Sabres Shutout Sharks 3-0, Mittelstadt Earns 3 Points

The Buffalo Sabres Zemgus Girgensons is in a battle for the puck with the San Jose Sharks Henry Thun (3) and William Eklund (72) in Buffalo on Mon Jan 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 Monday. It was the Sharks’ 14th loss in 15 games. Casey Mittelstadt, Alex Tuch and Jordan Greenway scored for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves for the shutout win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the Sharks.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn has talked about the team needing to be more aggressive on the puck. In Monday’s game, he thought he saw some improvement in that department. After the game, he put more emphasis on the team’s willingness to shoot the puck:

“An area I think we really can improve on is shoot more pucks and create more opportunities for other people. Right now I think we’re in the mindset of we’re not gonna shoot unless we’re going to score. With that comes going to the net a little bit more.”

Casey Mittelstadt scored first at 11:34 of the second period. His wrist shot into traffic bounced and trickled under Kahkonen’s right arm. Assists went to Kyle Okposo and Ryan Johnson.

The second goal of the game came on the power play from Alex Tuch at 14:37. He caught Jack Quinn’s pass between the faceoff circle and snapped the puck past Kahkonen’s stick side. Assists went to Quinn and Mittelstadt.

The final goal of the game came at 16:34 of the third period. Jordan Greenway knocked William Eklund off the puck in the neutral zone and then caught a pass from Mittelstadt to score into the empty net. Assists went to Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin.

The Sharks stayed within one shot of the Sabres until the third period, when the Sabres had 16 to the Sharks’ 8. The Sharks’ power play had one shot in two opportunities. Their penalty kill gave up one goal and three shots in two Buffalo power plays. Alexander Barabanov led the Sharks in shots with four.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 5:30 PM PT in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Sharks Lose to Senators 5-4; Sens Tarasenko gets gamer with 5 seconds left

The Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring on the San Jose Sharks in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sat Jan 13, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-4 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Claude Giroux, Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the Senators. Joonas Korpisalo made 14 saves for the win. Anthony Duclair, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Kevin Labanc and Filip Zadina scored for the Sharks. Mackenziie Blackwood made 36 saves in the loss.

The scoring was back and forth through all three periods and then ended with a goal in the last three seconds. After the game, Anthony Duclair talked about the importance of playing every second of the game: “Obviously, it’s tough to go down that way, especially in the last few seconds there but that’s a thing we’ve got to continue improving on is playing the full 60 right to the end there.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “I’m just really disappointed because, you know, we did a lot of good things in Montreal and didn’t follow it up tonight.” He went on to describe what was lacking in Saturday’s game:

“I just thought it was our lack of compete, really, throughout the night. I didn’t think we competed anywhere near the level we needed to, regardless of your opponent. I thought our puck play, we really struggled. There just weren’t many areas that we were real efficient in tonight.”

Claude Giroux scored the first goal of the game at 4:12 of the first period. Finding the puck lose in traffic in front of the net, he snapped it over the goalie. Assists went to Brady Tkachuk and Artem Zub.

Thomas Chabot made it 2-0 for the Senators at 9:58 with a slap shot from the faceoff circle. Assists went to Vladimir Tarasenko and Tim Stützle.

Anthony Duclair got the Sharks on the board at 12:35 with a slap shot from high in the slot. Assists went to Alexander Barabanov and Mario Ferraro.

The Sharks and Senators were close in shots for the first period, at 9-8 Sharks. In the second period, however, the Senators out-shot the Sharks 22-4. Nonetheless, the Sharks scored with two of those shots.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic tied the game at 3:53 of the second. Following up a 2-on-1 by Anthony Duclair and Mikael Granlund, he scored his first goal since January 2023. Assists went to Duclair and Granlund.

Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks the lead at 6:20 with a wrist shot off a sneaky backwards pass from Mario Ferraro. Assists went to Ferraro and Mike Hoffman.

Brady Tkachuk tied the game again at 7:11. Drake Batherson made a pass from the slot to Tkachuk as Tkachuk skated into the zone from the bench. Assists went to Batherson and Tim Stützle.

Batherson gave the Senators the lead at 12:59. He scored with a wrist shot off a rebound that came to him at the edge of the faceoff circle. Assists went to Artem Zub and Tim Stützle.

Filip Zadina tied the game again at 16:56 of the third period. He scored with a slap shot off a cross-ice pass from Tomas Hertl. Assists went to Hertl and Mario Ferraro.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored the game-winner. He caught a rebound off off Zub’s shot from the blue line. Assists went to Artem Zub and Tim Stützle.

The Sharks were out-shot 11-5 in the third period for a total shot count of 41-18 Senators. The Sharks won 42.6% of the draws. Their power play had two shots in two opportunities and gave up one short-handed shot. They gave up four shots on two penalty kills and had one short-handed short.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 9:00 AM PT in Buffalo against the Sabres.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hope to keep winning going in Ottawa today at Canadian Tire Arena

The San Jose Sharks Luke Kunin (11) is stoked after scoring on the Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) as the Sharks Justin Bailey (90) looks on at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Fri Jan 12, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, the San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn has to be relieved that the 12 game losing streak came to an end on Thursday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

#2 Close game against the Canadiens in a one goal 3-2 win. The Sharks put 35 shots of which three were for goals against Habs goaltender Sam Montembeault.

#3 The Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood had to play some great defense to keep the Canadiens out of the net facing 35 shots and stopped two goals this is how close these two teams played.

#4 Luke Kunin, Fabian Zetterlund, Nikita Okhotiuk also scored for San Jose. The Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said the win took some weight off their shoulders.

#5 The Sharks head to Ottawa and the Canadian Tire Centre to face off against the Senators today. The Sens are last in the NHL Atlantic at 14-23-0 and have lost seven of their last ten. This could be another good opportunity for the Sharks to pick up another win.

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

Sharks Defeat Canadiens 3-2, Blackwood’s 1st Road Win of Season;12 game skid finally comes to an end

San Jose Sharks Filip Zadina (18) raises arms to join teammates in celebration after snapping their 12 game losing streak at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thu Jan 11, 2024 (San Jose Sharks photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Thursday, ending a 12-game losing streak at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Luke Kunin, Fabian Zetterlund and Nick Okhotiuk scored for the Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves for his first road win of the season. Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault made 32 saves in the loss.

Sharks defenseman, Mario Ferraro, said that the team felt good going into the game. The Sharks had a good practice and a team dinner the night before. Ferraro explained how those helped the team:

“What happened on the ice was a reflection of how we were feeling prior to the game. And that was more positive, leaning on each other a little bit more and finding the love in this game a little bit more. Obviously being on that little losing streak that we had, … you kind of forget about the reason why you play. We brought that back, we brought some light back to the locker room.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said:

“As we’ve touched on, we’ve been digging ourselves out of a mental hole. And I thought our start was just okay and then I thought we got better and better as the game went on. You don’t go through what we’ve been through and all of a sudden feel great about yourselves. You’ve got to earn it and we started earning it shift after shift. And that’s how we have to get out of this and we took a big step today.”

The first period saw the Sharks take a two goal lead. Luke Kunin started the scoring with a goal at 5:19 of the first. Kunin intercepted a pass in front of the net for his sixth of the season.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-0 for the Sharks at 17:25. On his way behind the net, Tomas Hertl made a backhand pass right to Zetterlund on the edge of the faceoff circle. Assists went to Hertl and Filip Zadina.

Just 21 seconds later, Brendan Gallagher got one back for the Canadiens. Mike Matheson made a pass into traffic in the slot and found Gallagher who scored with a snap shot. Assists went to Matheson and David Savard.

Montreal out-shot the Sharks 11-7 in the first period but the Sharks had a good first in the faceoff circle, winning 65.4% of the draws.

Nick Okhotiuk made it 3-1 for the Sharks late in the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck around behind the net, battling defenders. Continuing to the top of the faceoff circle, he spotted Okhotiuk on his way down from the point. The defenseman was almost at the net when he caught Granlund’s pass for a snap shot. Assists went to Granlund and William Eklund. It was Okhotiuk’s first goal with the Sharks, and he also became the youngest Sharks defenseman to score a goal in Montreal.

The Sharks pulled ahead on the shot clock with 17 shots to Montreal’s 9 in the second period.

The Canadiens pulled their goaltender with more than five minutes left in the third. 90 seconds later, the Sharks had not been able to push the puck out of the zone even once. The gambit paid off for Montreal. Mike Matheson scored with a slap shot from the middle of the blue line to make it 3-2. Assists went to Cole Caulfield and Nick Suzuki.

The Canadiens pulled their goaltender again with a minute left and again hemmed the Sharks in the defensive zone. The Sharks did finally clear the puck out with less than a second remaining. The final shot count was 36-35 Canadiens. The Canadiens improved in the faceoff circle as the game went on, so that the Sharks’ advantage slipped to 54.4% by the end. Both teams had perfect penalty kills.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup Thursday. He played just under 21 minutes and had two shots on goal.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Ottawa against the Senators at 1:00 PM PT.

Sharks Buried 7-1 by Maple Leafs, Losing Streak at 12

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) and forward Mitch Marner (16) scramble for the puck against the San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund (72) in the first period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tue Jan 9, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 7-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Morgan Reilly, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Pontus Holmberg, Jake McCabe and Nicholas Robertson scored for Toronto, with Marner scoring twice.

Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win. Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun scored for the Sharks, his first goal in the NHL. Kaapo Kahkonen made 16 saves on 20 shots before being relieved by Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 22 saves in the loss.

Morgan Reilly opened the scoring at 16:48 of the first period, a wrist shot from low in the slot. Tyler Bertuzzi was creating a good screen right in front of the Sharks goaltender. Assists went to William Nylander and TJ Brodie.

Auston Matthews made it 2-0 with a slap shot on the power play at 17:22. Low in the faceoff circle, Matthews sent the puck between Kahkonen and the post. Assists went to Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

Mitch Marner scored just 54 seconds into the second period to make it 3-0. From just above the goal line, and facing away from the goal, Marner pushed the puck behind him into the blue paint where it slipped by Kahkonen. Assists went to Jake McCabe and Timothy Liljegren.

Pontus Holmberg scored the fourth goal at 2:06. Skating into the zone, Holmberg held Kyle Burroughs off with his left hand while guiding the puck with one hand on the stick. Assists went to Bobby McMann and David Kampf.

The Sharks changed goaltenders after that goal, bringing in Mackenzie Blackwood.

Henry Thrun got one back for the Sharks at 7:21 of the second. Thrun tipped a shot from Mikael Granlund on the power play, scoring his first goal in the NHL. Assists went to Granlund and Anthony Duclair.

Jake McCabe made it 5-1 at 1:27 of the third period. Off a faceoff win, Marner’s pass found McCabe out in the open and a snap shot beat Blackwood. Assists went to Marner and Simon Benoit.

Marner scored his second of the game at 4:00 of the third period. The first of two goals they would score during a 4-minute major penalty against the Sharks, Marner pushed the puck over the line after Morgan Reilly’s shot was slowed down by Blackwood. Assists went to Reilly and William Nylander.

The second goal for that power play was scored by Nicholas Robertson at 5:54. His shot came from the faceoff dot through some traffic. Assists went to Matthew Knies and Jake McCabe.

The Sharks had Scott Sabourin in the lineup, his debut with the team. The forward had five hits in 11:12 of ice time and took one penalty, that four-minute penalty in the third period. He was called for a high-stick to the face of Simon Benoit.

The Sharks were out-shot badly, 45-23. this was most conspicuous in the first period when they had just five shots to the Leafs’ 16. In the face-off circle they struggled too, winning only 38.7% of the draws. Neither team did well with their penalty kills, as both teams were perfect on the power play.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 4:00 PM PT in Montreal against the Canadiens.

Sharks close out home stand with tough loss to Toronto 4-1; Loss streak continues for SJ at 11 straight

Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks. Mario Ferraro getting warmed up against the Toronto Maple Leafs (taken on January 6th, 2023). 

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- On a rainy Saturday evening the San Jose Sharks (9-28-3) and Toronto Maple Leafs (20-10-7) took to the ice for the first of back-to-back home at home matchups between the two teams. The Leafs won their third game in row defeating the Sharks 4-1 at SAP Center. It was San Jose’s 11th consecutive loss.

A familiar face was in between the pipes for Toronto as former Sharks goaltender Martin Jones got the start. Who surprisingly heading into this one has been playing stellar hockey with 10 wins and a 2.20 GAA and .930 SV%.

Getting his second start in a row was Mackenzie Blackwood who played great in his last start a loss against Winnipeg making 28 saves.

The first period started out slow but quickly fell into Toronto’s control which was helped by a five-on-three after Thomas Hertl and Mikael Grandlund were both called for penalties. The Maple Leafs power play made quick work of the Sharks penalty killing unit as Mitchell Marner scored his 15th goal of the season making it 1-0.

Realistically though the score could’ve been much worse as the Maple Leafs hit the post three times and Blackwood had to make some stellar saves. This being especially highlighted by the fact that at the end of the first the shots favored Toronto 18-3.

The middle frame got off to a pretty sleepy start as the Maple Leafs looked to be playing on cruise control. On the other side of the rink the Sharks through the first ten minutes only managed to add two more shots to their total. 

It continued to be an unremarkable period until in the dying moments when with less than a minute left Calle Jarnkrok spun around in the slot and fired one home. The goal was Jarnkrok’s 10th goal of the season and got a decent response from the large amount of Leafs fans in attendance. 

Team Teal started the third with a little more jump as Jones had to make a couple of solid saves. 

The true dagger came when William Nylander rushed down the right wing and sniped one past Blackwood making it 3-0. The goal caused some “Go Leafs go” chants to rain down from the crowd that was becoming increasingly more filled with Toronto fans. 

There was a glimmer of hope as Fabian Zetterlund made a beautiful pass that he hooked over to a wide open Granlund who tapped it home. The goal brought some life back into the stadium and was his fifth of the campaign. 

Not long after that Nylander truly iced the game as he snuck home his own rebound after a great save by Blackwood making it 4-1. 

With the loss the Sharks record now stands at 9-28-3 while the Leafs improve to 20-10-7. 

The shots in this one ended at 34-24 in favor of the Maple Leafs with Blackwood making 29 saves while Jones made 23. 

The three stars of the game: 1st: William Nylander 2nd: Mikael Granlund 3rd: Auston Matthews 

With the three game home stand now behind them the Sharks will go on a five game roundtrip. Starting with these same Leafs as they’ll do battle on Tuesday at 4 p.m. 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks aim to end 10 game skid tonight against Maple Leafs at SAP

The San Jose Sharks defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) brings the puck up from behind the net as the Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo (2) and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) anticipate Ferraro’s arrival in front of the net at SAP Center on Thu Jan 4, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Winnipeg Jets Gabriel Vilardi broke a 1-1 tie on power play goal in the third period as the Jets came away with a one goal 2-1 win at SAP on Thursday night.

#2 The Jets also got some good goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck with 27 saves. The Jets delivered on defense to keep the Sharks out of the net making it close in a game that the Sharks went all out but just couldn’t seal the deal.

#3 “It’s fun,” Vilardi said. “It’s fun to play hockey. It’s fun when you win. Obviously, anyone can say that, but we have belief in each other and play for each other. We’ve got to keep going.”

#4 The Sharks extended their loss streak to ten straight games and this game was the closest they came to snapping their loss steak which is a franchise record.

#5 The Sharks go after it again tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs have won four of their last ten games. It seems everybody is out for the Leafs every time they come. The Leafs won their last game against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2-1 in overtime. Mary Lisa how do you see these two teams matching up tonight?

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

Winnipeg Jets Come To San Jose And Slip Past Sharks 2-1; Sharks 10th straight loss ties club record

The Winnipeg Jets center Gabriel Vilardi (top) celebrates with left wing Alex Iafallo (9) and center Mark Scheifele (55) who scored against the San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) in the third period at SAP Center in SanJose (AP News photo)

Thursday, January 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks host the Winnipeg Jets for another regular season, following a 5-3 to Detroit here in the SAP Center on Tuesday. Alexander Barabanov recorded his 100th career goal, but it wasn’t enough to stop a third period rally from the Red Wings.

Earlier today, San Jose’s Tomas Hertl was named an NHL All Star to represent the Sharks and as for the Jets, Winnipeg remained undefeated to start 2024 and San Jose seems like a likely place to keep that fire burning as the Jets edged the Sharks at SAP Center 2-1.

It was a quiet first period for both teams, with the highlight being Mackenzie Blackwood who got 11 saves and held his composure when the heat came. Winnipeg and San Jose went hit for hit with an evenly physical period, but it was a clean period with no penalties. 0-0 at the first intermission and energy high throughtout the SAP Center. 

The silence was broken in the second period and it came seconds after the Jets killed a hooking penalty. Barabanov scored off a wrist shot, assisted by William Eklund and Ty Emberson and the Sharks were up 1-0 and Barabanov recorded his 100th goal with the Sharks, a game after he scored his 100th career goal.

A minute later the Jets answered back. Neal Pionk shot the puck towards a screened Blackwood and the puck was deflected by Morgan Barron in the net, 1-1. As the period ended, the score was tied and momentum could sway either way. 

The third period was a battle, but this battle had an early game changing moment. San Jose’s Filip Zadina got a hooking penalty and that penalty broke the tie for Winnipeg. Gabriel Vilardi tipped in a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers past Blackwood and two minutes into the final period, the Jets were up 2-1. The Sharks gained some opportunities along the way, but to no success as the Jets skated off the ice with a 2-1 victory. 

The Sharks now start off 2024 0-2 and now have fallen even further behind in the standings as this season progresses with another loss. Coach Quinn has a lot on his plate as the season now prepares for the trade deadline and the next game for the Sharks is Sat January 6th against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the SAP Center a 4:00pm PT face off.

Losing skid for Sharks extends to nine as they lose close one to Detroit 5-3

Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks. Fabian Zetterlund celebrates his goal in the first period against the Red Wings (taken on January 2nd, 2024).

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks welcomed in an original six rival to SAP Center on Tuesday night for and East vs West matchup.

Heading into this game the Sharks were on an eight-game losing skid with a loss most recently against Colorado.

For the Red Wings Alex Lyon got the start while for the Sharks Kaapo Kahkonen was in between the pipes.

It was a tough start to this one for the Sharks as on the power play Daniel Sprong got his 10th goal of the season from Lucas Raymond and Shayne Gostisbehere.

The Sharks did push back but Lyon stood tall making saves on Anthony Duclair and Henry Thrun.

After a little bit more pushing Mikael Granlund streaked across the slot and ripped one on goal that Lyon saved. Awaiting the rebound was Fabian Zetterlund who wacked the puck home past Lyon tying the game up at one.

There was some extra circulars to kick off the second as both teams got into it. As a result there was some four-on-four action that the Red Wings capitalized on. The recipient of the goal was J.T. Compher who beat Kahkonen with a five-hole shot that he probably would want back.

The Sharks didn’t respond until the dying moments of the second when Mario Ferraro ripped one on goal that Justin Bailey tipped home getting his second goal of the season.

The final frame had plenty of action to talk about as kicking off with a goal from Alexander Barabonov who stepped into the slot and lit the lamp making it 3-2.

A costly penalty by Jan Rutta was converted on by Detroit as David Perron one-timed home his eighth goal of the campaign tying things back up.

With the game down to the wire it looked like things were going to overtime until Perron threw the puck out front and in the right place at the right time was Dylan Larkin. He scored sending a large amount of Detroit fans to their feet and putting the Sharks on the ropes.

San Jose pulled their goalie at 1:03 but they couldn’t tie it as Michael Rasmussen scored to put things away.

With the loss the Sharks record slumps to 9-26-3 while the Red Wings improve to 18-16-4.

The shots at the end of this one favored the Red Wings 31-27.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: David Perron 2nd: Mario Ferraro 3rd: Justin Bailey

The Sharks next one will be Thursday against the red hot Winnipeg Jets at home at 7:30 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Sharks give it a go tonight host Red Wings; SJ hopes to snap 8 game losing streak

The San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund (left) tries to keep up with the Colorado Avalanche center Andrew Cogliano (right) in the second period at the Ball Center in Denver on Sun Dec 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson:

#1 The count down on New Year’s eve was the one that ends the San Jose Sharks (9-25-3) eight game losing streak which they weren’t able to accomplish as they lost to the Colorado Avalanche (23-11-3) 3-1 on Sunday night.

#2 The Aves Valeri Nichushkin scored a third period goal late that helped put away the Sharks with two goals in the third period for a two goal win 3-1.

#3 The Sharks on Thursday tried to see if see if bringing up goaltender Magnus Chrona who was pelted with Edmonton Oilers shots he faced 20 shots and allowed four goals and was pulled from the game. Did Sharks head coach David Quinn want to see what Chrona could deliver to strengthen the goaltending or to see if Chrona would fit in as a back up?

#4 Titus, coach Quinn and the Sharks had team captain Logan Couture on the Colorado trip to see how he would skate and how he’s handling practice plays and where he’s at physically. Asked if he was ready to return and Quinn said “zero” it was just an opportunity to see where he was at. How bad does this team miss Couture out of the line up at the juncture?

#5 The Detroit Red Wings face off with the Sharks tonight right here where were podcasting at SAP Center. The Red Wings are fifth in the Eastern Conference at 17-16-4. The Red Wings have lost seven of their last ten games. Could this be the Sharks best chance to snap this eight game losing streak tonight?

Titus Wilkinson is a San Jose Sharks beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com