucked all life out of the building.

The Sharks pulled Riemer to try and tie the game but to no avail as Kasperi Kapanen scored on the empty cage to seal the game at 6-3.

“We just weren’t sticking to out game and that’s something we definitely got to adress and look in the mirror it’s unacceptable,” Lorentz commented after the game.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Pavel Buchnevich 2nd: Colton Parayko 3rd: Nikita Alexandrov

San Jose’s next game will be this Saturday against the Washington Capitals at home at 3 p.m.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Teams dealing as trade deadline looms Friday

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Former Arizona Coyote Jakob Chychrun was dealt to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for three draft picks. Chychrun was in the fourth year of his six year deal in Arizona (AP News file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the deals are in the making as the Arizona Coyotes Jakob Chychrun was dealt to the Ottawa Senators for three draft picks on Wednesday. Chychrun was in the fourth year of his six year deal with the Coyotes which he signed in 2018. Chychrun had 28 points, seven goals, and 21 assists. Chychrun could be a unrestricted free agent in the 2024-25 season.

#2 Originally sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets sent Jonathan Quick to the Vegas Golden Knights they flipped him.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid can’t be stopped he has now scored two goals in each of his last five games and Wednesday was no exception as the Oilers made themselves right at home at Rogers Centre in Toronto with a three goal win 5-2.

#4 The New York Rangers are going to be a force in the post season and Vladimir Tarasenko helped the Rangers get a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for an overtime win 3-2. The Rangers acquired Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night will add extra punch for the Rangers. The Rangers did dropped a tough two goal loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night 5-3

#5 Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist and the Dallas Stars made handy work of the Arizona Coyotes scoring four unanswered goals to hand the Coyotes a two goal 4-2 loss the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Stars Roope Hintz and Mike Heiskanen scored a goal each and goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped 18 shots.

#6 Detroit Red Wings team captain Dylan Larkin who leads the Wings with goals and points could have very well been a free agent after this season but the Red Wings wanted to make sure he stuck around a little longer inking a eight year $69.6 million deal.

#7 Len, talk about the Boston Bruins just set a record tonight.

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

Canadiens slip past Sharks 3-1

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The Montreal Canadiens who were down after the first period 1-0 came back and defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at SAP Center in San Jose as a dejected Sharks center Nico Sturm (7) skates away on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (@CanadiensMTL photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Jase Ylonen scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period for the  Montreal Canadiens  Tuesday, as the Canadiens went on to defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 at SAP Center.

Christian Dvorak and Kaiden Guble also found the net for the Habs, and Jake Allen made 28 saves while earning his 14th win.

Defenseman Jacob MacDonald scored his first goal of the season – and his first for the Sharks – to account for San Jose’s lone tally. Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen was credited with 29 saves.

San Jose (18-31-12, 48 points) opened the scoring at 1:43 of the first period when Sharks forward Nico Sturm forced a turnover in front of the Canadiens net, allowing MacDonald to capitalize on the opportunity.

After a scoreless second period, Montreal (26-30-4, 56 points) tied the game at 8:07 of the third period. Guble beat Kahkonen with a slapshot from the point. Less than two minutes later, Canadiens forward Rem Pitlick created a 2-on-0 break and fed Ylonen at the mouth of the crease at 9:59. It was Ylonen’s second goal of the season.

Dvorak tacked on an empty-netter with five seconds remaining for his 10th goal of the season.

Elsewhere for the Sharks, defenseman Radim Simek played in his first game since getting injured on Dec. 31. Newly-acquired forwards Andreau Johnsson and Fabian Zetterlund made their Sharks debuts after being picked up in the deadline trade that sent Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils,

The Sharks host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

MLB podcast with Charlie O: Automatic strike out has impact on first day of spring training games; plus much more news

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San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado took the first auto strike in baseball history Sat Feb 25, 2023 against the Seattle Mariners. Here is Machado  following through on an RBI-double during the third inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oct. 12, 2022, in Los Angeles (AP file photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie needless to say lots of changes in baseball we’ll start with living and dying with the clock how much of a factor will the clock play that could decide a big game or even knock a team out of playoff contention?

#2 Charlie Saturday was the first day of the automatic strike call rule and that’s how the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves ended their game. With the bases loaded, two outs and a full count Braves second baseman Cal Conley was called out on strikes when the batter’s clock ran out on him thus the game was called in a 6-6 tie.

#3 San Diego Padres superstar third baseman was called for the very first automatic strike in MLB history when plate umpire Ryan Blakney called him for the strike for not being ready as the eight seconds ran out. Machado did end up going 2-2 against the Seattle Mariners none the less.

#4 Charlie lots of choices for Oakland A’s manager to make particularly in the outfield first JJ Bleday play left, center or right. Seth Brown will platoon between first and left field, Esteury Ruiz is slated for center and Ramon Laureano in right.

#5 The Minnesota Twins Carlos Correa who returned to Minnesota with a six year $200 million said “I could sit down and cry about it (not passing the physicals and loss of salary money with the Giants and Yankees) or I could keep working” and Correa has returned can he live up to the expectations even with the lower leg injury?

Join Charlie O for the MLB podcasts Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Blackhawks edge Sharks 4-3 in shootout, Marleau’s No. 12 retired

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In a special tribute to former San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau he is joined by former Shark teammates Joe Thornton (center) and Kelly Hrudey (right) to retire his old number 12 at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 25, 2023

Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek made 45 saves, stopped all three shootout attempts by San Jose, and led the Blackhawks past the Sharks 4-3 Saturday on Patrick Marleau Night at SAP Center.

Marleau had his No. 12 retired by the Sharks, a first in team history. He played 21 of his 23 NHL seasons for San Jose before retiring in 2021. Marleau broke Gordie Howe’s record for NHL games played with 1,779. He holds Sharks records for games played (1,607), goals (522) and points (1,111).

Philipp Kurashev scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Chicago (21-32-5, 47 points) its longest winning streak since winning five in a row in January 2020.

Also scoring for the Blackhawks, David Gust with his first career goal, Brett Seney had his first goal in four years and Max Domi. Nick Bonino Evgeny Svechnikov and Erik Karlsson all scored for the Sharks (18-30-12, 48 points), who have lost five of their last six games. San Jose goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen was credited with 32 saves.

Domi scored on the opening shift of the third period to put Chicago ahead 3-2. Karlsson answered for San Jose with a goal with 2:11 remaining after the Sharks pulled Kahkonen for a sixth attacker.

The 29-year-old Gust scored on his first shift in the first period when he deflected a pass from Colin Blackwell past Kahkonen. Gust and Eddie Olczyk are the only Illinois natives to score in their NHL debuts with Chicago.

After Bonino tied it for the Sharks, Seney scored on a rush for his first goal since Feb. 9, 2019, when he played for the New Jersey Devils. Svechnikov then scored for the Sharks to tie the game at 2-2.

The Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane flew back to Chicago as trade talks with the New York Rangers began to heat up. Kane has a no-movement clause in his contract and must approve any deal. Sharks forward Timo Meier, who is also mentioned in trade talks, missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury that is not considered serious.

The Sharks host Montreal on Tuesday.

NHL podcast with Troy Ewers: Blues coach Berube stands by no passion comments; Pens put Kapanen on waivers; plus more

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St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube stands by his remarks after Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after the team lost their fourth straight game in overtime (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube says the players are not playing with passion, “don’t play with any passion, no emotion and no inspiration at all.” The Blues took a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime after having a 2-0 lead melt down with 29 seconds left in the third period on Thursday when the Canucks tied the game and went onto defeat the Blues in overtime 3-2.

#2 Troy how much did the Vladimir Tarasenko trade and then trading their captain Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari play into the psyche of the Blues who are currently on a four game losing streak and in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

#3 The Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen was placed on waivers. Kapanen did not practice with the team Friday and had gone 14 games without scoring a goal in 15 games. The Penguins lost to the Edmonton Oilers 7-2. Kapanen has 20 goals for the season.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti will miss eight weeks due to a upper body injury he sustained most likely on Sunday. Perfetti played and scored a goal on Sunday in the 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils but didn’t play on Monday night against the New York Rangers and on Friday night against the New York Islanders. Perfetti has 30 points this season.

#5 Troy the Boston Bruins get Dimitry Orlov and Garnett Hathaway from the Washington Capitals and the Bruins get forward Craig Smith and Andre Svetlakov “Both Dmitry and Garnet bring some attributes that will complement our group,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said.

Troy Ewers filled in for Matt Harrington who does the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose gets blown out at home by Nashville 6-2

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Photo courtesey of San Jose Sharks. Matt Benning gets ready before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On a chilly night in San Jose the Sharks took on the Predators and struggled on home ice losing by a final of 6-2.

The goaltending matchup was between James Riemer for San Jose and Juuse Saros for Nashville.

The first period began with Nashville controlling most of the play while San Jose couldn’t get much going offensively.

Highlighting this lack of offense was their shots which was still at zero for the Sharks at the 12:00 mark of the first period.

On a power play Nashville capitalized as Nino Niederreiter tipped home his 17th goal of the season to make it 1-0.

At the end of the first the shots favored Nashville at 8-4.

Nashville got the second period started on the right foot as less than two minutes in Mikael Granlund scored to make it 2-0. The goal, which was Granlund’s eight of the season was on a floaty wrist shot that Riemer most likely wanted back

A little later in the period Nico Sturm was called for a five minute penalty though after review the officials took away the penalty entirely.

After that review just a few moments later Erik Karlsson was called for a hooking penalty putting Nashville on the power play.

While on the power play though there was a race for a loose puck in Nashville’s end which lead to Nico Sturm picking up the puck and shelving it over Saros. It was Sturm’s 12th goal of the season and made it a 2-1 game.

When the power play ended the Sharks got another chance as Erik Karlsson came out of the box and was fead a breakaway pass. The breakaway ended though with Karlsson hitting the crossbar and the score remaining the same.

Nashville not long after the goal got a odd-man rush and converted on it as Granlund scored his second goal of the game making it 3-1.

The Sharks were given a chance to get back in the game as Kevin Gravel took a penalty for interference.

Matt Benning while trying to break the puck out on the power play ended up turning it over leading to a goal for Yakov Trenin increasing Nashville’s lead to 4-1.

At the end of the second the shots still favored Nashville at 22-15.

Unlike the first two period San Jose got off to a good start scoring less than a minute in as Martin Kaut scored his first goal as a Shark.

With the score now 4-2 the team teal seemed to have new life as they controlled most of the play to start the third.

That momentum was killed though when on a odd man rush Niederreiter scored off of an accidental tip in by Noah Gregor making it 5-2.

Piling on to the lead on a power play Tommy Novak scored off a beautiful feed from Matt Duchene increasing Nashville’s lead to four.

Novak’s goal ended up being the last of the game as the Sharks finished off a dissapointing showing at home.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Mikael Granlund 2nd: Matt Duchene 3rd: Philip Tomasino

“I thought we were lifeless, I thought we were really not sharp in a lot of ways,” head coach David Quinn said after the game.

The Sharks will look to bounce back Saturday when they play at home against the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Preds Johansen out 12 weeks; Caps Ovechkin returns tonight; plus more

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The Nashville Predators will miss 12 weeks following leg surgery from an injury from Tue 14, 2023 game against the Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes whose skate cut Johansen on the right leg. (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen’s right leg got caught by the skate of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes which made contact on Johansen’s lower leg Tuesday night at 16:43 of the second period. Johansen had to be assisted off the ice. Johansen had to have surgery on the leg and will miss at least 12 weeks he could make it back for the first round of the playoffs.

#2 Alexander Ovechkin had missed the last five games with the Washington Capitals after his father Mikhail passed away at age 71 in Russia. Mikhail was a soccer player in his youth. Ovechkin is returning tonight in Anaheim against the Anaheim Ducks. Ovechkin said he looks forward to getting back to work. The Caps lost to the Ducks 4-2 on Thursday night for the Caps sixth straight loss.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks in a trade with the Ottawa Senators acquired defenseman Nikita Zaitsev . Ottawa received two draft picks from Chicago plus future defensemen considerations. Zaitsev has 108 points, 18 goals and 19 assists in 426 regular season games with the Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. Zaitsev has five assists in 28 games with Ottawa this season.

#4 Len, the New York Rangers are looking to bolster their roster some more, as you know they picked up Vladimir Tarasenko from the St Louis Blues on Feb 10th and now their in talks with the Chicago Blackhawks about acquiring Patrick Kane. Rangers general manager Chris Drury said “Never say never’ regarding acquiring Kane.

#5 New Jersey defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime here’s one team who is interested in Patrick Kane.

#5 The San Jose Sharks Timo Meier remains one of the top sought after players before the trade deadline. The New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes are inquiring about Meier’s services with the Devils being the team who want a long term deal with Meier but the Canes have said that would not be a prerequisite with them. Meier is currently hurt with an upper body injury and has been out since the second period of Sat Feb 18th’s game against the Buffalo Sabers.

6. Edmonton Oilers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2 as the Oilers Conner McDavid scored two goals tonight with 109 points leading the NHL.

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

Reimer stops 26 shots as Sharks shut out Seattle 4-0

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San Jose Sharks center Nico Sturm (7) celebrates the goal of teammate left wing Evgeny Svechinkov (10) who scored against the visiting Seattle Kraken in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Feb 20,. 2023. Referee Mike Dunning (20) watches against the glass. (@SanJoseSharks photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Monday, February 20, 2023

James Reimer earned his second shutout of the season Monday, as San Jose Sharks blanked the Seattle Kraken 4-0 in a President’s Day matchup at SAP Center. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Sharks.

Reimer made 26 saves, and got offensive support from Logan Couture, Evgeny Svechnikov, Noah Gregor and Michael Eyssimont. Erik Karlsson assisted on two of the Sharks’ goals.

Kraken goaltender Martin Jones stopped 19 shots against his former team, but suffered his fourth straight loss as Seattle (32-19-6. 70 points) was shut out for the third time this season.

After a scoreless first period, San Jose (18-29-11, 47 points) took a 1-0 lead on a fluke goal credited to Couture midway through the second period. Couture was in a faceoff with the Krakens’ Yanni Gourde, who won the draw but inadvertently sent the puck back past Jones and into the net. It was Couture’s 20th goal of the season.

The Sharks made it 2-0 later in the period when Svechnikov intercepted a clearing pass and beat Jones on a rebound shot. The unassisted tally was Svechnikov’s seventh goal of the season. With 17.2 seconds left in the second period, Gregor scored. Eyssimont made it 4-0 late in the third period with his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Couture and Karlsson, his 58th.

Each team was 0-for-2 on the power play.

The Sharks host Nashville on Thursday and Chicago on Saturday.

Sabres skate past Sharks 4-2; San Jose drops four of last five games

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Buffalo Sabres teammates gather after defeating the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 18, 2023 (@BuffaloSabres photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks returned home to face the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night at the Shark Tank. The Sharks were hoping to snap a two-game losing streak. That was not in the cards as the Sabres skated to a 4-2 win over the Sharks.

The Sharks lost a close game to the first-place Las Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City Thursday night. The Sharks were hoping to right the ship against Buffalo based on their strong effort, even though they came up short, 

In fifth place in the Atlantic Division, the Sabers needed a win as they are fighting to make it into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Buffalo got a much-needed win when they beat the hapless Anaheim Ducks 7-3 Wednesday night in Anaheim.

The Sabres started the scoring early in the first period. Dylan Cozen notched his 20th goal of the year as he put the puck past Sharks’ goalie Kaapo Kahkonen. The time of the goal was at 3:01. The Sharks responded with their first goal with 16:49 played. Evgeny Svechnikov put the puck past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for his sixth of the year. Assist went to Jacob MacDonald and Steve Lorentz. The first period ended tied 1-1.

The Sabres grabbed a 2-1 lead when Owen Power lit the lamp with 6:26 played/ Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner assisted on the play. The Sharks tied the game when Alexander Barbanov was in the right place at the right time. One of the Sharks’ players shot past the net and hit the boards, the puck rebounded right to Barbanov’s stick, Luukkonen was out of position, and Barbanov had an easy goal.

It was number 11 for Barbanov. Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson assisted. For Karlsson, it was his 56th assist of the season. The teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the second period.

The Sharks, who are not going to the playoffs for the second year in a row, wanted to upset Buffalo’s apple cart Saturday night. The Sabres needed the win to stay close to a possible playoff spot. The last 20 minutes would determine the winner.

The teams battled it out on both ends of the ice. Buffalo, as they had done in the first and second periods, scored the first goal of the third period. The goal was scored by the Sharks’ killer, Jeff Skinner. Skinner notched his 21st of the year. It was Skinner’s seventh goal in his last seven games against the Sharks.

The Sharks need to come back from a one-goal deficit for the third time in the game. They tried, but they couldn’t get the puck into the net. They pulled their goalie and put pressure on the Sabres. However, Alex Tuch found himself alone in the Sharks’ zone and put the puck into an empty net to ice the win for Buffalo 4-2.

Game Notes: With the loss, the Sharks are now 17-29-11 for the year. They are in seventh place in the Pacific Division with 45 points. The Sharks are 5-14-7 at home. They have 25 games left on the schedule. Buffalo won the season series 2-0. Buffalo is now 28-22-4 good for 60 points.

The Sharks play the third-place Seattle Kraken at the Shark Tank Monday afternoon. The game will start at 1:00 pm.