Category: San Jose Sharks

Sharks lose heart breaker against Columbus 4-3

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks looked to continue their winning ways against one of the bottom-feeders in the East the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In goal for the Sharks was Kaapo Kahkonen who’s last game was against the Jets when he made 38 saves but still lost. On the other side Elvis Merzlikins was in between the pipes who despite his trade requests is still stuck in Columbus with a 3.21 GAA and .904 SV%.

If you were looking to watch sloppy hockey you got just that to start in this one as it was turnovers galore on both sides. Obviously not all that surprising considering the standing of both teams.

Through all of the sloppiness a moment of beauty shined though as Anthony Duclair got loose for a breakaway. With a Kucherov like move he slipped the puck between Merzlikins legs putting the home crowd on their feet and scoring his 10th of the season.

Then it was Johnny Gaudrea’s turn to get a breakaway but despite getting Kahkonen on the deke Kaapo was still able to poke the puck away at the last minute. The Sharks then decided to let Gaudreau have another breakaway and this time he rang it off the post.

The Sharks luck eventually ran out though as Zach Werenski ripped one past a screened Kahkonen 15:16 into the period tying the game.

Columbus continued to push and less than a minute later Kirill Marchenko beat Kahkonen short side on one that he’d probably want back making it 2-1.

The middle frame saw more loose play as both teams exchanged chances. After a shot from the point Kahkonen struggled to carroll the rebound and sitting on the door step was Dmitri Voronkov who slammed the puck home.

With the life sucked out of the building the Sharks needed a quick response and they’d get just that as just 20 seconds later Duclair buried his second of the night. The goal came off a beautiful feed from Zetterlund who zipped one across to the streaking winger for the tally.

Later in the period Voronkov found himself in the penalty box putting the Sharks on their third power play of the game. On the power play this time it would be Zetterlund receiving the pass as he one timed home a beautiful feed from Calen Addison.

The final frame ended up being quite the opposite of the first two as the team tightened up their play.

It took until the dying moments when Boone Jenner broke past the defense and found himself one-on-one with Kahkonen. Jenner ended up making the right move as he deked to his backhand and snuck one in between Kahkonen’s pads. With only 12.9 seconds left on the clock San Jose did pull their goalie but to no avail as they’d lose 4-3.

The loss drops the Sharks to 15-34-5 while the Blue Jackets improve to 16-26-10.

Special teams favored the Sharks in this one as they went 1/4 while Columbus went 0/3.

The three stars of the game were: 1st Boone Jenner 2nd: Anthony Duclair 3rd: Fabian Zetterlund

The Sharks will look to bounce back on this home stand against Vegas on Monday at 1 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks open four game homestand starting with Columbus tonight at SAP Center

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The San Jose Sharks Justin Bailey is dazzled after scoring a second period goal against the Calgary Flames at the Saddledome in Calgary on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Filip Zadina scored two goals and had two assists and scored a career high four points in the Sharks 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night a contrast from their loss to the Winnipeg Jets the night before on Wednesday night 1-0.

#2 Zadina did point out that his line hadn’t scored in awhile but was glad to get the points and help the team, “We haven’t scored as a line in a little bit but we got rewarded for the work we’ve done recently.”

#3 Zadina did have a break out game on Thursday he had only one goal and two assists in his previous 18 games before facing off against the Flames.

#4 The Sharks did have a good offensive night against the Flames with Luke Kunin scoring twice and Justin Bailey with a goal and two assists it was Bailey’s first multi point game. Mikael Granlund also contributed with a goal.

#5 The Sharks have a go with the Columbus Blue Jackets at SAP Center in San Jose tonight for a 7:30pm PT face off. The Jackets are last in the Metropolitan Division at 16-26-10 with 42 points. They oppose the Sharks who are 15-33-5 and have 35 points. The Sharks are opening a four game homestand.

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

Sharks Douse Flames 6-3, Zadina and Kunin 2 Goals Each

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The San Jose Sharks Luke Kunin (right) and the Calgary Flames Brayden Pachal (left) watch the play in front of them in the first period at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

In their first meeting this season, the San Jose Sharks defeated the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Thursday. Mikael Granlund and Justin Bailey scored for San Jose, while Luke Kunin and Filip Zadina each scored twice. Mackenzie Blackwood made 31 saves for the win. Zadina had four points in the game, a career high. Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund and Andrei Kuzmenko scored for Calgary. Dustin Wolf made 25 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks forward Justin Bailey, who had three points in the game, said:

“Obviously things haven’t been easy for us as a group but I think the one thing that’s been a staple throughout the whole year is we’ve maintained a positive attitude, we’ve maintained trust and belief in the system of what we’re doing and nights like tonight when all things kind of seem to go in your favor, it feels good as a group.”

Nazem Kadri scored the only goal in the first period, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead at 4:19. Kadri deflected a rebound from Martin Pospisil’s shot in a three-on-one rush. The Flames had two power plays in the first period and out-shot the Sharks 13-8.

The Flames had another power play less than two minutes into the second period, but the Sharks killed that and tied the game at 4:52. Mikael Granlund scored with a wrist shot from the face-off circle. An assist went to Filip Zadina.

The Sharks took the lead at 7:50 with a goal from Justin Bailey. After a quick give and go in front of the net with Zadina, Bailey had an open net to shoot at.

At the very end of their first power play of the game, the Sharks made it 3-1 with a goal from Luke Kunin at 12:30. Kunin slipped the puck by Wolf right at the post. The goal came in what was really a 16 second power play for the Sharks, as most of the power play was eaten up by four-on-four play due to overlapping penalties. The goal was missed at first and only on review did the officials identify it. Assists went to William Eklund and Kyle Burroughs.

Mikael Backlund cut the lead down to one with at goal at 19:40. His wrist shot found its way through a crowd at the corner of the net. A scrum followed as Blackwood was knocked over by two falling skaters, one from each team. The Sharks challenged the goal on the basis of goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld. Assists went to Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.

Filip Zadina made it 4-2 at 4:38 of the third period. Zadina deflected Nico Sturm’s shot from the point, using the shaft of his stick while skating through the faceoff circle. Assists went to Sturm and Bailey.

Zadina scored again less than a minute later at 5:15. This time, he scored with a wrist shot while using a Calgary defender as a screen. Assists went to Bailey and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Luke Kunin scored his second of the game at 15:30 to make it 6-2. After the puck in the neutral zone, Kunin surprised the Flames and skated into the zone all on his own. He put the puck up under the crossbar to beat Wolf.

Andrei Kuzmenko redirected a shot by Chris Tanev to make it 6-3 at 16:40.

At 13:22 of the second period, Jan Rutta fell to the ice with some help from Walker Duehr’s wide-swinging leg that took out Rutta’s legs. He left the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Jets Shut Out Sharks 1-0, Ferraro and Granlund Return, Hertl and Couture Out

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Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) deflects the puck that goes wide as the Jets Dylan DeMelo (2) defends against the San Jose Sharks Mikeal Granlund (64) at Canada Life Center in Winnipeg on Wed Feb 14, 2024 (The Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shut out 1-0 by the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Morgan Barron scored the only goal in the game and Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for the shutout win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 38 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen said, of the many shots he faced: “They’re a pretty high shot volume team but overall I think what we did well was, even though they got a lot of shots on net, I think we boxed out, we kinda kept them outside so that was good for me.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn had a more dismal view of what the Sharks were doing with the puck:

“We had plenty of opportunities to make crisp passes and didn’t do it, I thought our puck play was really slow. I thought we were standing still when we got pucks. That really was the story to me of the night. I didn’t think we had any pace to our game with the puck.”

The Sharks started well in the first period, getting four shots on net before the Jets had any. The Jets turned that around and had 15 shots without allowing the Sharks any more in the period.

With 2:13 left in the period, the Jets scored. Morgan Barron deflected Adam Lowry’s shot from the point for his ninth goal of the season. Assists went to Lowry and Neal Pionk.

The Sharks took one penalty in the first period and allowed one shot to the Jets power play.

At 17:10 of the second period, it looked like Anthony Duclair might have tied the game. A review showed that the puck was stopped by Mark Sheifele, who had slipped in behind his goaltender.

The Jets again out-shot the Sharks in the second period, 16-8. Each team took a penalty in the second period. The Sharks allowed one shot to the Jets power play, and had one short-handed shot. They had no shots in their own power play.

Midway through the third period, Nico Sturm left the game after a hit from Logan Stanley, Stanley’s knee came up behind Sturm’s legs as Sturm fell, causing Sturm to hit the ice head and shoulders first.

In the final minute, Kaapo Kahkonen sustained what appeared to be a lower body injury. He was able to get to the bench so the Sharks could add an extra skater.

The final shot count was 40-18 Jets. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 38.5% of the draws. Nico Sturn led the team in shots with four.

Mario Ferraro and Mikael Granlund were back in the lineup after being injured before the All Star break. Both Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture were out. Hertl had scheduled knee surgery after the All Star Game. The team had advanced notice and, while the surgery was not emergent, it was needed. Logan Couture is having problems with the same lower body injury that kept him out for most of the season.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 6:00 PM PT in Calgary against the Flames.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks open second half of season in Winnipeg on Wednesday night

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The San Jose Sharks Marc- Edouard Vlasic (right) is ecstatic over his goal celebrates with left wing William Eklund (72) during the second period at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Wed Jan 31, 2024. The Sharks resume action on Wed Feb 14, 2024 in Winnipeg against the Winnipeg Jets (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa the Sharks have had a good 14 days off during the All Star break and will return to action this Wed Feb 14 in Winnipeg to face the Jets who just recently had their 16 game winning streak snapped.

#2 Tomas Hertl at the All Star Game was able to score a goal and help Team McDavid it had to be a thrill for Hertl to be at the All Star Game and get a goal representing his team.

#3 Before the break the Sharks were able to defeat the Seattle Kraken 2-0 on Tue Jan 20th behind the great goaltending of MacKenzie Blackwood who stopped all 32 Kraken shots.

#4 The Sharks in their next contest lost to the Anaheim Ducks on Wed Jan 31st at the Honda Center it was a narrow loss 3-2 in over time. The Ducks got an overtime goal and as hard as he tried in net Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 31 of 34 shots and allowed three goals.

#5 It’s the Sharks and Jets this Wednesday night in Winnipeg and anytime you face a team coming off a 16 game win streak you know they have a little going for them coming into this game.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Hertl scores goal in NHL All Star Game at Toronto for Team McDavid

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San Jose Sharks All Star representative Tomas Hertl (right) missed the last two Sharks games due to a lower body injury but is ready for Sat Feb 3, 2024 All Star Game as a member of Team McDavid at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto (photo by USA Today)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl was not drafted for the NHL All Star Player draft how surprised were you that he wasn’t selected?

#2 Hertl however he will be on Connor McDavid’s team. This could give him an opportunity to show his skills and he should be pretty excited to be part of the All Star game.

#3 Mary, take a look at some of Hertl’s teammates David Pastrnak Leon Draisaitl, Rasmus Dahlin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Sam Reinhart a large part of Team McDavid.

#4 Hertl also had that lower body injury and missed the Sharks last two games but will be in today’s All Star game for Team McDavid. Hertl was preparing himself to get into the All Star game resting from the injury.

#5 This will be Hertl’s second All Star game and Hertl said that when the draft was on he didn’t want to be picked last but didn’t get picked at all in the draft. None the less he will be playing in the All Star game.

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

Sharks Fall 3-2 in OT, Vlasic Scores Third Game in a Row

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The San Jose Sharks center Nico Sturm (7) gets to the door step but can’t score on Anaheim Ducks goaltender Josh Gibson (36) in the second period at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Wed Jan 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated in overtime 3-2 by the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Isac Lundestrom, Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano scored for the Ducks. John Gibson made 26 saves for the win. Anthony Duclair and Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored for the Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in the loss.

The Sharks had a lead through most of the game. To lose after that had to be frustrating. After the game, Sharks Captain Logan Couture said “I thought we were the better team for a lot of the game but third period they kind of took over. They had a lot of looks, we looked tired at the end there.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said that the team is playing well now, despite this loss: “The one thing that you feel good about right now is how we’re playing now and our compete and we’re not giving up a lot of goals and just overall playing better hockey.”

Anaheim celebrated as if they had scored at 1:58 of the first period. But the whistle had blown and the puck only went into the net as Kahkonen was pushed in as well.

Less than 20 seconds later, the Ducks did score. Isac Lundestrom slipped behind the defense and scored with a wrist shot at 2:12. Assists went to Mason McTavish and Jakob Silfverberg

Anthony Duclair tied the game with a power play goal at 6:59. Shakir Mukhamadullin took a slap shot from the blue line and Duclair caught the rebound. Assists went to Mukhamadullin and Mike Hoffman. That was Mukhamadullin’s first NHL point in his third game.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored from the blue line with a slap shot at 17:57 of the second. Assists went to Kyle Burroughs and William Eklund. The goal extended Vlasic’s goal streak to three games.

With the Ducks net empty, Troy Terry tied the game at 18:59 of the third period. With a scrum in front of the net, Terry found the puck and put it in. Assists went to Leo Carlsson and Adam Henrique.

Frank Vatrano scored the overtime winner 4:07 into overtime. His wrist shot went past Kahkonen’s blocker as the goaltender tried moved across the goal mouth.

The Sharks were out-shot 34-28 by the Ducks. In the face-off circle, they won 45.5% of the draws. Alexander Barabanov was injured half way through the game. After the game, Quinn said that he did not believe the injury was “too serious.”

The Sharks next play on February 14 at 4:30 PM PT in Winnipeg against the Jets.

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.