Category: San Jose Sharks

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary with Barbara Mason: It’s a miracle, Sharks back home for Game 7; LA Clippers on brink, face Warriors for Game 5; plus more

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Photo credit: @mercnews

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi-Gonzalez on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 It’s a miraculous comeback playoff for the San Jose Sharks, who were down 3-1 in the series with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks won games 5 and 6 by scores of 5-2 and 2-1 to force a Game 7 and not much thought they would get this far. Faceoff is on Tuesday night in San Jose for Game 7.

#2 After that horrific 31-point lead they had in Game 2 that got erased, the Golden State Warriors have now been cruising on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors now have a 3-1 series lead and are just about ready to put the final touches in the elimination game on Wednesday night in Oakland in Game 5.

#3 After going through a 191 at-bats against the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey finally broke out and got a home run, which proved to be the game-winner on Sunday. The Pirates were the only National League team that Posey had not hit a home run off of.

#4 The Oakland A’s not only got swept by the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. A’s pitcher Brett Anderson rolled his ankle coming off the mound to field a grounder hit by the Jays’ Randal Grichuk in the top of the third inning and had to leave the game. Anderson is hopeful for his next scheduled start on Saturday in Toronto.

#5 With the loss on Sunday to Toronto, the A’s have lost four straight in Saturday’s 10-1 loss. A’s manager Bob Melvin was upset up about the lack of hitting. The A’s pitching staff was exhausted using six pitchers, including first baseman Kendrys Morales as a ninth inning reliever.

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi-Gonzalez for That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Force Game 7 With 2-1 Win Over Golden Knights in 2OT

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 2-1 in the second overtime of Game 6 of their playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday. Martin Jones was hands down the star of the game, making 58 saves to Marc-Andre Fleury’s 27. Those 58 saves set a record for Jones and also the franchise. Regulation goals came from Logan Couture for the Sharks and Jonathan Marchessault for the Golden Knights. The teams will return to San Jose for Game 7 on Tuesday.

The Sharks got off to a fast start in the game, taking a significant lead in shots until the middle of the period. That was the last such lead they would have in the game. In the first period, they fell behind by one shot, 10-9. In the second period, Las Vegas outshot them 17-7 and in the third period the Golden Knights won the shot contest by a whopping 17-4. On top of that, the Sharks blocked 34 more shots. This was the onslaught that Sharks goaltender Martin Jones faced Sunday.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

Yeah, we knew Joner was on, you could feel it, for sure. You know, you’re looking at the scoreboard and the shots are saying what they are. But the way Joner was moving, seeing the puck, you know, it wasn’t two-on-ones, breakaways, guys weren’t getting behind us. It was still a pretty tight-knit group out there and guys were blocking some shots and hanging in there.

Martin Jones said “It was a good game, obviously. We stuck with it the whole night. Give our guys a lot of credit, some huge penalty kills in overtime and the third. Yeah, everybody chipped in with stuff today.”

The officials seemed to have put their whistles away for overtime, ignoring some fairly obvious penalties from tripping to holding on both sides. They ignored it all until Barclay Goodrow slashed the stick out of Brayden McNabb’s hands at 10:46 of the second overtime. The Sharks still had no shots on goal in the period.

The penalty appeared to be the death knell for the Sharks. Instead, Marc-Edouard Vlasic cleared the puck from the front of the net up to Tomas Hertl in the middle of the blue line. Hertl took off as fast as skaters are able to halfway through the fifth period. He barely stayed ahead of Shea Theodore, then slowed and took a shot from inside the face-off circle. Fleury couldn’t stop it. The Sharks won the game short-handed with their first shot of the period.

The first goal of the game did not come until the final 10 seconds of the first period. While Timo Meier fought Deryk Engelland for the puck in the neutral zone, Logan Couture skated up and plucked the puck away from them. He kept skating into the slot and veered away into the face-off circle while taking a shot that got by Marc-Andre Fleury. Timo Meier got the assist. It was Couture’s fourth of the playoffs.

The Sharks had one power play in the first period, a penalty to Shea Theodore for tripping Tomas Hertl. They had just one shot in that power play.

The second goal of the game came in the middle of the second period, from Joathan Marchessault for the Golden Knights. Shea Theodore took a shot from the blue line into some traffic and Jones stopped that one, but there was a small rebound that Marchessault got to. He pulled it around the prone goalie and put it in the net. It was Marchessault’s third of the playoffs. Assists went to Shea Theodore and William Karlsson.

Each team had a power play in the second period. Las Vegas had a power play at 14:26 after Timo Meier was called for tripping William Karlsson. Las Vegas had no shots on that power play.

The Sharks had one shot on their second period power play, the result of a penalty to Marchessault for slashing Logan Couture.

In the scoreless third period, the Golden Knights had the only power play, due to a goaltender interference penalty to Melker Karlsson. They had one shot on that power play.

Labanc and Thornton had a good chance near the middle of the first OT period, and Labanc’s shot may have gone under Fleury and back out just on the outside of the net.

With about three minutes to go, the teams exchanged wild scrambles at the net, with defensemen piled up, at Fleury’s end, he had two of his own defensemen spreadeagled on top of of each other in the blue paint after a puck got by Fleury. It was so close to the line that the NHL reviewed the video.

By the 10-minute mark of the first OT, the teams were tied with two shots each. Then the NHL changed that to a 3-1 lead for the Golden Knights. Eventually, it evened out to 7-6 for the Golden Knights in the first OT.

Approaching the midpoint of the second OT, the Golden Knights had seven shots and the Sharks had none on the books. And then Hertl scored.

The Sharks played more than two periods with only five defensemen. Joakim Ryan did not skate after the second period.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Elimination game for Sharks in must-win Game 6 Sunday

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photo from mercurynews.com: San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl celebrates one his two goals from Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose in the Sharks 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in game five of the playoff series

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Sharks had their backs to the wall on Thursday night, down three games to one, but they got a spark, they got some life, what point of the game did your realize this one will be a keep for the Sharks?

#2 Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer showed a lot of confidence in goaltender Marty Jones after pulling Jones twice during the series.

#3 Jones stopped 32 shots while allowing two goals. There was certainly a big change in the way Jones was defending between the pipes.

#4 The Sharks came out firing and the Vegas Golden Knights were frankly just overwhelmed.

#5 Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl (2), Logan Couture, Barclay Goodrow, and Joe Pavelski.

#6 What’s to be expected in Game 6 Sunday night in Vegas?

Len has the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Avoid Elimination, Beat Knights 5-2 to Force Game 6

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks staved off elimination Thursday night, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in Game 5 of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to put the series at a 3-2 advantage for Vegas. Martin Jones had arguably his best game of the series after being pulled in two of the previous contests and Tomas Hertl scored a pair of goals. Vegas netted a pair of power play goals on both of their man-advantage attempts.

San Jose looked to keep Vegas off the board in the opening minutes after allowing a goal in the opening seconds in every period of Game 4. They were up to the test, locking Vegas down and even scoring 1:16 into the game. Tomas Hertl beat Marc-Andre Fleury for his third goal of the playoffs, with Erik Karlsson picking up an assist.

The Sharks built on the rare lead in the series after trailing in every game except game one, scoring on Logan Couture’s third goal of the series after tucking in a loose puck when Timo Meier’s original shot sat between Fleury’s pads 11:06 into play.

Vegas picked up a goal after Evander Kane was given the gate for a high-sticking penalty with 1:43 left in the first period. On the ensuing power play the puck bounced off Reilly Smith’s skate with 30 seconds left in the frame to cut the Sharks lead to 2-1.

Barclay Goodrow tipped a Justin Braun shot past Fleury 12:22 into the second period for his first goal of the series, but that’d be it for scoring in the middle stanza. Vegas would score again 11:36 into the third period on Jonathan Marchessault’s second of the series after Erik Karlsson was given a questionable tripping penalty.

First, Jones made an unbelievable cross-crease save to keep out the tying goal, then Hertl allowed the Sharks to breath a little easier when he fired a rebound just outside the crease past Fleury for a 4-2 lead on the power play at the 14:45 mark. Logan Couture drew the penalty after being high-sticked. The centerman lost a couple teeth in the process, but at first glance, seemed to show the referees not calling a penalty while Couture lay on the ice. A conference of the officials ultimately yielded a power play for the Sharks.

Joe Pavelski added the empty-netter with 1:46 to ice the game. Jones made 30 saves to silence any doubters for one night.

Game 6 will be played Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, with the time to be determined. If a Game 7 is necessary, the series will shift back to San Jose Tuesday night.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks have home ice; They’ll need to key in on Knights tonight

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Photo credit: @NHL

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Down 3-1 in the series, the Sharks are in a must-win situation or face elimination in tonight’s game at SAP Center against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks’ only major advantage now is having home ice tonight.

#2 In the last three games, the Sharks’ defense has not been a mystery, getting beat by scores of 5-3, 6-3, and in the last game, 5-0.

#3 The Sharks would have been swept if it had not been for their Game 1 win at home 5-2. If the Sharks can make it a 3-2 series, they still have a mountain climb with another trip back to Vegas on Sunday night for a possible Game 6 if they get that far.

#4 Has Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer’s theme been keying in on some of the Knights scorers from Game 4 — Max  Pacioretty scoring twice, Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch, and Jonathan Marchessault?

#5 Game 5 tonight at SAP Center. It really all boils down to this game for the Sharks tonight. They have to almost play perfect hockey to come away from this to keep the series alive.

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

Headline Sports with London Marq: Can the A’s work things out with the port to get new stadium underway?; Was Game 2 win by Clippers just a fluke? plus more

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sfchronicle.com photo file: The Oakland Maritime Industry says that a new Oakland A’s stadium at the port would impact shipping, cause safety concerns, and will be a economic hit to the region’s import and exports.

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 Oakland’s Maritime Industry is saying that building a new stadium for the Oakland A’s at Jack London Square’s Howard Terminal would be a economic hazard for the port. It would disrupt ships that provide import and export that impact Oakland’s economics and would be a safety risk for ships trying to port. Does this sound like a legitimate argument from the Maritime to stop any construction of a new park for the A’s?

#2 This is obviously number one on A’s team president David Kaval’s bucket list of things to get moving. How much opposition will the A’s face in their attempts to build at Howard Terminal and can they work things out with the port?

#3 Is the 31-point comeback by the Los Angeles Clippers to win by four in Game 2 on Monday night a fluke or is it this Clippers team up for the challenge of making this a series against Golden State?

#4 How much of a factor has the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley been in this series trying to intimidate or at least get under the skin of the Warriors’ Kevin Durant? It might be working Durant was fouled out in Game 2 and thrown out in Game 1.

#5 The San Jose Sharks are in a hole after getting shutout in Las Vegas on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Center in Vegas in Game 4. The 5-0 loss puts the Sharks down 3-1 in the series with an elimination game on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

London Marq joins Sportstalk each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda battle Gulls in San Diego tonight for Game 1 of Calder Cup Playoffs

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sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda share congratulations, concluding their final home game on Saturday April 6th at SAP Center in San Jose. The Barracuda prepare for Game 1 tonight in San Diego in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs.

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 First game tonight in San Diego between the Gulls and Barracuda. How did the two teams match up throughout the season?

#2 Pachenga Arena is noted for it’s sellouts, loud fan support, and one of the toughest venues to play in the AHL. Will this make much a difference to the Barracuda, who’ve played there numerous times this season?

#3 Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer prepares this team to face the Gulls. Is this expected to be an offensive series because the Gulls can play some defense?

#4 There are a number of players who finished the regular season in double figures for goals scored. Talk about the top three: Alexander True (24), Francis Perron (18) and Nick DeSimone (14) and the job they did on scoring this season.

#5 Talk about the goaltenders Antoine Bibeau and Josef Korenar. Can the Barracuda expect to start Bibeau for most of these playoff games?

#6 The Sharks, the Cuda’s parent team, are on the brink of elimination. Do you see the Cuda getting some of those fans for some home games if the Sharks do get eliminated in their first round series with the Vegas Golden Knights?

Join Marko throughout the AHL Calder Cup/San Jose Barracuda post season for exclusive coverage and podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Sharks on brink of elimination after 5-0 blanking

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Photo credit: nbcsports.com 

By Pearl Allison Lo

Max Pacioretty led the Vegas Golden Knights with a four-point night over the San Jose Sharks in a Game 4 win 5-0 at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday.

Pacioretty had a goal and an assist for the third straight game, two apiece at the end. Vegas had an identical game score March 21.

The last time the Sharks were held scoreless was February 21. It was their biggest margin in a loss since November 24.

Marc-Andre Fleury made a perfect 28 saves in the victory.  

Meanwhile, San Jose used two goalies again like in Game 2, but this time, Martin Jones took the loss and Aaron Dell gave up more goals.

The Sharks were still without defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and also without Micheal Haley and Joe Thornton, who served his one-game suspension for a hit to the head in Game 3.

Vegas scored their third and fifth goals on the power play. San Jose went 0-for-4 and were outhit 54-37.

The game-winner ended up being the fourth straight goal that came within the opening two minutes of a period and involved two familiar players. The Sharks failed to keep the puck within the Knights’ zone and Mark Stone picked up the loose puck at the far blue line. He then dropped the puck back for Pacioretty before moving the defenseman, as Pacioretty shot from the top of the right faceoff circle near the slot at 1:11.

Both teams then got two penalties apiece when they committed four penalties in the span of six minutes. San Jose generated momentum on both of their power plays, with four shots during the first one and six in the second.

However, the Sharks’ enthusiasm was curbed when Shea Theodore managed to nab a 2-0 goal with less than a minute remaining.

San Jose led shots 18-7 by the end of the first period.

The start of the second period marked a change in goalies as Dell came in for Jones.

Vegas’s William Karlsson hit the goal post.

Dell lost his immunity in the game when he made an initial save versus Pacioretty and then inadvertently transferred the puck over to the right for a long rebound back to Pacioretty. Stone made a long pass across the ice past four San Jose players right before.

The Sharks’ Kevin Labanc hit the goal post with one minute to go.

Alex Tuch and Jonathan Marchessault had their first goals of the playoffs at 6:37 and 16:24 of the third, respectively.

San Jose was outshot 13-2 in the final period.  

Up Next: The Sharks face the Knights with their backs against the wall. Game 5 is Thursday in San Jose at 7 pm.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Joe Thornton Suspended for Game 4

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Deadspin

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks will be down one more player for Game Four of their first round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Joe Thornton has been suspended by the NHL for one game after an illegal check to the head of Tomas Nosek in Game Three.

As Nosek came out of the corner after retrieving the puck in the defensive zone, he was pitched forward and his head was still down after defending the puck from Brenden Dillon. Thornton was coming out from behind the net and moving as if to help get the puck from Nosek. The collision occurred after Nosek got rid of the puck and while the play was starting to move the other way. Thornton’s shoulder made contact with Nosek’s head as they passed.

A minor penalty was called at 16:45 of the second period. Nosek did not skate again in the second period but did return for the third.

Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and forward Micheal Haley are both listed as day-to-day. Vlasic was injured blocking a shot in Game Two, so missed the rest of that game and Game Three. Haley was also injured blocking a shot early in the second period of Game Three and missed the rest of Sunday’s game.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Golden Knights Take 2-1 Series Lead with 6-3 Win Over Sharks

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks 6-3, scoring a first-minute goal in all three periods. Three Vegas goals came from Mark Stone, two from Paul Stastny and one from Max Pacioretty. For the Sharks, goals came from Kevin Labanc, Logan Couture and Timo Meier. Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for the Vegas win, while Martin Jones made 34 saves in the Sharks loss.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer talked about the high-scoring line of Stastny, Stone and Pacioretty:

They’ve eaten us up here this series so far, so, we haven’t had an answer for them. What do they do well? I mean you’ve got three very good players that are playing at a really high level right now. So, you know, that is part of the issue. We’ve got to find an answer to slow those guys down.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked about the impact of early goals against, summarizing it as: “It’s tough to keep it going or get it back when you do that at the start.” Forward Logan Couture also talked those period starts, saying “they made some nice plays but we’ve got to be ready to start periods.”

On his goaltender’s performance, Couture said: “I think he made a lot of saves. I mean, you look at that game, their power play chances, their chances in the slot, he made a lot of big saves. They could have had eight tonight. Some of their goals, you can’t give up breakaways, two on ones, and let a guy walk past the half way mark in the crease. You’re just asking for trouble.”

Yet again, Vegas scored early the game, putting the Sharks down by one just 18 seconds in. Right off of the opening face-off, Erik Karlsson’s pass missed its mark and ended up on Mark Stone’s stick. Stone charged into the zone, pursued by Sharks, and scored with a back hand. Assists went to Nate Schmidt and Deryk Engellund.

Max Pacioretty gave Vegas a 2-0 lead at 12:16 with a power play goal. Evander Kane was in the box for a four-minute high-sticking penalty. Pacioretty’s shot was the first of the power play and only took five seconds. The face-off was still dispersing when Pacioretty shot from near the point. His shot went through some traffic and between Justin Braun’s legs. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Paul Stastny.

The Sharks got one back late in the period at 15:16. Joe Thornton got to the puck behind the net and made a quick back hand pass up to Kevin Labanc as Labanc skated to the net. Labanc took the shot some feet from the blue paint, then collided with Colin Miller in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Golden Knights challenged the goal for goaltender interference but the goal was upheld. Assists went to Thornton and Marcus Sorensen.

The Golden Knights outshot the Sharks 20-12 in the first period, and won 59% of the face-offs.

Paul Stastny restored the Golden Knights’ two-goal lead 21 seconds into the second period. Pacioretty took a shot from the slot and the rebound went to Stastny out beyond the traffic around the net. He took a shot from above the face-off dot and it went by two Sharks defenders and under their goaltender. Assists went to Pacioretty and Stone.

The Sharks got their first power play at 10:02 of the second period. The Golden Knights had already had three.

Stastny added another goal at 16:04, on the sixth Vegas power play. This time, it was Kevin Labanc in the box for interference against Ryan Reaves. The Sharks had killed off most of the penalty when Mark Stone made an impressive pass across the slot, evading skates and sticks, right to Stastny for the shot. Jones was still trying to get across when the puck went in. Assists went to Stone and Theodore.

Las Vegas outshot San Jose 10-7 in the second period, but only won 40% of the face-offs.

The Sharks made some line changes for the third. Gus Nyquist moved to Logan Couture’s line with Timo Meier. Joe Pavelski moved to Tomas Hertl’s line with Evander Kane.

The Golden Knights scored a third first-minute goal in the third, this time 36 seconds in. Mark Stone’s pass to Jonathan Marchessault became a rebound that Stone was in a perfect spot to tap in. Assists went to Marchessault and Stastny.

At 4:57, the Sharks scored on their third power play. William Karlsson was in the box for slashing Tomas Hertl. Early in the power play, Marc-Andre Fleury lost his glove while on his back after a shot almost went in. The whistle went and the delay allowed conflict to erupt, resulting in matching roughing penalties for Brent Burns and Tomas Nosek.

Erik Karlsson’s neutral zone pass found Logan Couture just above the blue line. Couture carried it down the side past the face-off dot and sent the puck to the net where Pavelski was arriving for a deflection. The puck never reached Pavelski as Brayden McNabb’s stick got in the way and directed the puck past his own goaltender. The goal went to Couture with assists to Karlsson and Martin Jones.

Timo Meier scored a third goal for the Sharks at 5:51. Gus Nyquist took a shot from in close created a rebound that went right to Meier in the slot. Meier’s shot was just too quick for Fleury to catch. Nyquist got the assist.

Those two quick goals were followed by a lull in scoring, until Mark Stone got his third of the game at 13:57, restoring the three-goal lead for Vegas. A neutral zone interception sent Stone and Stastny into the Sharks zone. Stastny sent the puck off the boards to Stone, who skated to the net, faked to the right and shot to left with a backhand. Assists went to Stastny and Theodore.

Vegas outshot the Sharks 40-28 in the game and won 53% of the face-offs.

Sharks forward Micheal Haley was injured blocking a shot in the second period and did not return. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, injured the same way in Friday’s game, was not in the lineup Sunday and was replaced by Tim Heed.

Game four will be on Tuesday in Las Vegas at 7:30 PM PT.