Category: San Jose Sharks

Sharks Fall to Golden Knights 3-2, Knights Clinch 1st in Pacific

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sjsharks.com photo: The Vegas Knights’ center Cody Eakin (21) and the San Jose Sharks Logan Couture (39) chase down the puck during Saturday night’s game at T Mobile Center

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost on the road to the Las Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 Saturday. Las Vegas goals came from Shea Theodore, Oscar Lindberg and William Karlsson. Sharks goals came from Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.  Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for the win, while Martin Jones made 35 saves for the Sharks.

Saturday’s win clinched first place in the Pacific Division for the Knights. Sharks forward Chris Tierney said, of the NHL’s newest team:

They have a lot of speed. You know, they create chances off of turnovers and they move pucks well in the o-zone. If you’re sleeping a bit or if you lose your guy they’re going to find him and make plays. They play with a lot of speed, a lot of energy, and they cane hurt you if you don’t manage the puck well.

As the playoffs approach, the return of injured players is particularly good news for the Sharks. Saturday saw Joonas Donskoi return for his first game since March 14. Joel Ward played his third game since his lengthy absence. Barclay Goodrow and Eric Fehr are out now. Fehr is expected back before Goodrow, who in recovering from finger surgery. No return date is set yet for Joe Thornton, though he has been skating.

Shea Theodore opened the scoring in the first period at 2:21. A nice play from blue line to faceoff circle and back up to the high slot was aided by a good screen from Alex Tuch. Assists went to William Karlsson and Deryk Engelland.

The Sharks answered back at 7:14 with a goal from Joe Pavelski. Joonas Donskoi carried the puck into the zone along the boards and found Timo Meier near the faceoff dot. Meier’s shot created a big rebound that went right to Pavelski for the goal.

The second Vegas goal came after Kevin Labanc’s failed clear landed right on Shea Theodore’s stick at 3:03 of the second period. Theodore’s shot went through traffic, off Oscar Lindberg’s stick and right under Jones. Theodore got the only assist.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic tied the game at 9:50. The Sharks had just added an extra skater during a delayed penalty against Las Vegas when Joe Pavelski took a shot from the blue line. The shot hit Fleury and came back out for Vlasic to put away. It was Vlasic’s 11th goal of the season, a career high. Assists to Pavelski and Justin Braun.

The Knights challenged the goal for goaltender interference, as Timo Meier looked close to Fleury. Meier and Fleury did make some contact. but not inside the crease, and well before the shot came through.

William Karlsson scored the game winner short-handed at 8:35 of the third period. The Sharks power play was struggling mightily, hardly able to get through the neutral zone. Karlsson picked off a failed pass from Joe Pavelski to Brent Burns and took off on a breakaway. He went all the way to the net, then let the puck go between his legs for a nice little trick shot.

The Sharks play next on Tuesday in San Jose, against the Dallas Stars at 7:30 pm PT.

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Emergency goalie sets NHL record; Canucks get a comeback win; Sharks drop two straight; plus more

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Photo credit: @BarDown

On the NHL podcast with Joe Lami:

#1 What could you say about emergency goalie Scott Foster, a 36 year old accountant by day, back up goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks by night? Foster, who stopped seven shots after the Hawks’ first two goalies were hurt, helped in defeating the Winnipeg Jets 6-2. Foster set the NHL record for length of time played by an emergency goalie. The previous record was under 60 seconds. Foster was put into a situation where he was greatly needed as opposed to previous emergency goalies who played for just a few seconds and got the job done.

#2 The Vancouver Canucks got by the Edmonton Oilers 2-1. The Canucks’ goals from Sam Gagner and Derrick Pousiot were all that was needed. The Canucks were down 1-0, but came back with goals in the second and third periods.

#3 The Minnesota Wild made no doubts about who was going to dominate this game as they got three goals in the second period. The Wild got two goals from Zach Parise.

#4 The San Jose Sharks dropped their second straight game. This time to the Nashville Predators 5-3. Coming out of a 2-2 tie after the first period. the Preds got to work with a goal in second period and scored twice in the third period.

#5 It was all Blue Jackets in a 5-1 win past the Calgary Flames. Columbus’ Pierre Luc DuBois got a hat trick in the contest.

Joe Lami does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose to Predators 5-3, End Point Streak at 9 Games

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to the Nashville Predators Thursday, their second loss in a row on the current road trip. Nashville goals came from Kyle Turris, Viktor Arvidsson, Craig Smith, Ryan Ellis and Nick Bonino. Sharks goals came from Logan Couture, Brenden Dillon and Mikkel Boedker. In goal, Nashville’s Juuse Saros made 39 saves for the win, while Martin Jones made 27 saves for the Sharks. The game was whistle-riddled, including a high-pressure penalty shot for the Sharks in the final two minutes of the game. Despite eleven penalties called, neither team scored on the power play.

Thursday’s loss ended the Sharks’ nine-game point streak, but Sharks forward Logan Couture still said: “It was a good game, it was a fun game to be a part of. It was back and forth, I thought it had a lot of grade A looks against a very good defensive team. Their goaltender made some big time saves down the stretch there. But yeah, it was a fun game.”

This was the Sharks’ second loss in a row to Nashville. On February 22, Nashville won 7-1 in San Jose. Of Thursday’s road game, Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said:

They’re the top team in the West and I think we came in and pretty much proved to ourselves that we can hang with them, and not just hang with but play well. I think we deserved better tonight, we had a lot of chances. Their goalie played well, credit to him. But I think we really took a step in our game, coming back in here after the last time.

The first period was thick with scoring. Early in the first period, Kyle Turris gave Nashville their first lead of the game. P.K Subban’s hard shot from the point rebounded off Jones and went right to Turris’ stick. Assists went to Subban and Craig Smith.

Less than two minutes later, Logan Couture tied it. As the puck came to him along the blue line, Brent Burns saw Couture skating through the high slot and hit him with a one-touch pass. Couture carried the puck briefly before taking a wrist shot that beat Saros on the short side. Assists went to Burns and Mikkle Boedker.

Just past the midpoint of the period, Nashville took another lead when Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg turned a blue line giveaway into a two-on-none against Martin Jones. Assists went to Forsberg and Ryan Johansen.

The Sharks tied the game, again less than two minutes later, with a goal from Brenden Dillon. Dillon’s shot found its way through a line of moving traffic, including a couple of Sharks, but touched no one and gave Dillon his fifth of the season. The lone assists went to Jannik Hansen.

The second period saw six penalties and just one goal. Craig Smith scored at 10:38. Kyle Turris carried the puck across both blue lines before dropping it to Ryan Ellis. Ellis took the shot, creating a rebound that Smith picked up as he arrived behind the traffic. Assists went to Turris and Ellis.

Mikkel Boedker tied it up next, at 5:54 of the third period. Just as a Sharks power play ended, several Sharks took shots from in fairly close before the Boedker moved the puck away from the net. He skated across the slot and took a shot from the top of the faceoff crcle. His shot seemed to hit one of the Nashville players in front of the net, then dropped and bounced across the line. Assists went to Chris Tierney and Timo Meier.

Ryan Ellis gave the Predators their final lead at 10:06. Ryan Johansen carried the puck through the neutral zone and handed it off to Viktor Arvidsson. Arvidsson tried to center it but it bounced off a skate and then pinballed off the boards to Ellis high in the slot. His shot caught Jones trying to move across. Assists went to Filip Forsberg and Arvidsson.

The final few minutes to the third period were frenetic. The Sharks had a power play at 16:50 after P.K Subban put the puck over the glass, and before that ended, Ryan Ellis was called for displacing the net. Logan Couture was awarded a penalty shot for the Ellis penalty but he could not beat Saros. The Predators killed off the Subban penalty and got a goal from Nick Bonino in the empty net with 17 seconds left in regulation.

The Sharks are still in second place in the Pacific Division, five points behind the Las Vegas Golden Knights and five points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks next play in Las Vegas on Saturday at 7:30 pm PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks didn’t go on without a fight in loss to Blues to snap win streak

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh:

#1 The loss by the San Jose Sharks to the St. Louis Blues to end their eight-game win streak didn’t go without a fight as the game was forced into overtime by the Sharks as they tried to keep their streak alive.

#2 St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko took a pass from Vladimir Sobotka from behind the net. Sobotka took the puck in front of the net and passed it to Tarasenko show put it past San Jose goalie Aaron Dell, who was expecting it long side; but Tarasenko got the goal short side at 2:33 in the overtime stanza to get the Blues past the Sharks.

#3 Dell was left off balance on Tarasenko’s shot thinking he was going to get to the puck, but the game-winner made it in.

#4 Tarasenko is the Blues’ leading scorer with 31 goals and has also shot for 30 or more in each of the last four years.

#5 The Sharks head into Nashville for Thursday night’s contest. The Predators snapped a three-game loss streak on Tuesday loss streak and are looking to start putting a win streak together with the Sharks coming to town. This should be one of the best games of the week head-to-head.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks’ win streak ends at eight with 3-2 OT loss to Blues

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Photo credit: NHL.com/blues

By Pearl Allison Lo

The St. Louis Blues ended San Jose’s win streak with a 3-2 overtime win at the Scottrade Center Tuesday.

It was the Blues’ fourth overtime win during their now six-game streak.

It was another close game for both teams and the Sharks’ second back-to-back game that went beyond regulation.  

St. Louis, however, was the more desperate team in the Wild Card race. With the win, they moved above the blue line alongside the Los Angeles Kings. Vladimir Tarasenko won the game with his second of the match, the only time the Blues led in the game.

San Jose lost forward Barclay Goodrow due to an upper-body injury just 1:56 into the game, but was still able to start out with the lead for the third game in a row. Evander Kane struck for the third game in a row with his fifth point during that time.

However, the Sharks left the period without the lead again as Oskar Sundqvist scored his first goal and first with St. Louis to tie it at 17:43.

San Jose able to go ahead again in the second. Brent Burns found Pavelski who hit the top left corner at 7:07. Pavelski now has 20 goals and Burns 50 assists. The power play goal ended the Blues’ three-game streak of limiting their opponents to a lone goal.

St. Louis duplicated the opening third by responding in the same period with their own on the man advantage. Tarasenko hit his mark at the top right corner from the middle of the right faceoff circle at 12:03. It was Tarasenko’s 30th goal on the season.

Both teams stayed tied at two apiece as they searched for the game-winner. The Blues had an especially spirited attack in the third starting with 7:45 left. In two minutes, St. Louis garnered two shots, two missed shots, one blocked shot and two hits.

The Sharks’ Logan Couture mentioned coach playing “three and a quarter lines” in the third and it “caught up to us.”

St. Louis had all three shots in overtime. Brayden Schenn had one of them, a blocked shot four seconds later and a missed shot. Alex Pietrangelo, who had a game-high five shots, had the Blues’ second shot.

Tarasenko’s goal came after Sobotka preoccupied San Jose at one end before receiving his backwards pass.

The Sharks lost Barclay Goodrow in the middle of the first period. Sharks coach Pete DeBoer after the game mentioned it as an upper-body injury, but the extent beyond that is murky.  

Game Notes: Jake Allen, who has been in net each game of the Blues’ win streak, made 22 saves in the win for St. Louis. On the other side, Aaron Dell made 29 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.

Up Next: The Sharks visit the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena Saturday at 5 pm PST.

Sharks edge Blackhawks 4-3 in shootout for eighth straight win

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Photo credit: NHL.com/Sharks

By Pearl Allison Lo

San Jose Sharks’s Kevin Labanc went top-shelf short-side in the shootout to jump over the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 at the United Center Monday night.

This made the Sharks’ win streak into the longest since 2011.

In a much tighter battle then these two teams’ last meeting, it came down to shootout round No. 4. The Sharks’ Logan Couture scored in the first round and the Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp scored in the third. San Jose goalie Martin Jones now has won seven straight.

Chicago is out of the playoffs, but they certainly did not play like it. San Jose made it 3-2 at 15:41 of the third, but Sharp returned the favor at 17:38.

The Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat had a goal and an assist.

The Sharks opened the scoring with a goal at 9:15 of the first. Jannik Hansen picked up a turnover, circled around the left faceoff circle and Marcus Sorensen was there to put in the lateral pass from across the goal line. It was Sorensen’s first goal since February 15.

However, Chicago eclipsed San Jose’s lead in a short span later. The tying goal came by way of an errant pass by Tomas Hertl as the puck moved quickly in the opposite direction. Vinnie Hinostroza shot from one side and DeBrincat made sure the laser rebound went into the net at 15:32. DeBrincat tied a team-high with his 26th goal.  

Connor Murphy followed to make it It 2-1 at 16:50. It was a long wait as the 25-year old birthday boy’s last goal came on November 9. Murphy retrieved a clear attempt and scored through a screen from the point as the puck went off goalie Martin Jones.

The Blackhawks retained the edge until Mikkel Boedker picked off a pass and connected with Evander Kane. Kane then went on a breakaway to score five-hole with his third goal in two games at 16:39 of the second.

The Sharks’ third goal took some physicality and finesse. Barclay Goodrow absorbed a hit and as the puck traveled, Hertl snapped it up and swiveled his way to a score.  

Sharp’s goal was surprising as well, as it bounced off Jones after he made the initial save. 

San Jose coach Pete DeBoer said of overtime, you “become a fan,” and it sure was entertaining.

Both goalies smothered early chances in the crease different ways, Chicago goalie Anton Forsberg falling back. Hertl reached up with his glove to help Jones after a save. Kane had another breakaway attempt but was unable to convert this time.

Both goalies were .500 in the shootout before it ended.

Game Notes: Kane had a game-high 10 shots. The most anyone else had was three.

Up Next: The Sharks will aim for win No. 9 with a back-to-back versus the Saint Louis Blues Tuesday at 5 pm PST.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks take seven-game win streak into Chicago tonight; Dillon and his Gordie Howe hat trick; plus more

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Sharks are on a seven-game win streak. They’re getting their last victory 5-1 and sweeping Calgary Flames in the season series 4-0.

#2 The Sharks got goals from Brendon Dillon, Janik Hansen, Evander Kane, and Justin Braun. A Gordy Howe hat trick for Dillon.

#3 Fr Sharks goaltender Marty Jones picks up his 37th save against NJ for the win.

#4 The Sharks are 10-2 since Kane’s arrival, and with seven games left, the Sharks are seven points behind Vegas.

#5 A look how the Sharks are doing on the on power kills, penalty plays and upcoming game for tonight in Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, and Vegas.

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

 

 

Sharks Win Seventh in a Row, Trounce Flames 5-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks won their seventh straight game 5-1 against the Calgary Flames Saturday. Sharks goals came from Brenden Dillon, Jannik Hansen, Evander Kane, and Justin Braun. Brenden Dillon came away with a Gordie Howe hat trick, while Kane missed one by an assist. The lone Flames goal came from Michael Stone.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 37 saves for the win, while Flames goaltender David Rittich made 28 saves in a losing effort.

Of the importance of this winning streak, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I think this is the time of year you want to be playing well, you want to get hot. For me, it’s about our game. You know, the results are nice, the wins are nice. You know, out of the seven games, this was probably our sloppiest of the seven but we found a way to win and our goaltender was great. So we’ll clean a few things up but you’re never going to complain too much about winning.

Despite the recent additional injuries, the Sharks have kept up their momentum with the help of some good depth. Stepping in for Joakim Ryan is Paul Martin, who has missed most of this season with an injury.

Brenden Dillon scored the first go, at 7:52. Chris Tierney caught a short pass from Timo Meier and made a beautiful behind the back pass to the trailing Dillon, setting the Sharks defenseman up perfectly in the slot. It was Dillon’s fourth goal of the year. After the game, Chris Tierney talked about how he saw that play: “I just saw him coming in late and Timo dropped it too me and I thought their guy was kind of stepping up on me. So I thought he’d be the trailer coming in late, hopefully, he found it.”

Jannik Hansen scored next, his second of the season, and his second in the last three games. Hansen deflected a Burns shot that was going well wide of the net. Hansen’s deflection was at such a sharp angle that Rittich did not see it in time. Assists went to Burns and Barclay Goodrow.

Michael Stone got Calgary on the board at 12:17 with a slap shot from the blue line that found its way through a lot of traffic. Assists went to Micheal Ferland and Chris Stewart.

At the end of the first, the shots on goal were 11-9 Calgary.

The next goal came in the second period at 8:26. The Sharks were on a power play when Kevin Labanc was called for holding, ending the power play and putting the teams on a four-on-four. Neither team scored then, but after the Calgary penalty expired and the Sharks were short-handed, Chris Tierney skated almost to the goal line with the puck. He hovered around there for a bit, looking like he might take the shot, but instead he made a pass to Evander Kane who had an open net. It was Kane’s fourth short-handed goal of the season.

In all, the teams took eight penalties in the second period, after taking none at all in the first. Two of those penalties overlapped at least in part, and two went to Evander Kane as double minor for roughing. Despite the overlaps, it was a rowdy period.

The shot count for the second period was 17-14 Calgary.

Evander Kane’s trips to the penalty box were not over with the second period. He went back there at 3:15 of the third for a fight with Travis Hamonic. In addition, both Hamonic and Kane received minors for unsportsmanlike conduct. None of those penalties resulted in a man advantage. Before those penalties had expired, Mark Giordano was called for cross-checking Melker Karlsson–awarding the Sharks the first power play of the period–for the fifth penalty of the period.

Justin Braun extended the Sharks lead to 4-1 at 10:09 of the third period. Braun caught the puck just as it crossed the Calgary blue line and, after just a couple of strides, took the shot from above the faceoff circle. The shot beat Rittich over the right shoulder. Assists went to Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson.

San Jose’s lead grew again at 12:10. Joe Pavelski tipped a Dillon shot at the net from a ways out, using Evander Kane and Hamonic as a screen. The puck touched Kane on the way in, giving him his second of the game. Assists went to Pavelski and Dillon.

Brenden Dillon left the game a bit early after a fight with Garnet Hathaway at 15:02 of the third. Both left the game as the fight took place in the final five minutes.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 5:00 pm PT in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Couture helps Sharks take 2-1 OT win over Golden Knights

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Photo credit: @TheSpearSJSU

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks welcomed the Pacific Division-leading Las Vegas Golden Knights to their home ice at SAP Center Thursday night. The Sharks brought a five-game win streak into Thursday’s game compared the Golden Knights’ two-game streak, but the biggest storyline was that the Knights had a chance to clinch a playoff berth that night.

The Knights got down to business when Tomas Tatar fired the puck past Sharks goalie Martin Jones for an early 1-0 lead at the 16:13 mark of the first period. Assists went to Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore.

Shots were 13-11 in favor of the Sharks, but they trailed the Knights 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.

The Sharks tied the game at one apiece when Brent Burns fired a slap shot that went past traffic and into the net, beating Knights goalie Malcolm Subban for his 11th goal of the season at the 16:33 mark of the second period. Assists went to Paul Martin and Jannik Hansen.

Sharks rookie Kevin Labanc put some of his offensive skills on display, but he gave the puck to a Knights player and missed out of a chance that might’ve led to a scoring opportunity for San Jose.

The score was tied at one apiece after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 31-15 in favor of San Jose.

The score remained tied at one apiece after 60 minutes of play. Shots were 43-22 in favor of San Jose.

Logan Couture scored the game-winning goal, his 31st of the season, just 39 seconds into the overtime period to lift the Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Knights. Jones finished with 24 saves for San Jose. Subban made 42 saves in a losing effort for Vegas.

Regardless of the outcome, Vegas made history as an expansion team after hitting the 100-point mark as the game went into overtime.

Notes
Sharks’ starting lineup: 
Evander Kane – Joe Pavelski – Melker Karlsson
Tomas Hertl – Logan Couture – Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier – Chris Tierney – Kevin Labanc
Barclay Goodrow – Eric Fehr – Jannik Hansen

Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Aaron Dell

Scratches: Tim Heed, Joel Ward, Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Sorensen.

Knights’ starting lineup: 
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Tomas Tatar
David Perron – Erik Haula – James Neal
Ryan Carpenter – Cody Eakin – Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Ryan Reaves

Brayden McNabb – Nate Schmidt
Shea Theadore – Deryk Engelland
Jon Merrill – Colin Miller

Malcolm Subban

Oscar Dansk

Scratches: Brad Hunt, Oscar Lindberg and Zach Whitecloud.

 

Up Next
The Sharks host the Calgary Flames this Saturday at 1:00 pm PST.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Be very careful, Vegas is coming to SAP Center with the conference’s best record

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

The New Jersey Devils who paid the San Jose Sharks a visit on Tuesday night were caught off guard, getting crushed 6-2. You can’t take the Sharks for granted against the Sharks you have to play steady and play a good defensive game that what the Sharks really need. If they get into one of these 11-goal games, it’s going to be a fun game to watch, but that’s a little too risky. Defense is the Sharks’ key to success. Last night’s game was a good model, but we don’t know if the Devils were all they can be.

As a model, the Sharks have to play a good defensive game and shooting every time they stand in range of the net is a good idea. The Vegas Golden Knights, who lead the Western Conference, are eight points ahead of the Sharks, who are in second place, and it’s a question of whether or not the Sharks can catch them. It’s certainly worth trying. It’s better than losing points. The only goal in front of the Sharks right now is catch Vegas.

Mary Lisa Walsh does the San Jose Sharks podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com