Category: San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks Win In A Shutout 2-0 Game Against The Seattle Kraken; SJ’s Blackwood stops 32 shots to blank Kraken

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) looks on as Shark defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk (83) reaches out for the puck in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Jan 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SAN JOSE, CA – In the “Shark Tank”, the SAP Center the San Jose Sharks host the Seattle Kraken. Logan Couture’s impact has been felt since his return, logging his first assist of the season in his first game back (Jan. 20 vs. ANA) and posting the game-deciding goal in a shootout in the following game against the Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 22).

The Sharks’ centerman lead the team in numerous categories, Hertl in scoring with 15 goals, Granlund in assists with 24 and Sturm in faceoff win percentage with 61.3% (min. 100 faceoffs). Starting in net for San Jose is Mackenzie Blackwood and for Seattle, Joey Daccord. Blackwood stopped 32 shots by the Kraken for the 2-0 shutout.

Slow first period for both teams and it was both defenses jousting for position. Shakir Mukhamadullin got a minor for tripping and even though the penalty was killed off, it came with a close call where fans and even players thought the puck crossed the line, but it was waved off as play continued.

The period was scoreless, Blackwood stopping 13 shots on goal, the Sharks only getting three shots on goal. The Kraken had as many shots on goal as the Sharks had in attempts in the first period. 0-0 at first intermission, but Sharks showed no sign of energy in the first period. 

The second period was an even slower period, but that’s because of this high defensive output from both squads. In that period the shots on goal total for both teams was ten (Seattle with six and San Jose with four) and it stayed scoreless after another 20 minutes.

Other than shot attempts where the Kraken out-shot the Sharks by double, the stats on paper seemingly were as even as they could be for this close contest. At the second intermission the score was 0-0 and now the game was a battle of composure, who can stay level headed, because each team had one penalty that was killed off, so another mistake could shake up this whole game.

The third period was the literal game changer for the Sharks. Luke Kunin and Will Borgen got into a fight early in the period and the hands they were throwing put a battery in the San Jose crowd. Almost four minutes later the Sharks took advantage of this hype crowd and the energy they gave them.

William Eklund got some oohs and ahhs from the crowd with his stick handling and it led to an opening in the Seattle defense where Marc-Edouard Vlasic (his fourth goal) was able to hit a wrist shot from the blue line, 1-0 Sharks. The goal was assisted by Ty Emberson, his eighth and William Eklund, his 14th.

The rest of the period was the Sharks holding off the Kraken and after Jan Rutta hit an empty net goal, the period ended 2-0 and the Sharks get a shutout victory and Blackwood was awarded the first star of the game.

This win for the Sharks is a big victory, their 14th win on the season, but they get less than 24 hours to enjoy this win, because they go to Anaheim to face the Ducks January 31st (tomorrow) and then it’s the All-Star break where they won’t have a game until Valentine’s Day.

The Sharks may not be in the hunt for a cup this year, but one thing is clear is they won’t go without a fight and especially against teams with winning records.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers: 5th place Kraken face off with last place Sharks tonight at SAP Center

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The Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka scrambles for the puck against the San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadulin (85) in second period action at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Jan 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 Troy the San Jose Sharks (13-32-4) enter tonight’s game coming off a tough 5-2 three goal loss to the Buffalo Sabres (22-23-4) last Saturday here at SAP Center . The loss snapped San Jose’s three game win streak.

#2 It was a tough game for Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen who faced 35 shots and stopped 31 and allowed four goals.

#3 The Sabres came away with 48 points to the Sharks 30 points. The Sabres JJ Peterka scored twice to help burn the Sharks. The Buffalo offense certainly was up for this game wasting no time scoring twice in the first period, once in the second period and twice again in the third period.

#4 The Sharks host the Seattle Kraken tonight here at SAP. The Kraken (21-18-10) is a young franchise and have had much success. The Sharks will have to defend against Oliver Bjorkstrand whose 40 points leads the Kraken. Once again will the Sharks goalies either Kahkonen or MacKenzie Blackwood have a challenge in contending with the Kraken offense?

#5 The Sharks are %72.2 and the Kraken are %78.5 on the penalty kill and the Sharks on the power play are 16.7% whereas the Kraken are %21.9. Taking those numbers into consideration how close of a game do you see this one being tonight?

Troy Ewers is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks winning streak ends at three against Buffalo 5-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks. Shakir Mukhamadullin takes his solo lap during warmups (taken on 1/27/24).

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks took on the Sabres Saturday evening looking to extend their winning streak to four.

For the Sharks Kaapo Kahkonen would get the start who came in with a 3.56 GAA and a .902 SV%. While for Buffalo it was Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in between the pipes who had a 2.63 GAA and .908%.

It was a special night also for 22-year-old Shakir Mukhamadullin who made his NHL debut tonight after coming over in the Timo Meier trade from New Jersey.

The first period saw the Sharks get offense from a place where they usually don’t get many goals which is the blueline. The first goal in this one would be scored by Marc-Edouard Vlasic as he scored his third of the season.

Following that up was Jan Rutta who scored just a couple minutes later picking up his second of the season. On both goals, William Eklund picked up the primary assists.

Around the 14-minute mark of the period though momentum shifted when Buffalo scored as JJ Peterka shoveled home his 17th of the campaign.

Less than five minutes later Buffalo would tie it on a goal they really had to grind out as Jordan Greenway tapped home a pass from Alex Tuch back door.

In the middle frame that momentum shift did not stop as just 1:36 into the period, Tuch scored his 14th of the season breaking the tie.

After the goal, both team’s offenses slowed down quite a bit, especially in comparison to the high-flying first period.

There would be two penalties in the period one against Buffalo and the other against San Jose but both were killed off.

San Jose would be looking for a comeback in the final frame but did not get off to a great start giving up a goal this time just 4:33 into the period. The fourth unanswered came off the stick of Peterka who got his second of the night on a 3-on-2 rush.

Some clear frustration would boil over for the Sharks as they got into it with Buffalo leading to Kyle Burroughs and Kyle Okposo dropping the gloves.

Looking to spark the comeback David Quinn would pull Kahkonen with more than four minutes left in the period.

That aggression would unfortunately not pay off as after making a slick move to deke out Logan Couture Dylan Cozens scored on the empty cage essentially ending the game.

The win would end the Shark’s winning streak at three but also continues a tradition of the Sharks losing to Buffalo as all-time San Jose is 14-25-9 against the Sabres.

Mukhamadullin had a solid night manning the blueline as he registered one hit and three shots on goal.

The shots in this one favored Buffalo 36-25 and both teams went 0/2 on the power play.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: JJ Peterka 2nd: Casey Middlestadt 3rd: Jordan Greenway

San Jose will look to start a new winning streak when they take on Seattle at home on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks face Sabres at SAP today for 1pm matinee

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San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl exults after scoring the game winning goal in overtime at 1:29 against the New York Rangers Thu Jan 25, 2024 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Taking a look at last Wednesday night’s game at SAP Center in San Jose in overtime the San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl scored the game winner to defeat the Metropolitan first place New York Rangers 3-2.

#2 The Rangers came out of the gate in the first and second periods scoring a goal in each period for a 2-0 lead.

#3 The Sharks who have been inspired since Logan Couture’s return from his injury scored twice in the third period to even the score 2-2.

#4 Hertl in the overtime scored at 1:29 that gave the Sharks their third straight win, “(Jan Ruuta and Alex Barabanov) made a great play and I got an empty-netter,” Hertl said. “Kind of an easy goal for me, but a great job by them for sure. Huge win for us, and it’s nice to have three in a row.”

#5 The Sharks have a day game today at SAP against the visiting Buffalo Sabres a 1pm PT face off. The Sabres have been going well of late inning six of their last ten games. How do you see today’s match up?

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks extend winning streak to three with comeback overtime victory over Rangers 3-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks. Ryan Carpenter celebrates his goal against the Rangers (taken on January 23rd 2023).

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks looked to extend their winning streak against the Rangers on Tuesday night.

In goal for the Sharks was Mackenzie Blackwood who came into this one with a 6-17-3 record with a 3.69 GAA and .894 SV%. While for the Rangers Igor Shesterkin was in between the pipes who heading into this one had a 19-11-0 record with a 2.81 GAA and .902 SV%.

After last nights collision with the boards Mario Ferraro was kept out of the lineup tonight with Kevin Labanc serving as the other scratch.

That meant Calen Addison was back in the lineup after an extended period out of it.

The beginnings of this game certainly had the feel of two teams who don’t play each other often as the two teams felt each other out.

After the Rangers had figured things out they got to work as Alexis Lafreniere threw the puck to the front of the net that was eventually stuffed home by Adam Fox. The goal was his eighth of the season and brought much joy to the mostly Rangers audience in attendance.

It was a position the Sharks are all to familiar with as this season after giving up the first goal the Sharks are 2-25-1.

San Jose would push late in the first as Kyle Burroughs missed a wide open net on a feed from Tomas Hertl. As consolation the Sharks did get a power play as Vincent Trocheck took a holding penalty. They weren’t able to convert on it in the first but did carry over 37 seconds into the second.

To start out the middle frame the Rangers killed off the remainder of Trochek’s penalty. Feeding off that momentum Artemi Panarin went for a skate around the Sharks o-zone and then sniped one over Blackwood’s shoulder getting his 29th of the season and making it 2-0.

The teams then exchanged penalties back-and-forth for most of the rest of the frame with neither team able to score.

Instead it would take until the third period before we got the next goal which would be an odd one. As the goal happened when defenseman Ryan Lindgren played the puck behind his own net. Instead of passing it to his defense partner he dropped it right to Nico Sturm who banked it off of Shesterkin and into the back of the net.

The goal seemed to give the Sharks some much needed life and the building was abuzz with noise. Not long after the goal Jan Rutta slapped the puck towards the net from the point which found the stick of Ryan Carpenter who tipped home the tying goal sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The game was back to tied and the Sharks were able to force overtime for the second game in a row.

In overtime the Rangers got a coupe of quick chances but the Sharks then got a counter attack going.

With Jan Rutta, Tomas Hertl, and Alexander Barabonov on the ice they circled the offensive zone looking to end it. Then on a defensive breakdown Barabonov skated right into the slot and passed it to Rutta backdoor. Instead of shooting it though he tapped it over to Hertl who shelved it over Shesterkin giving the Sharks the overtime victory.

The win was the Sharks third in a row and most notably with captain Logan Couture back in the lineup San Jose is now undefeated. San Jose’s record now improves to 13-31-4 while the Rangers end up at 29-15-3.

Special teams were a mixed bag for the Sharks as they killed all four penalties taken but also went 0/3 on the power play as well.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Tomas Hertl 2nd: Ryan Carpenter 3rd: Henry Thrun

Thankfully for the Sharks they won’t have to play again until Saturday when they take on the Sabres at home at 1 p.m. were they’ll look too extend their win streak to four.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Sharks host NY Rangers tonight at SAP Center; SJ gets key win in LA

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The San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund (72) gets congratulations from the Sharks bench after scoring a second period goal at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Mon Jan 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus:

#1 Since the return of Logan Couture the Sharks have now won two straight how much influence has Couture’s return been for the dressing room?

#2 The Sharks get a rare road win at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles against the Kings in a shootout for a 4-3 win.

#3 William Eklund has been reliable he had four shots on goal against the Kings and scored a goal he’s coming through at the right time.

#4 In net for the Sharks Kaapo Kahkonen who stopped 44 shots and allowed three goals. Kahkonen was key in keeping things close in the shootout as well not allowing a goal and the Sharks scored twice.

#5 The Sharks play the second of back to back games tonight this time at SAP Center in San Jose hosting the New York Rangers. The Rangers are first place in the Metropolitan Division and have won four of their last ten games. Can the Sharks come back home and win a third straight game?

Titus Wilkinson is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sporrtsradioservice.com

Sharks Beat Kings 4-3 in Shootout, Couture Scores in SO; San Jose wins second straight game in LA

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Logan Couture (39) the San Jose Sharks center and team captain with the Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) meet at center ice with former Los Angeles Rams running back Marshall Faulk (28) for the pre game puck drop ceremonies at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in a shootout on Monday. Fabian Zetterlund, William Eklund, Justin Bailey scored for the Sharks in regulation. Zetterlund and Logan Couture scored in the shootout. Kaapo Kahkonen made 44 saves for the win. Trevor Moore, Quinton Byfield and Drew Doughty scored for the Kings and David Rittich mdae 24 saves in the loss.

Midway through the second period, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro sustained a lower body injury going into the boards after a hit by Trevor Lewis. He dragged himself to the bench and did not return to play. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said that he expects Ferraro to miss at least “a couple games.”

Ferraro’s injury left the team short one defenseman for roughly half of regulation. After the game, Quinn said:

“Yeah, it was a gritty one. Listen, obviously we went down to five D there and you could see our D getting tired and they turned it up a little bit there in the third and towards the end of the second. But we just kept battling and competing and I give our D-corps a ton of credit. They turned it up and we answered.”

In a scoreless first period, the Sharks were out-shot by the Kings 18-6. They picked things up in the second. With an extra skater on during a delayed penalty, Fabian Zetterlund scored with a snap shot in the slot at 7:46. Assists went to Mike Hoffman and Tomas Hertl.

William Eklund made it 2-0 with a snap shot at 9:06.. Skating into the zone with Nico Sturm, Eklund caught Sturm’s pass and took the shot from inside the left circle. Assists went to Sturm and Jan Rutta

Trevor Moore got the Kings on the board with a snap shot at 17:06. From the right circle, he put the puck into the far corner. An assist went to Kevin Fiala.

Quinton Byfield tied the game with a slap shot at 1:33 of the third. Adrian Kempe centered the puck from near the goal line and Kahkonen could not get across in time to stop Byfield’s shot. Assists went to Kempe and Jordan Spence.

Justin Bailey gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 6:07. Skating in on a breakaway, Bailey’s wrist shot went under Rittich for Bailey’s third of the season. An assist went to Ryan Carpenter.

Drew Doughty tied it again on the power play with six Kings skaters on the ice. He scored with a slap shot from just below the blue line at 18:02. Assists went to Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield.

The game went through overtime, during which the Sharks had just two shots to the Kings’ five. In the shootout, Logan Couture and Fabian Zetterlund scored. Kahkonen stopped shots from Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe.

The Sharks were out-shot by the Kings 47-27 in the game. They won 54.7% of the draws. Logan Couture led the team in face-offs, winning 9 of 14 draws.

The Sharks next play Tuesday, back in San Jose against the New York Rangers at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Ducks 5-3 On Couture’s Return From Injury; SJ ends three game skid

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs (4) gets congratulated by teammates after scoring a second period goal against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, January 20th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – While the Niners are in a playoff battle in Santa Clara, down the freeway the San Jose Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks in a battle of their own. Now this game is actually a big deal for the San Jose Sharks, because the Captain Logan Couture is back.

Couture’s return from a lower back injury is his first game since April 13th, 2023. His linemates tonight are Alexander Barabanov and William Eklund and the fans expect an exciting debut back in the SAP Center, especially against a rival like the Ducks.

In net tonight for the Sharks is Mackenzie Blackwood, who is tied with Kaapo Kahkonen with five wins on the season. The Sharks would snap their three game losing streak with a two goal 5-3 win over the Ducks.

The period started with Logan Couture out there with Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov just for a shift, Eklund was back out there with Couture and Barabanov the rest of the period. 18 minutes into the first period Filip Zadina scored a goal in the slot past the Ducks goalie John Gibson or so we thought.

After referee review the goal was called off for an offside and the score still 0-0 and the crowd was deflated to an extent for the remainder of the period. 0-0 at intermission and only two shots on goal for the Sharks in the first.

The second period was where a lionshare of offense took place. The Sharks added five to their on goal total, but they utilized all five this period. Couture got his first points of the season on his return night with an assist to Marc-Edouard Vlasic for his second goal this season on a breakaway, making 1-0 for San Jose.

Also gaining his first points for the season was goalie Mackenzie Blackwood who gained an assist on the Vlasic goal. The Ducks fired right back when Jackson LaCombe scored and this was under review too, because it appeared that Blackwood had stopped in on the line with his pad, but after review the goal stood to tie things up.

The Sharks still had fire under their skates and Kyle Burroughs scored his first goal of the season from an assist by Tomas Hertl, his 18th assist on the season. Sharks back on top 2-1.

With 28 seconds left in the period, the Sharks continued their rally as Fabian Zetterlund while fighting off LaCombe scored a wrist shot, 3-1 Sharks, but the Ducks 24 seconds later answered back with an Adam Henrique goal, 3-2. The rivalry game was heating as we entered intermission and with the final period of the game approaching, the fans were in full swing coming off a Niners playoff victory. 

The Sharks trying to close out the night with a W, they came out in the third period aggressive, but methodical. Trying to find the perfect spots, utilizing as much of possession they could. Jan Rutta scored his first of the season on a wrist shot making it 4-2 and the Sharks feeling like they had this one in the bag, but it still wasn’t over.

Nico Sturm got a penalty for tripping and before the power play was over, Mason McTavish scored off a rocket of a wrist shot past Blackwood and it was now 4-3 with about 5 minutes left.

The intensity of the Sharks defense carried on as the period went to the closing seconds and the fans were able to exhale calmly when Tomas Hertl scored an empty netter with seven seconds left and the game was officially over, Sharks win 5-3. 

With a packed crowd and Couture’s return, a win like this brings a smile to the guys in the locker room, especially Coach David Quinn. Coach Quinn said in his post game presser that starting Couture with Hertl at center might be a “snapshot of things to come” when Granlund returns, but for right now the feeling of victory is one he and his boys want to savor.

Their next game being Monday in LA against the Kings and with five games before the break, the Sharks look to walk away with some momentum now that the captain is back.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks looking for some home cooking; SJ on three game skid host Ducks tonight

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The Chicago Blackhawks Jarred Tinordi (25) and the San Jose Sharks Scott Sabourin (49) get down to some brass tacks at the United Center in Chicago on Tue Jan 16, 2024 in second period (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks are on a three game losing steak and took a tough 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game on Tuesday at the United Center.

#2 The Blackhawks Boris Katchouk scored in the ninth round of the shootout and the Sharks Filip Zadina put on a shot on the Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek who made a save to prevent the Sharks to get a shootout goal.

#3 Mrazek said that he was surprised that the shootout went nine rounds it did show Mrazek that there was no quit with the Sharks at least in this game where they wanted badly to get this win.

#4 The host the Anaheim Ducks tonight and they take a three game losing streak into SAP Center. The Ducks have also been struggling they have lost seven of their last ten games. Face off is 7:30pm PT.

#5 Mary, I have to ask you about long time sports publication Sports Illustrated who for many years did spectacular photography of NHL hockey has folded. It was announced that SI has laid off most of their editors and writers and staff. SI was the standard in sports publication with it’s weekly publications. Arena
Group pays for the rights to print SI and didn’t pay owner Authentic Brands Group the $3.75 million payment. Arena Group pays $15 million a year to ABG.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall to Blackhawks 2-1 in Shootout; San Jose suffers third straight loss

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The San Jose Sharks Filip Zedina (18) puts the puck on net only to stopped by Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) in the second period at the United Center in Chicago on Tue Jan 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Cole Guttman, Rem Pitlick and Boris Katchouk scored for Chicago. Ryan Carpenter and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose. Petr Mrazek made 37 saves for the win. Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves in the loss.

The Sharks had a lot of chances and shots in Tuesday’s game. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn talked about the frustrating loss:

“I thought we played well, I thought we had a lot of grade-A’s, I thought we played well, we played hard. We’ve been having a tough time scoring goals here over the last few days. But if we play like that the pucks’ll eventuually end up going in.”

Cole Guttman scored on the power play with a shot between the legs at 10:41 of the first period. The puck bounced off of Ferraro’s skate to end up in the net. Assists went to Ryan Donato and Kevin Korchinski.

Ryan Carpenter tied the game with a snap shot at 5:13 of the third period. Justi Bailey created the play by winning a puck battle and getting the puck to Carpenter. Assists went to Justin Bailey and Mike Hoffman.

Rem Pitlick and Boris Katchouk scored for Chicago and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose in a nine-round shootout.

The Sharks out-shot the Blackhawks 38-25 and won 50.9% of the faceoffs. The Sharks power play had three shots in two power plays and gave up one short-handed shot. Their penalty kill gave up one goal and eight shots in four penalties.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Anaheim Ducks.