Category: San Jose Sharks

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Ice meltdown in Vancouver–Sharks can’t answer Canucks’ 3 goals in third period; Quakes’ best game in 0-0 draw against Colorado so far; plus more

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 In one that you can call just a big meltdown, the San Jose Sharks started a two-game road trip in Vancouver Tuesday night, had a 2-1 lead and looked like they might actually win this one against the Canucks, but all for not as the Canucks scored three unanswered goals to hand San Jose its ninth loss in 10 games 4-2.

#2 The San Jose Earthquakes are a team that is all shook up. They have not won one a game yet this season and have played six games and their best game was against Colorado in a 0-0 draw. London tells us from he has seen of the Quakes what the problem is?

#3 The San Francisco Giants have shown some improvement on the current road trip taking the first game against the Dodgers on Monday night 4-2, thanks to Brandon Belt’s home run to help pace the win. On Tuesday night, the Giants lost by a run, but it’s been something to look forward to after they struggled in San Diego losing three out four.

#4 The Oakland A’s are getting plenty of pitching they got a 7-0 shutout over the World Champion Red Sox on Monday and then on Tuesday they got a 1-0 shutout with great A’s starting pitcher Mike Fiers and A’s reliever Blake Treinen.

#5 The Sacramento Kings just couldn’t do anything with James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in Golden One Center. Harden put away 36 points and he was again a scoring machine in a 130-105 win.

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcast for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Canucks score three in third period, defeat Sharks 4-2  

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Pearl Allison Lo

San Jose had a 12-0-1 record versus Vancouver, but the Canucks were able to treat their fans in the home finale with a 4-2 win at Rogers Arena Tuesday.

After a scoreless second period, former Los Angeles Kings player Tanner Pearson had the first goal in the period again. With 8:42 to go, the score was initially waved off with a whistle, but was subsequently overturned. Pete DeBoer then followed the call up with a challenge for goalie interference, but the referee’s decision stood.  

One goal later, the Sharks had a 6-4 power play in the final five minutes of the period for the third time, but it was the first time they were down during it. The scenario went quite the opposite way, as Troy Stecher scored at 18:30, shortly after goalie Martin Jones vacated his post.

San Jose fell behind early after Pearson scored at 1:28 of the first.

Kevin Labanc though, was able to tie the game at 5:09. It was his second goal in two games  and marked a six-game point streak

Then Joe Pavelski made a triumphant return, after missing a week’s worth of games which spanned over two weeks. He replied, “felt good to be back with the guys and the game.”

After being stuffed on the left side, he passed behind the net to Joe Thornton, who passed to Tomas Hertl and back to Pavelski, who scored the go-ahead goal on the man advantage at 10:47. Hertl continued a a five-game point streak and Thornton earned his second straight assist, matching him on the all-time assist list with Steve Yzerman (8th place). Thornton commented, “That’s the reason I wear #19. It’s pretty cool.”   

San Jose outshot Vancouver 12-6.

In the second, Stecher passed up ice to Loui Eriksson, where Jones robbed him up close.

The Sharks’ Jacob Middleton earned his first NHL penalty, when he was called for tripping at 5:03. It was Middleton’s second game. He last played January 5.

With under five minutes to go in the middle period, Jones went post to post to block Brock Boeser.

San Jose’s Micheal Haley blocked Luke Schenn’s shot with his hand during the opening five minutes of the third and headed to the locker room.

Markus Grandland scored the game-winner at 13:30 off a deflection.

The Sharks had 35 shots on net after just 15 versus the Calgary Flames. San Jose has now killed ten straight penalties.

Despite the turn of events in the game, Thornton expressed optimism, “We got two kind of practice shots at this again and then the real season starts.”

Up Next: The Sharks finish their road regular season against the Edmonton Oilers Thursday at 6 pm.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Final Four–Who’s going to win it all?; Stanford eliminated by Norte Dame women; plus more

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Photo credit: @SInow

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 The Final Four is amongst us and taking a look at each game this coming Sunday. Taking a look at Auburn-Virginia, Auburn has been the surprise — do you see this game being a real contest?

#2 Texas Tech-Michigan State is the next game on Sunday. The Red Raiders gave it their all when they beat Gonzaga last Sunday and the Spartans are one the winningest and high-ranking teams in the Tournament.

#3 The Stanford Women (31-5) and Notre Dame (34-3) battled it out, but after giving it their all all season long, the Cardinal could not withstand and lost to the Fighting Irish 84-68.

#4 The Oakland A’s started the 2019 season with two loses in Tokyo to the Seattle Mariners. Since that trip, it looks like the A’s have shaken off the jet lag and have been on track winning taking three of four from the Angels since coming back to Oakland and a win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night to open another four-game series.

#5 The San Jose Sharks’ troubles continue after they dropped their eighth loss in nine games to the Western Conference first place Calgary Flames on Sunday. The win secures the Flames for first place and what was worse was that it was done on the Sharks’ home ice.

Barbara Mason does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Flames Roast Sharks 5-3, Sharks to Face Las Vegas in First Round

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks fell 5-3 to the Calgary Flames at SAP Center Sunday. The win clinched the Western Conference for Calgary, while the loss cemented San Jose’s playoff position at second in the Pacific Division. They are now certain to face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Calgary goals came from Sean Monahan, Mark Jankowski, Dalton Prout, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc. Flames goalie Mike Smith made 12 saves in the win, while Sharks goalie Aaron Dell made 23 saves in the loss.

The Sharks are still without Joe Pavelski, Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek. Pavelski and Karlsson are expected to return for the playoffs if not before. Asked about what he hopes the team will accomplish before playoffs, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

I want to get healthy. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. I think it catches up to you. You know, you can go to the well so many times with guys but I think we’re missing some of our key people here. And it shows in a game like that, against a team that is healthy at this time of year that’s one of the top teams in the league and we had a hard time with it.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon was also asked about how the injury list changes the game. He said:

I don’t think defense is one guy or one D-pair or one forward or one goalie, to be honest. I think for us, over the years that’s kind of been our brand of hockey, is defensive style, and you definitely see the result when we get away from that. I think all around we’re trying to be a little more aggressive but I think we’ve got to kind of find that happy medium for it.

Timo Meier gave the Sharks an early lead 12:01 into the first period. Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi were in the corner competing for the puck against two Flames. They got the puck out of the corner to the face-off circle, where Meier had just arrived. He got control of the puck while reversing direction just enough to use a defenseman as a screen and shoot the puck past Smith on the far side. It was Meier’s 30th of the season, a career high. Donskoi and Couture got the assists.

The Sharks made it through the first 10 minutes of the opening period without giving up a goal but the Flames heated up in the second half. At 14:58, Sean Monahan tied the game with a quick shot off a feed from Johnny Gaudreau. While Marc-Edouard Vlasic harried Gaudreau and Justin Braun guarded the passing lane, no one was really on Monahan as he slid up to the blue paint. Assists went to Gaudreau and Rasmus Andersson.

At 15:29, Mark Jankowski gave Calgary the lead, pulling the puck out of a crowd that was moving across the slot. His quick shot went under Dell to the back of the net. Assists went to James Neal and Austin Czarnik.

Less than a minute later, again, the Flames scored to make it 3-1. Dalton Prout, with his first goal since 2016, snuck by Vlasic and Couture in the neutral zone to chase the 1-on-1 between Tim Heed and Andrew Mangiapane. Mangiapane passed to Prout as they approached the net and Prout’s shot beat Dell. Assists went to Mangiapane and Garnet Hathaway.

During the first period, the Flames had 11 shots to the Sharks’ 6, and Calgary own 67% of the face-offs.

The only goal in the second period went to the Flames when Mikael Backlund made it 4-1 at 7:27. Receiving Noah Hanifin’s pass from the boards, Backlund stopped it with his skate and tried to get control of it but failed. Instead, it pinballed across the goal mouth and the off of Joakim Ryan’s skate and into the net. Assists went to Hanifin and Gaudreau.

The Flames out-shot the Sharks 14-3 and won 56% of the face-offs in the second period. The Sharks took two penalties to Calgary’s one.

The Sharks had a little more than a minute of power play time to start the third period, and got another power play at 2:01 but did not score on either of those.

At 5:23, the Sharks finally got one back. Tomas Hertl made a big zone entry, pushing through and dancing around defenders. He carried the puck down below the face-off dot before passing it across the ice to Timo Meier. Meier sent it back across the ice to Logan Couture, who had just arrived in the slot. His shot went in before Mike Smith could get across. It was Couture’s 27th goal of the season. Meier and Hertl got the assists.

Calgary took that one back about three minutes later. Sharks and Flames converged behind the Sharks net and when the puck came back out, Mark Giordano and Michael Frolik were set up on either side of the ice with a clear view of Dell. Giordano passed it to Frolik for the shot and Dell could not get across in time. Assists went to Giordano and Matthew Tkachuk.

Kevin Labanc got one more for the Sharks at 16:34 of the third. He had just passed the puck to Tim Heed in the slot and Tim Heed tapped it right back to him for the shot from the right side. It was Labanc’s 15th of the season. Assists went to Heed and Joakim Ryan.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Vancouver against the Canucks at 7:00 PM PT.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Yotes-Wild battle for Wild Card; Caps’ Ovi makes it a 50-goal season; Sharks win! Get home ice in first round; plus more

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photo from arizonarepublic.com: The Arizona Coyotes Derek Stepan (21) and the Colorado Avalanche’s Alexander Kerfoot (13) anticipate the puck in last Friday night’s game. The Coyotes and Minnesota Wild are tussling for a Wild Card berth.

On the NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum

1 Coyotes, Wild battle for shot at second West Wild Card berth

2 Washington’s Alex Ovechkin posts his eighth 50-goal season

3 Sharks end losing streak, secure home ice for round one

4 Islanders clinch East playoff spot with 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabre

5 Houston and Cincinnati in the NHL? It almost happened in the 1977 NHL-WHA merger talks

Join Daniel on the NHL podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Break Bad Streak, Beat Knights 4-3 in OT

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks ended their seven game losing streak Saturday, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime. It was a good preview of the playoffs, possibly even a playoff matchup if the standings remain as they are. Each team got credit for 40 hits. Between hits, a lot of goals were scored too. For San Jose, goals came from Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Brent Burns. Las Vegas goals came from William Karlsson, Cody Eakin and Shea Theodore. Martin Jones made 23 saves in the win while Vegas goaltender Malcolm Subban made 30 saves in the loss.

Vegas scored first at 3:54. The Sharks had just thwarted a nice play by Vegas, turning what could have easily been a goal into a puck behind the net. Unfortunately, Vegas had control of that puck and Jonathan Marchessault made a pass from below the goal line to the slot, where William Karlsson was open with a clear view of Martin Jones. It was Karlsson’s 24th of the season. Assists went to Marchessault and Reilly Smith.

The rest of the period was littered with matching penalties. An interference penalty to Marcus Sorensen was matched by an embellishment penalty to Colin Miller. Joe Thornton’s high-sticking penalty was matched by a roughing penalty to Ryan Reaves. Reaves also got a misconduct on that one.

The Sharks tied the game just under a minute into the second period. Tomas Hertl caught a stray rebound from a Joonas Donskoi shot. Hertl then wove his way around a defender and poked the puck between skaters and shot it past the Malcolm Subban. It was Hertl’s 35th goal of the season. Assists went to Donskoi and Timo Meier.

Just before a fight between Barclay Goodrow and William Carrier (at 3:01), Brenden Dillon was called for cross-checking, so the crowd was presented with the odd sight of a power play coming out of a fight. It did not change the score but took a little explaining.

That power play probably did set the Knights up to score at 5:30, moments after it expired. Cody Eakin was right in front of the blue paint when Deryk Engelland’s shot came in and dropped dead off of Jones’s pads. Eakin was able to gather it up and put it in the net. Assists went to Engelland and Ryan Carpenter.

The Sharks tied it again at 7:22 of the third. Tomas Hertl burst into the Vegas zone trailing one defender and slipping around another on his way to the net. He didn’t get a shot off but drew all the attention his way as he went behind the net and sent the puck forward for one of several Sharks to take a shot. Two couldn’t catch it but Evander Kane was coming in as the trailer and he found the rebound for a quick shot into an empty net. Subban was stuck in traffic to the side of the net, unable to get back for the save.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks their first lead of the night at 11:26 with a slap shot off an offensive zone faceoff. Logan Couture got the assist. It was Vlasic’s third of the season.

That lead only lasted for 38 seconds. Shea Theodore did almost exactly what Vlasic did, taking a shot off an offensive zone faceoff win by William Karlsson. It was Theodore’s 12th of the season.

The end of the third was spent mostly in penalties. First, matching roughing penalties were assigned to Timo Meier and William Carrier at 16:10. At 10:05, almost a minute after the four-on-four ended, Colin Miller was called for hooking.

That power play carried over into the extra period, right up to Brent Burns’s game winner 22 seconds into overtime. That shot came off of Couture’s pass along the blue line. A secondary assist went to Kevin Labanc.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT against the visiting Calgary Flames.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: With five games remaining, DeBoer says Sharks have time

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Photo credit: @theScore

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Sharks come into tonight’s game against the Vegas Knights with a seven-game skid and the odds of winning their next five games straight are a long shot.

#2 The Sharks have injuries with Joe Pavelski and Erik Karlsson, who the team are still measuring when they’ll return. Without them, the climb out of the hole is going to be a lot tougher.

#3 Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer says the team has time, but playing from behind every night is something you can’t do and try to finish strong in the regular season.

#4 The Sharks host the Western Conference Champions Vegas Golden Knights (42-29-6) tonight. The Knights are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.

#5 We asked Len if the recent skid is a matter of being snake bitten or there are seen and unseen problems with the team.

Len Shapiro is a former California Golden Seals media relations manager the Seals were the Bay Area’s first NHL team. Len can be heard each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks’ problems just beginning, face Vegas-Calgary this weekend; Three NHL shootouts Thursday; plus more

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the NHL podcast with Joe:

#1 The San Jose Sharks lost another one on Thursday night but they didn’t lose by two or three goals in a 5-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Did the Sharks look improved over their last seven loses or did they look just as bad.

#2 The Washington Capitals Nic Dowd scored on a deflected pass which was good enough for the win. The Caps defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.

#3 It went to a shootout and the Dallas Stars topped the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. The Stars Jami Benn scored the game winner.

#4 In another shootout the Vancouver Canucks Tanner Pearson scored a fourth round goal to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 Thursday night.

#5 The Montreal Canadiens didn’t stand a chance as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated Montreal 6-2. Oliver Bjorkstrand got two goals and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots. The Jackets are in the Eastern Conference wild card spot.

Join Joe for the NHL podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Hawks Jump On Sharks Earlier, Hand San Jose Seventh Straight Loss 5-4

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

For a portion of their game Thursday night, the San Jose Sharks looked on their way to losing for a seventh straight time, a lackluster effort yet again highlighted by poor goaltending, scoring droughts and poorly executed hockey. Then, a 3-0 deficit was trimmed and turned into a 4-4 hockey game and suddenly it looked like Team Teal had found the intestinal fortitude required to steer a ship drifting towards a waterfall. Though, the late-game magic of the Sharks’ mid-season magic run has definitely run up.

The Sharks ultimately fell to the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 and trail the Calgary Flames for the Pacific Division lead by six points with just five games remaining. Chicago took a 3-0 lead into the second period, San Jose rallied back, scoring three in the second period to tie the game 4-4 late in the second, but a Chris Kunitz goal late in a five-goal second period wound up the difference maker as San Jose couldn’t find a touch for the net in the third period.

Alex DeBrincat opened the scored 4:10 into the first on a 5-on-3 power play, and after a brief review for goaltender interference, had his 39th goal stand. Connor Murphy’s goal deflected past Sharks goalie Martin Jones just over two minutes later and Jonathan Toews scored his 33rd goal of the year with 11 minutes gone in the first.

Lukas Radil, firmly in the lineup with the glaring absence of captain Joe Pavelski, scored his seventh goal of the season a minute later to give the Sharks some late life in the first, then Gustav Nyquist scored a power play goal 2:33 into the second. Tomas Hertl picked up his second assist of the game after picking up the primary helper on his countryman Radil’s first goal since January.

DeBrincat broke the 40-goal plateau in his sophomore 4:21 into the middle stanza, but Hertl added a goal for a three-point night on another Sharks power play goal 6:29 into the second to cut the lead 4-3. The Sharks’ power play accounted for two goals, but still felt like it missed opportunities on five chances.

Timo Meier picked up his 29th goal of the year with 3:54 left in the second, but Chris Kunitz had the puck bounce of his body and into the net off Patrick Kane’s shot with 1:52 left to play. The Sharks threw just nine shots on a perfect Hawks keeper Corey Crawford in the third to drop the contest. In total, he stopped 26 of 30 Sharks shots.

The going gets tougher for San Jose over the weekend, as they face the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday night, sitting just five points ahead of the 2018 Western Conference Champions. After that, they go back-to-back, facing the Calgary Flames in a must-win game at home on Sunday if they hope to bridge the distance for the Pacific Division lead.

Sharks Miss Out on Gaining Ground in Pacific, Fall to Red Wings 3-2

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mercurynews.com photo: San Jose Sharks drop their sixth straight game to the Detroit Red Wings Monday night at SAP Center the Sharks started out before the skid with a six game winning streak. 

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks let a prime opportunity to tighten the gap from 1st place in the division slip to the wayside Monday night at home. The Sharks fell to the Detroit Red Wings 3-2, failing to take advantage of a Calgary Flames shutout loss to the cellar-dwelling Los Angeles Kings.

San Jose sits six points back of the Flames with six games left to play and seem destined for a first-round playoff nightmare match-up against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Sharks were looking to snap an 0-4-1 skid due in large part to absences by key contributors like Joe Pavelski and Erik Karlsson, but a Red Wings goal just 38 seconds into the game put a heavy weight on the Sharks early. Andreas Athanasiou added his team-leading 29th goal with 4:23 left in the second for a 2-0 edge. 

Martin Jones made three saves on breakaways to keep the Sharks in the game to open the third period, but a lackluster San Jose backcheck on the power play gave Christopher Ehn an easy short-handed rebound goal for a 3-0 lead at the 8:38 mark. 

Evander Kane would score his 28th goal as the power play continued but the Sharks couldn’t find another until Tomas Hertl scored with five seconds left in regulation. Jonathan Bernier made 39 saves to finish off the Sharks, who were expecting to feast on a struggling Winged Wheel side that will miss the playoffs for a third straight time.

San Jose draws the Chicago Blackhawks at home Thursday night, facing a team trying to keep its head above the elimination from contention waters. The Sharks will hope to right the ship by then with the team directly behind them (Vegas) and in front of them (Calgary) coming to the Shark Tank for back-to-back weekend home games.