Category: San Jose Sharks

Sharks Lose 5-2 to the Blues

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the St. Louis Blues 5-2 Saturday, at the SAP Center in San Jose. Blues goals came from Jordan Kyrou (2), Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron and Vince Dunn. Ville Husso made 29 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Dylan Gambrell scored for San Jose, and Devan Dubnyk made 16 saves in the loss.

The Sharks were penalized for a face-off violation in the third period, when the game was still tied 2-2. Patrick Marleau was taking the draw and the linesman took issue with the way he did it. Of the call, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I think everybody in the rink, including their team, our team, I think, the other linesman, the refs, I think everybody was shocked. It was a brutal, brutal call. It really in my mind, cost, it turned the whole game around.”

Patrick Marleau, who could not recall being penalized under this rule before, said: “Obviously he thought I cheated or turned too quickly on the draw. So I guess that was the reasoning behind the penalty.”

Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk was also asked about that penalty. He said:

“It’s 2-2 in the middle of the third period and you get a penalty called that I don’t think I’ve ever seen called except for maybe the first year, [in] exhibition season, when they first made the rule. And it’s embarrassing, it’s Mickey Mouse.”

Dylan Gambrell scored for San Jose at 2:33 of the first. The puck came to him high in the slot after Sorensen and Brent Burns chased it down behind the net.

St. Louis tied it up at 3:32 when Vince Dunn scored his fourth of the season. Dunn’s shot from the blue line looked likely to go wide but instead it hit Erik Karlsson’s shin pad and deflected in. Assists went to Jordan Kyrou and Ryan O’Reilly.

Kyrou gave the Blues the lead at 6:45. O’Reilly got control of the puck below the goal line and passed it up to Kyrou. Kyrou put the puck under Dubnyk in in the net. Assists went to O’Reilly and David Perron.

Mike Hoffman put the puck in the net near the 12 minute mark. The goal was called back after the Sharks challenged the play as offside.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led on the shot clock 11-5. There was just one penalty in the first, to St. Louis. The Sharks had two shots on that power play.

Tomas Hertl tied the game 8:10 in to the second period. Nikolai Knyzhov’s pass from the defensive zone found Timo Meier on the other side of the neutral zone. Meier’s pass found Hertl speeding into the Blue’s zone. There was no one in the way to stop him as he took the shot.

The Sharks took two penalties in the second period and their penalty kill allowed just one shot to the Blues. The Sharks led in shots again, 10-8.

O’Reilly scored just 12 seconds into the power play that resulted from the face-off violation penalty. His shot from the face-off dot found its way through traffic and in. Assists went to Dunn and Perron.

Kyrou scored his second of the game at 15:51. Dubnyk followed the puck across to the right and Torey Krug passed it across the ice. Kyrou, who had just evaded Ryan Donato, tapped the puck in. Assists went to Krug and Perron.

David Perron scored into an empty net at 18:01 to make it 5-2.

The Final shot count was 31-21 Sharks. In the face-off circle, the Sharks showed improvement over recent games, winning 59%. Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl both won 67% of their draws.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings, in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Marleau’s goal to break Howe’s record in a Sharks sweater

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San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (12) going for the victory skate in front of the Sharks bench on Nov 15, 2019 against the Chicago Blackhawks will play in his 883 consecutive game tonight Mar 20, 2021 against the St Louis Blues at SAP Center in San Jose ( AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The San Jose Sharks longtime veteran Patrick Marleau is hoping for the San Jose Sharks to get enough wins to get into playoff position before the NHL trade deadline on April 12th so he might have a shot at breaking former late great Gordie Howe’s games played record at 1767, Marleau has played in 1751 games and has a 882 consecutive game streak going.

#2 Marleau said he would like to do it as a Shark as they Sharks are 11-13-4 7th in the NHL west the Sharks have their work cut out for them if they want to get into playoff position.

#3 The Sharks battled hard with the St Louis Blues (15-10-5) on Friday night but couldn’t hold on in a 2-1shootout loss. The Blues in fourth place in the NHL west snapped a five game losing streak with their win over the Sharks on Friday.

#4 Matt taking a look at other NHL news the Boston Bruins had four players enter the NHL Covid protocol on Friday. The Bruins games for Saturday vs. the Buffalo Sabers and Tuesday vs. the New York Islanders were postponed.

#5 Talk about the Bruins practice facilities shuttered and the Bruins players Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, and Craig Smith all are on the Covid list. The Bruins are expected to open up their practice facilities on Wednesday.

Join Matt Harrington does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks Fall 2-1 to Blues in Shootout

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 2-1 in a shootout Friday. Tyler Bozak scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the win. Ryan Donato scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 33 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I think we had seven or eight missed chances, missed the net, and the rest were blocked. I thought we had a ton of opportunities, especially rush chances in the slot. We looked to pass it or we got blocked or, like I said, we missed the net. So they hit the net on theirs. They’re a good team, a good offensive team and I thought Jonesy gave us a chance to win there.”

Ryan Donato scored for the Sharks at 15:08 of the second period. Hertl started the puck out and passed it to Sorensen in the neutral zone. As he crossed the blue line, he dropped it to Donato. Donato hesitated until a defenseman went down to block the shot, and then took the shot from the slot. Assists went to Sorensen and Hertl.

The two penalties in the first two periods both went to the Sharks and they were both for too many men on the ice. After the game, Sharks captain Logan Couture said: “Tonight the first one was on the forwards and the second one was on the d-men. I believe the first one, guys just heard the wrong line that was called and obviously that can’t happen. And the d-one, I’m not sure, I’m not down at that end.”

The Blues had two shots during the first power play and one in the second. The Blues outshot the Sharks in both periods, 12-9 and 12-7.

The Blues tied the game at 6:22 of the third period with a short-handed goal. Kyle Clifford took a shot that went off of Tyler Bozak’s shinpad, making it Bozak’s first goal of the year.

There were two penalties called in the third period, an interference call against Zach Sanford of the Blues and a misconduct against Kurtis Gabriel of the Sharks. Neither team registered a shot on the power play in the third. The Sharks improved a little in shots, leading 11-10 in the third.

The Sharks had all the shots in overtime with four, and they had some power play time as well.

The shootout was concluded in three rounds. David Perron’s shot was stopped by Martin Jones. Donato shot wide. Brayden Schenn scored over Jones’ shoulder on the glove side. Logan Couture scored over Binnington’s blocker. Vladimir Tarasenko scored by outwaiting Jones and sneaking the puck behind the goalie. Kevin Labanc tried the same thing but Binnington’s skate got in the way for a save.

The Sharks’ face-off numbers were not good, with a 38% win percentage. Tomas Hertl and Dylan Gambrell both won fewer than 25% of their draws. Both players have been taking a lot of draws and until recently put up good numbers.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 6:00 PM PT, against the Blues again in San Jose.

Sharks Fall 5-4 to Golden Knights

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-4 to the Golden Knights at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Wednesday. Vegas goals came from Shea Theodore, Cody Glass, Nicolas Hague, Ryan Reaves and Alec Martinez. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for the win. Matt Nieto, Mario Ferraro, Kevin Labanc and Evander Kane scored for the Sharks. Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves in the loss.

The Sharks went into the third period with a 3-1 lead, but gave up four goals in the final frame. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how the game came undone:

“I think we pissed away a couple points. You know, the game got emotional and intense and physical, and I didn’t mind that at all. I think we did a good job sticking up for each other, those are things we want to keep doing. A little tough there when we lost [Couture], Hertl and Timo got called off the bench for concussion protocol after that hit all at the same time so we started juggling lines.”

Boughner did not consider that the real turning point. Rather, it came before that: “They didn’t have much going on the first six, seven minutes of that period and we had a horrible, horrible too many men call.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture explained how it felt to let the game get away from them in the third:

“We played better. Should have won tonight, gave away points, so I mean it sucks to take away the moral victory in a game like this when you need to win and should have won. We’re in a position to win in the third period so, shitty feeling right now.”

Shea Theodore started the scoring at 3:45. Max Pacioretty gathered up an offensive zone turnover and passed it to Theodore at the point. Theodore’s slapshot sailed by Dubnyk, who may have been screened by some traffic.

San Jose took three penalties in the first period and their penalty kill allowed four shots. On the power play, they had three shots. For the period, the Sharks led in shots 11-10.

Matt Nieto got the Sharks on the board at 6:21. Timo Meier sent a pass from the goal line right onto Nieto’s stick by the blue paint. Assists went to Meier and Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks took a lead at with a goal from Mario Ferraro at 7:57. John Leonard’s shot went off of the post before Ferraro coraaled it behind the net and wrapped it around behind Fleury. Assists went to Leonard and Evander Kane.

Ryan Reaves put the puck in the net for Vegas at 11:00, but William Carrier was on top of Dubnyk when the puck went in. The Sharks challenged the goal and, after a review, it was called back for goaltender interference.

Kevin Labanc scored the Sharks’ third of the night at 15:07. Evander Kane attempted to deflect a shot from Ferraro on the blue line. When that didn’t go, he found it again and swept it in front of the net for Labanc to put away. Assists went to Kane and Ferraro.

The Sharks achieved their second period goal of avoiding penalties and the only one went to the Golden Knights. They outshot the Golden Knights 16-11 in the period, but did not get any shots on their power play.

Cody Glass scored for Vegas on the power play at 6:43 of the third period. John Leonard was in the box because his team was caught with too many men on the ice. The puck actually went off of Mario Ferraro’s skate. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Mark Stone.

Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone came to blows in front of the Sharks net moments later. Stone had delivered a hit on Timo Meier in the neutral zone. Meier was called away form the game for concussion protocol. That was Hertl’s first NHL fight.

Nicolas Hague tied the game at 10:03 with a shot right down the slot from the blue line. The assists went to Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson.

Logan Couture and Jonathan Marchessault fought shortly after that goal. That left the Sharks without Meier, Hertl of Couture for several minutes.

Ryan Reaves gave Vegas the lead at 12:27 with a deflection that bounced past Dubnyk. Assists went to Tomas Nosek and Zach Whitecloud.

Alec Martinez scored what would be the game winner at 14:46, on another power play. Labanc was in the box for tripping. the Sharks were just eight seconds away from killing the penalty when Tomas Nosek made a pass across the ice to Martinez. Assists went to Nosek and Theodore.

Evander Kane brought the Sharks back within on goal at 15:54 with a power play goal. Erik Karlsson took a shot from the point. Kane was there to battle for the rebound and tuck it in.

Vegas outshot San Jose 16-6 in the third period. The Sharks got two shots in on their one power play and the Golden Knights got seven shots in two power plays.

The Sharks won just 45% of the face-offs in the game. Of skaters to take more than five draws, only Logan Couture won more than 50%.

The Sharks next play on Friday against the St. Louis Blues at 6:00 PM PT, back in San Jose.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Expect to see a more offensive effort tonight from Sharks in Vegas

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You can expect the San Jose Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk (40) to expect lots of traffic in front of the net knowing the Vegas Golden Knights reputation for offense tonight at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas for game 2 of the 2 game series (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Len, does it look like any indication to you with that the Vegas Golden Knights (19-6-1) set the tone in winning the first game of this two game series against the San Jose Sharks (11-12-3) on Monday night 2-1.

#2 The Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk did all he can to prevent a second goal in the third period but being the good offensive club the Knights are they were able to score on Dubnyk and the Sharks ran out of time to try and tie up the game.

#3 Dubnyk faced a barrage of 34 shots from the Knights and stopped all but 32 he had a great performance despite the San Jose loss and has been the hot handed goalie for the Sharks.

#4 The Sharks in their own right put the puck on net as well against the Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury allowing only one goal while facing 24.

#5 Tonight is game 2 of the series who do you see in goal in this one and you can expect to see more offense coming from the Sharks side of the rink tonight?

Join Len for Sharks podcasts every Wednesday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro Wed Mar 17, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks-Knights get after game 2 Wednesday night in Vegas

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc Andre Fluery stops San Jose Sharks Evander Kane’s shot on Mon Mar 15, 2021 at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas in game 1 of the two game series (photo from Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks lose in Vegas by a close margin 2-1 both goaltenders for San Jose Devon Dubnyk and the Vegas Golden Knights Marc-Andre Fleury were on their A games on Monday night at the T Mobile Center.

#2  Fluery faced 24 shots allowed a goal and had a .958 % save average against the Sharks on Monday night.

#3 Dubnyk faced 36 shots and allowed two goals for a .944 save average. Despite the loss D ubnyk continues to have the hot hand for goalie at San Jose.

#4 Mary Lisa it all came down to the third period as the Sharks Timo Meier scored the team’s only goal. The Sharks couldn’t force overtime in the one goal loss in game 1.

#5 Same clubs for Wednesday night at the T Mobile Center in Vegas both teams played even hockey on Monday night do you see game 2 being pretty much a close match up as well?

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh Tue Mar 16, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Sharks Lose 2-1 to Golden Knights; Dubnyk stands on head despite loss

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk stops a shot by the Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch while on his back at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Mon Mar 15, 2021 (AP News photo) 

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 2-1 Monday. Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone scored for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves for the win. Timo Meier scored for the Sharks and Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how an otherwise good game from the Sharks was thwarted by Marc-Andre Fleury’s brilliant play:

“I thought there was a lot of good things to our game. Obviously, in the second period we took on a little water. I thought that Duby was good. I thought that we had lots of chances early on in the game. I thought Fleury was a difference-maker. You know, we had a few break-aways, we hit a few posts. Could have been a little bit of a different game, but he kept them going, he gave them some momentum.”

Boughner went on to say: “I’m proud of the guys, I thought we fought hard, I thought we did a lot of good things so we just gotta get back to work here tomorrow and try and find a way to score some more goals against these guys.”

Sharks captain Logan Couture talked about how the team seems to be getting better goaltending lately:

“The last little while, I think that, you know, we started to pick each other up. We started to play better for each other, play to our system, play better defensively. When a team plays better, tighter defensively, the goaltender’s always going to look better and make more saves. So, yeah, I think we’re starting to do that.”

Max Pacioretty scored the only first period goal, on the power play at 8:35. Evander Kane was in the box for tripping Jonathan Marchessault. It took the Golden Knights just 12 seconds to score. They won the face-off and moved the puck aroud the outside once before Pacioretty scored, from just beyond the face-off dot. Assists went to Mak Stone and Shea Theodore.

The first period shot count was 11-8 Sharks. In the face-of circle, Vegas won 58%.

There were no goals and no penalties in the second period. There was, however, a surprising shot discrepancy, with the Sharks getting credit for just 4 and Vegas notching 16 shots. Oddly, the face-offs went the other way, with the Sharks winning 60% of them.

Mark Stone added a goal for Vegas just 1:02 into the third period. Nikolay Knyzhov did a good job stcking with Pacioretty as he carried the puck down the wall, but he couldn’t stop him from making a pass to Mark Stone who was trailing. No one was in Stone’s way to prevent the shot. Assists went to Pacioretty and Nicolas Hague.

The Golden Knights had a power play when Tomas Hertl was called for sendig the puck over the glass. The Sharks penalty kill allowed just one shot.

Around the 12-minute mark, Evander Kane had a breakaway chance but Marc-Andre Fleury came way out of his net for the poke check. Fleury’s gamble paid off and Kane couldn’t get a shot off.

Not long after that, Kane was sent to the penalty box for interference on Marchessault. Vegas had 3 shots on that power play.

Timo Meier got the Sharks on the board at 14:29. Meier held the puck in the slot as if he would shoot on the forehand, luring Fleury out of the net. Once the goalie was out of the blue paint, Meier switched to the backhand and dragged the puck around Fleury’s outstretched leg to tuck it in the net. Brent Burns got the assist.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender with just under two minutes left. The Sharks had a 25 second power play at the end when Max Pacioretty was called for interference on Timo Meier. That was the only penalty called on Vegas. The Sharks had a few fair chances in those 25 seconds but could not tie it up.

Logan Couture commented on the difficulty of using the extra skater in the last minutes of the game:

“Just at the end there, the puck was bouncing too much to create anything on that 6 on 5 and power play. Which is unfortunate ‘cuz I think we would have had some looks. Just couldn’t get anything tape-to-tape and the puck seemed to be spinning, bouncing, so, tough one to swallow right now for sure.”

The shot count for the period was 12-9 Vegas. The Sharks led in face-off wins at 52% for the third period and in the game.

The Sharks will play the Golden Knights again on Wednesday in Las Vegas, at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Win 3rd in a Row, Beat Ducks 3-1

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) allowed only one goal against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sat Mar 13, 2021 (@SanJoseSharks photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their third in a row on Saturday, a 3-1 win against the Ducks in Anaheim. This is the first win streak for the Sharks this season. Sharks goals came from Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc and Dylan Gambrell. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the win. Max Jones scored for the Ducks and Ryan Miller made 30 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “It feels good to have a first little winning streak I guess you can call it, three games in a row. You know, especially on the road. The guys played well, it was a tight game.”

The first Sharks goal came just after an Anaheim power play in the first period. Taking advantage of a turnover in the Sharks’ zone, Kane went the other way in a hurry, with Tomas Hertl and Mario Ferraro just a step behind. Kane carried it all the way to the face-off circle before taking the shot and beating Ryan Miller on the blocker side.

The first period shot count was close, at 8-7 Sharks. There were five penalties called in the first, three to Anaheim and two to San Jose. The Sharks had four shots i their power plays and allowed just one powr play shot to Anaheim. In the face-off circle, the Sharks prevailed 58% of the time.

Anaheim tied it up at 5:38 of the second period. Max Jones skated around Radim Simek with the puck on his backhand. As he cut away from the wall he switched to his forehand for a quick shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Kevin Shattenkirk and Isac Lundestrom.

Kevin Labanc grabbed the lead back for the Sharks just under a minute later. Tomas Hertl came around behind the net and, while losing his footing, passed the puck around the post to the front for Labanc to take the shot. Assists went to Hertl and Mario Ferraro.

The Sharks outshot the Ducks 14-9 in the second period, and out drew them in the face-off circle, winning 16 of 21 draws. There was just one penalty in the period, going to Anaheim. The Sharks did not get any shots on that power play.

Dylan Gambrell gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead at 2:07 of the third. Ryan Donato gathered the puck up behind the net after it came loose in the corner. Donato tried for a wrap around but was thwarted by traffic. Gambrell was in the thick of that traffic on his knees when he managed to push the puck in. Assists went to Donato and John Leonard. It was Gambrell’s first goal of the season, and his first in over a year.

The Ducks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater, with almost three minutes left in the game.

The third period shots were dead even at 11 each. The Sharks took the only penalty in the period, but allowed just one shot to the Ducks’ power play. Additionally, the Sharks took four short-handed shots during that penalty kill. The Sharks slipped badly in the face-off circle, dropping to 30% for the period. Overall, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl won more draws than they lost, and, through the first two periods, Dylan Gambrell won more than 50%.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas at 7:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Impressive win for Sharks in 6-0 shutout against Ducks

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk (1) gets in front of Anaheim Ducks forward Maxime Comtois (53) third period shot on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Matt:

#1 Little doubt that the Sharks (10-11-3) goaltender Devon Dubnyk has the hot hand shutting out the Anaheim Ducks (8-14-6) on Friday night with a 6-0 win and 34 saves.

#2 Dubnyk was also instrumental in the Sharks 3-2 overtime win over the St Louis Blues last Monday night both victories coming at SAP Center.

#3 The Sharks got scoring help against the Ducks from Tomas Hertl, Kevin LeBanc, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Fredrick Handemark, and Erik Karlsson a good mix of players who took advantage of the Ducks defense.

#4 The Ducks knew they were in trouble they pulled started goalie Josh Gibson for Ryan Miller. Gibson allowed five goals and Miller allowed one. The Sharks scored four goals in the third period.

#5 Same two teams tonight at the Honda Center in Anaheim the Ducks have to gear up on their end as they just were non existent on Friday night and the Sharks not only rallied but they’ve been getting goal scoring help from the defencemen including Erik Karlsson.

Join Matt Harrington for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks Shut-Out Ducks 6-0

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The San Jose Sharks celebrate one of their six goals against the Anaheim Ducks on Fri Mar 12, 2021 at the Honda Center in Anaheim (photo by AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks shut out the Anaheim Ducks 6-0 in Anaheim Friday. Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc and Fredrik Handemark. Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves for the shut-out win. Friday was Devan Dubnyk’s third start in a row for the Sharks. Ducks goaltender John Gibson made 19 saves on 24 shots before being relieved by Ryan Miller, who made 2 saves on 3 shots.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It was good to see the guys at the end of the game, still with the lead, playing hard and blocking shots and doing the things that we talk about. It was a great team win and Duby was our best player when we needed him.”

The Sharks scored the only goal in the first period. Just back from a COVID-19 protocol absence, Tomas Hertl scored on the power play at 7:57. Brent Burns faked a shot just below the blue line, then passed to Hertl at the side of the net. Hertl’s shot went off of a defender and in. Assists went to Brent Burns and Timo Meier, also just back from injury. Cam Fowler limped off the ice mid-penalty kill after blocking an Evander Kane shot with his skate. He did return to play.

The Sharks had just 5 shots in the period, to the Ducks’ 11. Each team had one power play in the period and just one power play shot each. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 53% of the time. Just past the mid-point of the period, Kurtis Gabriel and Nicolas Deslauriers fought, evidently as a response to Gabriel’s hit on Jacob Larsson.

The second Sharks goal came early in the second period, from Evander Kane 37 seconds in. Brent Burns carried the puck through the neutral zone and down almost to the goal line before making a pass across to Kane as the forward skated to the net. Assists went to Burns and Kevin Labanc.

The Ducks out-shot the Sharks in the second period as well, 16-11. There was only one penalty called in the second, against Anaheim. The Sharks had no shots during that power play. In the face-off circle, the Ducks won 65% of them.

The third period was busier than the previous two with the Sharks scoring three more times. The first of those came on the power play at 5:58, from Erik Karlsson. His shot came right down the slot from the blue line about half-way into the power play. Assists went to Labanc and Logan Couture.

Timo Meier scored at 8:03. About half way up the boards, Meier dragged the puck around the Ducks defender and let the shot fly before Gibson could adjust. Assists went to Kane and Mario Ferraro.

Kevin Labanc scored his sixth of the season just over a minute later. The play looked a lot like Kane’s goal earlier, but this time with Kane carrying the puck deep into the zone and finding Labanc on the other side of the net. Assists went to Kane and Ferraro.

The Ducks pulled Gibson after that goal and put Ryan Miller in net to finish the game.

Fredrik Handemark scored his first NHL goal in his second NHL game at 14:59. No assists were awarded on the goal but Patrick Marleau skated in with Handemark, helping out by pressuring the nearest Ducks defender, Sam Steel.

The Sharks bounced back in the face-off circle for the third period, winning 53% again. They also out-shot the Ducks in the third, 11-7. They had just the one shot on their power play, the only one of the period.

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