Category: San Jose Sharks

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks come away from Vegas with a fortune; Bergeron keys Bruins win; Jets as promised will dominate; Pens have the starters

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo from bleacherreport.com: San Jose Sharks Brent Burns (88) goes for the victory lap in front of the Sharks bench after scoring on the Vegas Golden Knights at the T-Mobile Center in game 2 Saturday night

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Matt:

#1 The San Jose Sharks can breath a little easier after getting shellacked in game 1 they came back on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Center with a double overtime win 4-3 past the Vegas Golden Knights to tie the series at 1-1

#2 It took a double overtime to win it and in the first overtime stanza the off ice officials waved a Knights goal off after the review in which the Knights could have won tell us about that play?

#3 The Sharks Joe Pavelski said you want to play with a lead but sometimes with a team like Vegas you have to chase the lead

#4 Winnipeg lead the best of seven series against Nashville 1-0 the Jets can dominate

#5 The Pittsburgh Penguins lead the Washington Capitals 1-0 after a game one win. The Penguins noted for their potent offense.

#6 The Boston Bruins took game 1 past the Tampa Bay Lighting and it was thanks to a goal scored by Patrice Bergeron

Matt Harrington does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts each weekend at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Couture Scores in 2OT, Sharks Tie Series 1-1 with 4-3 Win in Vegas

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks tied the series at 1-1 against the Golden Knights with a 4-3 2OT win at the T-Mobile Arena Saturday. Logan Couture scored the game-winner and a regulation goal, while Brent Burns also scored twice in regulation. William Karlsson scored twice for the Golden Knights, while Nate Schmidt tied the game in the third for Las Vegas. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the win, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 43 saves for Las Vegas.

Not only did the Sharks lose Game One in a big way on Thursday, but they lost one of their most prolific forwards when Evander Kane was suspended for one game after cross-checking Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the head. Barclay Goodrow drew into the lineup for Game 2.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski discussed how the Sharks came back and played a better game Saturday:

You want to play with that lead, you don’t want to chase the series all the time. So for us to come out in the second, start getting a little momentum going, score a few goals, understand what can work for us and… just overall our compete level was better, our details were better. They still played a good game, it came right down to the end and a few plays and it went our way.

Martin Jones, after being in net for the 7-0 loss Thursday, explained how he resets after a loss like that: “My confidence isn’t going to get shaken from one bad game. It’s not the first time I’ve had a bad game. Yeah, I mean, you put that behind you. That’s why you have a routine and you have the way you prepare for games. That’s so you can kind of lean on that and you just get ready for the next one.”

The Sharks outshot the Golden Knights 9-5 in the first period, only to keep the score even at zero for most of the period. Martin Jones made some saves, including a remarkable one on Tuch. The teams were playing their second four on four when Deryk Engelland made a pass across goal to Alex Tuch. Having to move all the way across the crease, Jones stretched to get a pad on it for the save.

Not long after that, Las Vegas scored. The goal came off an offensive zone turnover to William Karlsson, who passed it back to Nate Schmidt on the blue line. Schmidt passed it the length of the blue line to Colin Miller, who sent a shot wide. The shot went off the boards behind to net to Karlsson, who took the shot from a bad angle. Assists went to Miller and Schmidt.

Just 26 seconds into the second period, Karlsson scored again with just a hint of a screen from Reilly Smith, who had also prevented Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s clear seconds earlier. Smith got the only assist.

A holding the stick penalty put the Sharks on the power play at 1:56. Four seconds into that penalty, Brent Burns scored with a blast through traffic. Joe Pavelski got the assist.

At 4:17, William Carrier hit Dylan DeMelo knee on knee, sending DeMelo off the ice balancing on one leg. Carrier went to the box for kneeing. DeMelo returned to the bench quickly. The Golden Knights killed the penalty off.

The Sharks were back on the power play for a third time at 6:47 when Collin Miller was called for hooking Eric Fehr. That power play did not start well and ended with an interference call to Tomas Hertl. The Sharks had a couple of shots during the ensuing four on four, and then successfully killed off the very short Vegas power play.

A brief tussle between Vlasic and Marchessault put both players in the box at 9:54 for two minutes and yet more four-on-four hockey. A little less than a minute into that, Logan Couture scored off a well-placed pass from Tomas Hertl. Hertl got the only assist but Dylan DeMelo played a big part as well, sending the puck to the net and going after it. Driving to the net, he pushed Engelland out of position so Hertl could take the puck. Hertl had to fend off two more Knights before he could make the pass, so a third might have tipped the balance.

A third goal for the Sharks came from Brent Burns at 14:07, while the teams were playing four on four for the fifth time. This time it was for matching roughing penalties to Brenden Dillon and David Perron. The two stepped away from a group mauling in the corner and fell to the ice in the blue paint.

Joe Pavelksi won an offensive zone faceoff and got it to Timo Meier, who tapped it to Burns just above the faceoff circle. Seeing a gap along the board, Burns carried the puck down behind the net and put in with a wrap around. Assists went to Meier and Pavelksi.

Las Vegas challenged the goal, as Timo Meier was pushed into Fleury by Colin Miller. Fleury was outside the crease at the time of the collision, making it impossible for him to get back in time. The goal held up.

At 19:34, Jon Merrill was called for hooking Hertl, giving the Sharks 1:31 of power play time to start the third period.

That power play didn’t produce, and at 13:28 of the period, Las Vegas tied the game. The shot came right off a faceoff from Nate Schmidt and went off of Melker Karlsson’s skate. Shea Theodore and Erik Haula got the assists.

At the end of regulation, the teams were tied at three on the scoreboard, though the Sharks had outshot the Golden Knights. The goaltenders went into this playoff overtime with a significant experience advantage to Fleury. He had won 10 of 11 overtime games, while Martin Jones had just two wins in five games.

Las Vegas started overtime with several quick shots off of speedy zone entries. In just over five minutes, the teams had already taken four icing calls, a sign of the frenetic pace at both ends of the ice.

Just over four minutes in, Barclay Goodrow got a great breakaway chance but was stopped by Fleury. That chance started a push from the Sharks, including a slippery try by Pavelski. The Knights pushed back hard but the Sharks did not give them many second chances.

That was not the case by the end of the period, when the Knights got three shots in a row. The third one went in and was reviewed after Marchessault made contact with Martin Jones’ arm and stick, pulling him out of position. The goal was overturned.

Going into the second overtime period, the Sharks had three defensemen (Vlasic, Burns and Braun) with over 30 minutes of ice time. None of the Golden Knights had played that much in the game. Paul Martin had spent the first overtime on the bench while Pete DeBoer rotated five defensemen.

The Mikkel Boedker took a stick to the face in front of the Vegas net, giving the Sharks an early power play in the period. The Sharks got two shots and some close calls but did not score. The Golden Knights gave the Sharks another try with a hooking penalty at 5:05.

The Sharks finished it off with a power play goal at 5:13. Kevin Labanc made a beautiful, patient pass across the crease through skates and sticks to Logan Couture, who took a similarly patient shot that squeezed through on the short side. Assists went to Labanc and Burns.

Conference semifinal Game 3 between the Sharks and the Golden Knights will be on Monday in San Jose at 7:00 pm PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Joe Lami: Pens open series with 3-2 win past Caps; Bruins and Bolts open game 1 Saturday; Too much Knights for Sharks; Jets-Preds face off tonite for game 1

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

@penguins photo: The Pittsburgh Penguins provided great defense to hold onto their one goal lead for the win 3-2 on Thursday night in Washington in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the best of seven round II

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Joe:

#1 Pittsburgh took game one 3-2 past the Washington Capitals to take a 1-0 series lead

#2 The Boston Bruins face off in Tampa Bay for a noon time matinee Saturday

#3 The San Jose Sharks were shelled by the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Center in game one on Thursday night.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets open up their best of seven series in Nashville tonight at 5pm this series has the feeling of a Stanley Cup Final

Joe does the Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks stymied for first time in NHL playoffs in 7-0 shutout by Golden Knights

Published on by smallforceLeave a comment

Photo credit: nhl.com/goldenknights

By Pearl Allison Lo

The San Jose Sharks became the one to suffer a 2018 Stanley Cup playoff loss first, as they were shut out 7-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Western Conference second round at the T-Mobile Arena Thursday night.

Both teams were playing for the first time in over a week after they swept their previous opponents. It was a much more lopsided game than in the teams’ previous meetings and the Knights’ first win these playoffs by more than one goal.  

Vegas scored four goals in the first period, the first two just 26 seconds apart to set up the win along with three more goals on three shots.

Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves on the defensive end. It was his third shutout this postseason and second straight shutout.

Sharks goalie Martin Jones was removed during the game and Evander Kane received a game misconduct for cross-checking Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the face while staring at him face-to-face.

11 different Knights had points. Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and two assists, Erik Haula, Alex Tuck and James Neal each had a goal and assist, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith each had three assists and David Perron had two assists.

After San Jose held Vegas on an early power play, the Knights exerted their strength beginning at 4:31 until 6:02.

Cody Eakin and Haula scored their second of the playoffs and Marchessault his first.

The game continued to trend downward for the Sharks when they followed their power play opportunity at 6:49 with a penalty 37 seconds after the end.

48 seconds later, San Jose went down to three men with another infraction. Tuck capitalized, as he weaved his way through four defenders to make it 4-0 at 11:43.

The Sharks got their own 5-on-3 chance later, but were unable to find the net.

San Jose ended the period with a flurry of shots versus Fleury (17 during the period) and Vegas had 15 blocked shots.   

Jones made two saves in the second, 14 seconds apart. However, Shea Theodore took Jones out of the game 40 seconds later, with the Knights’ fifth goal. Smith started the play by intercepting a pass at the other end. Theodore’s goal came at 3:28.  

Neal nearly had Vegas’ sixth goal and second on the power play at the end of the period, but it was negated.

While there were already a number of penalties in the game, the atmosphere was not chippy until the penalties at 3:25 of the third. First, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski received a slashing call after he just came out of the box 17 seconds earlier for interference. The bigger concurrent penalty came to Kane for cross-checking Bellemare in the face twice, which was a game misconduct.

This resulted in the Knights’ second 5-on-3 advantage and Colin Miller made San Jose pay with his first career playoff goal at 4:32.

Neal then got his goal with Vegas’ second straight on the power play, a quick wraparound.

The Sharks’ shots were few at first in the closing period, the first coming with 17:13 (shorthanded), 10:50 and 8:24 left.

Game Notes: It was San Jose goalie Aaron Dell’s playoff debut. He made 19 saves off 21 shots and his counterpart Jones made eight saves off 13 shots. The Knights’ William Carrier had a game-high eight hits. The Sharks’ Logan Couture had a game-high six shots on goal. Bellemare had a game-high five blocked shots.

Up Next: Game 2 will reconvene in Vegas at 5 pm PT Saturday.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Will going on an almost two week layoff for Vegas and San Jose have them fresh or will their timing will be off?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The NHL first round is not quite over yet, giving both the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights some six days off at this point as the Eastern Conference continues their first round playoffs.

#2 Does the six days rest give fresh bodies on the ice once the second round starts or does that mean their timing could be off kilter when they come back?

#3 What are some of the factors for the Sharks to get the sweep in the first round?

#4 Talk about the Sharks offense and what you see them bringing to the second round of the playoffs against a team like the Knights?

#5 Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer had his struggles in the regular season, but after sweeping the Ducks and what he’s brought in post season he has this team prepared.

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks podcast each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

All Grown Up from 2014: Sharks far more business-like, focused in Game 4–up 3-0–this time

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SAN JOSE–On the April 2014 night that the Sharks were supposed to send their old nemesis from La La land packing, a substantial project that was accomplished in 2011, but didn’t get finished in 2013–when the Kings escaped in Game 7 of the conference-semis–they were all over the place, hardly focused enough for the task at hand.

Most obviously, Antti Niemi’s goaltending wasn’t where it needed to be. Even as the Sharks raced to three wins in the first three games of the series, Coach Todd McLellan’s chirping about the goaltending could be heard loud and clear. But he wasn’t all that happy with his team’s penalty killing and physicality either.

Team leaders Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau butted heads with their coach frequently in then his sixth year of seven coaching the team, and they weren’t helping their individual causes by tearing up the Kings. While Thornton and Marleau weren’t no shows, both were on the ice too frequently for too many of the opponent’s goals in that series.

Dan Boyle was well on his way to a contentious, undignified end to his San Jose career. Younger stars Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture were in the midst of breakout years. Who’s team was it that season? With the new wave ascending, and the old guard aging, it was often hard to tell.

In Game 4 at Staples Center, the Sharks committed four of their whopping 10 penalties in the first period. But they survived, tied 1-1. But in the second, a couple more trips to the penalty box ignited the Kings who scored three goals, and then a fourth just 34 seconds into the final period. Down 5-2, McLellan pulled Niemi, and both teams tried to send messages with a couple of well-intentioned fights. The Sharks were still in control, up 3-1, but the Kings were well on their way to getting back into the series.

We all know what transpired next.  The Sharks shriveled, got shut out in Game 5, then scored just one goal each in Games 6 and 7. Jonathan Quick took over the series, and the Kings became just the fourth team in league history to brush aside a 3-0 deficit.

“When I look at it, I look at it as they fixed their problems, we didn’t,” McLellan admitted. “Our problems got progressively worse as we went along,”

Only six Sharks remain from Game 4 of that series four years ago. A seventh, Thornton, is injured, didn’t face the Ducks, and isn’t expected back for the start of the series to come with the Vegas Golden Knights. Couture, Pavelski, Thomas Hertl, Justin Braun, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns all have that 2014 series in their memory banks, and that seemed to fuel them on Wednesday. Pavelski took the lead, and put the mindset into words.

“The biggest lesson you can learn in the playoffs: the commitment level and what you have to sacrifice. Whether you win or lose, it has to be there on a nightly basis to give yourself the best chance,” Pavelski said.

“We asked them to come into this series and play with composure,” Coach Peter DeBoer said. “We knew what we were going to get, they were going to try to push us out of the series physically. We stood in there and did it without taking penalties and with discipline.”

In winning 2-1 to wrap up the series, and earn at least a week of recuperation and time to prepare for the Knights, the Sharks showed how they’re in a much better place.

Martin Jones, ironically the backup goaltender for the Kings four years ago, is standing on his ear.  Not only did he rack up the saves versus Anaheim, he came up with the biggest when the momentum could have shifted. On Wednesday, he came up big at the end of the second period, and then again, early in the third.  Jones had 30 saves in all.

The Ducks managed just four goals in the series, further illustrating Jones’ dominance.

Hertl came up with the game-winning goal–on an assist from Vlasic–less than 90 seconds after the Ducks broke through to tie it.  The goal helped illustrate how the Sharks are getting contributions from four lines, which DeBoer highlighted after the game.

Evander Kane is playing his part as the high-profile, late season acquisition. Pavelski and Couture are the leaders on and off the ice, and DeBoer isn’t a wearing voice.

In fact, he’s an occasionally funny voice.

“I know we’re going to be heavy, heavy underdogs (against the Pacific Division champion Knights). So hopefully, you guys will write that , and we’ll go from there,” he said.

 

Sharks Sweep Ducks With 2-1 Win, Golden Knights Await in Round Two

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @sliccardo

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks swept the Anaheim Ducks, winning 2-1 Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Team Teal draws the Pacific Division champions, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who capped a shocking regular season run with a sweep of the Los Angeles Kings to open their first postseason foray.

Tomas Hertl responded to an Anaheim third period goal with the game-winner just 1:16 later. Marcus Sorensen also scored his third goal of the playoffs for San Jose. Premature Conn Smythe candidate Martin Jones made 30 saves for his 19th career playoff win, allowing four goals over the four-game masterpiece.

Jones needed to be stingy, thanks to four Anaheim power plays but the North Vancouver native was locked in. The lone blemish on the netminder’s ledger came 7:53 into the final period as a result of lax defense.

Brent Burns failed to stop a zone entry from the Ducks that saw the Puck skitter down the boards into the corner to Jones’ left. Ryan Kesler dug the Puck free, catching Burns sagged too far off to prevent a centering pass from behind the net. Kesler connected with Andrew Cogliano just a few feet out in the slot for a jam shot past Jones.

Hertl responded, stymieing a momentum shift before it could take hold. His shot through traffic beat netminder John Gibson to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead with just under 11 minutes left.

The final moments of play proved tense, with the Sharks producing a number of near-misses with Gibson pulled for the extra attacker. Ultimately though, San Jose bled the clock out to wrap up a date with Vegas.

Coach Peter DeBoer’s Sharks weren’t expected to handily dispatch the Ducks after stumbling out of home ice in the first round with a 1-4-1 record over the final six games of the first round. The strengths that made the Sharks look a near-lock to host in the first round in Mid-March were on display throughout the first series of the playoffs, chiefly good goaltending and scoring depth.

Look no further than the Sharks first scorer Wednesday day. Marcus Sorensen appeared in just 32 games with the Sharks, scoring seven points. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a point-per-game player. The winger scored his third goal of the series 5:43 into the game, given San Jose its eighth point from the fourth line alone this series. Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture also are all on a point-per-game or better run.

The Sharks will need all the team speed and scoring depth they can muster against a stingy Golden Knights team. Vegas allowed just three goals in its dismissal of the Kings, with Marc-Andre Fleury collecting a pair of shutouts to add to his already polished postseason resume. Both teams will be well rested as both teams need to wait for the other six series to wrap up before beginning play.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks ready to put the finishing touches on Anaheim; Teams face off tonight at SAP for Game 4

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks are on the brink of advancing to the second round. All they need is Game 4 to advance and sweep the Ducks.

#2 Was it that easy for the Sharks to win the first three games in Game 3? It wasn’t even a contest with a 8-1 win.

#3 You can pick anyone of the Sharks who could be the number one star. It seems like a total team effort for them to go up 3-0.

#4 The Ducks stars, in particular Richard Rakell, whose the Ducks’ leading scorer has pretty much been mesmerized by the Sharks’ optical illusion of defense.

#5 So here it is Game 4 tonight at SAP and this could be the Sharks chance to advance to the next round. Mary Lisa tells us how they will do.

Mary Lisa is a beat writer for the San Jose Sharks and does the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Shell Ducks 8-1, Look to Sweep Anaheim

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

nhl.com photo: The San Jose Sharks left winger Marcus Sorenson (20) gets hugged up from teammates center Eric Fehr (16) and center Melker Karlsson (68) as Sorenson scored against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center on Monday night in game three

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks have been the faster, stronger, more composed team through three games of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and now they sit just one game away from a sweep of the Anaheim Ducks. San Jose dominated Anaheim 8-1 to win their first home game of the playoffs and put their SoCal rivals on the brink of elimination while setting a franchise record in goals scored in a playoff contest.

Eight different players scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made and astounding 45 saves in the throttling of the Anaheim Ducks. San Jose used its speed to keep the Ducks on their heels, scoring four of their goals on rushes. Likewise, four goals were scored by San Jose’s power play unit, a group that went four for seven as a whole against an undisciplined Anaheim squad.

Logan Couture opened the scoring 3:44 into the first period after Mikkel Boedker skated the puck up the ice to Gibson’s left. The Dane drew the Ducks defenders to him, allowing for a pass across the crease to Couture. Couture buried the one-timer for his second goal of the series.

Rickard Rakell, the Ducks leading scoring in the regular season, finally found his way onto the score sheet with 6:20 left in the first period to tie the game on the power play.
San Jose ripped off four consecutive goals in the middle frame for the decisive edge. Evander Kane and Joonas Donskoi played give-and-go against the Ducks, with Donskoi finishing off the play to Gibson’s left 1:15 into the frame for his first of the series. Marcus Sorensen scored in a near-mirror image of Couture’s game for a goal and Evander Kane’s first career playoff goal in game 1, outwaiting an impatient Gibson before pulling the puck to the backhand in the crease for a 3-1 lead 3:41 into the second. Sorensen now has two goals in the series.

Eric Fehr scored his first Sharks playoff goal with 6:17 left in the second period after the Ducks took a lax approach to him on the rush. Fehr worked from the left wall in, firing a puck between Francois Beauchemin’s legs and under Gibson’s armpit for a 4-1 lead.

The Ducks showed their identity following the Sharks fourth goal, completing falling apart and trying to initiate extracurriculars following the whistle on a frozen puck by Jones. The Sharks drew a power play out of it, then went up a man after Beauchemin slashed Tomas Hertl on the man-advantage. The Sharks converted up a man, with Hertl beating Gibson for his second goal of the postseason.

San Jose lit the lamp three times in the final frame, with all goals in the final stanza coming on the power play. Joe Pavelski scored his first of the playoffs, Evander Kane kicked the extra point for his third goal in as many career playoff games and 21 year-old Timo Meier scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal. Anaheim committed a total of six penalties for 20 minutes in the final 20 minutes.

‘San Jose has a chance to eliminate the Ducks in game four of the series at the SAP Center Wednesday night. Other than Joe Thornton, the team enters the game relatively healthy after escaping Monday night unscathed. They’ll look to continue to receive strong play from netminder Jones who is 3-0 with a .970 save percentage this postseason and just locked down his 18th playoff victory.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks roll into the tank with lots of momentum; Could this kettle of fish sweep the Ducks?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

@ SanJoseSharks photo: Jubilant even in practice the San Jose Sharks celebrate a practice goal at Sharks Ice in San Jose on Monday morning

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Can the San Jose Sharks win tonight pushing the visiting Anaheim Ducks to the brink of being swept out of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs?

#2 What attributes to the Sharks success as some of the key elements of getting off to such a great start

#3 The NHL playoffs are always a different season from the regular season. The Sharks who lost five of their last six games of the regular season certainly regrouped at the top of this first round.

#4 The Sharks Evander Kane scored twice during game one has meant so much to this team

Len Shapiro does the Sharks podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com