Category: San Jose Sharks

Penalty kill unit key to Sharks’ 4-2 win over Coyotes

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, November 30, 2019

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Killing penalties is an unglamorous, but necessary part of success in hockey. San Jose has one of the best penalty-kill units in the NHL and proved it again Saturday.

The Sharks overcame an early deficit on Timo Meier’s go-ahead goal, killed off back-to-back power plays in the third period, and defeated Arizona 4-2 in a key Pacific Division contest.

Both teams were playing the second game of back-to-backs — the Sharks beat the Kings 4-1 in Los Angeles on Friday, while the Coyotes lost in Las Vegas in an overtime shootout with the Golden Knights.

“Big resiliency,” is how Sharks coach Peter DeBoer described his team’s effort. “In a back-to-back game, it could have been 4 or 5-0 in the first five minutes. Then we settled down and got to our game. I thought the next 50 minutes was some of the best hockey we’ve played this year.

“We talked about these games (against Los Angeles and Arizona) being four-point games. These are opportunities to close the gap (in the division standings) of which you don’t get very many. So, we wanted to take advantage of both of these games.”

With San Jose leading 3-2 in the third period, San Jose’s Erik Karlsson was cited for tripping at 6:55 and Radim Simek got the gate for delay of game at 9:11, essentially giving the Coyotes a four-minute power play.

Arizona, which finished November with 19 points (8-5-3), was unable to put together an effective power play, and did not capitalize.

“Our PK has been big all year,” DeBoer said. “Not only do we do a good job on it, it really grabs the momentum for us and saps it from the other team. Those are big momentum moments there in the third, and we got a lot of energy from those kills.”

Logan Couture, who scored the first and fourth San Jose goals, said the penalty kill has “won us many games. I was saying the other day, imagine our kill was at 85 percent with all the penalties that we’re taking. We would have lost a lot of these games that we were able to win. Credit to the killers, the system has been great and our goaltenders have been spectacular on the kill.”

The Coyotes wasted little time getting on the board. Nick Schmaltz beat Sharks goaltender Martin Jones at 1:33 for his fifth goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Derek Stepan also scored his fifth goal, giving Arizona a quick 2-0 lead.

Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said, ‘For seven or eight minutes, I think it was our best hockey of the year and the crowd was in it. For whatever reason, after a couple of breakaways, we slowed it down again, a couple of blown coverages, and then it just kind of unraveled.

“You could tell guys were getting tight and I’m not sure why. San Jose is a veteran team and they’ve been in tough games before … 2-0, they weren’t going to panic and they didn’t.”

Logan Couture’s seventh tally of the season cut the Sharks’ deficit to 2-1 at 11:01 of the first period. Couture’s shot from the slot just outside the right circle beat a screened Antti Raanta, with assists going to Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane.

San Jose got the equalizer at 2:55 of the second period when Dylan Gambrell circled around from behind the net and flipped a low shot at a sharp angle from the bottom of the right circle, beating Raanta to the stick side.

Moments later, the Sharks took their first lead of the game on Timo Meier’s redirection at 8:52. From the faceoff in the left circle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic won the draw, passed to Tomas Hertl at the left point, whose shot was steered in by Meier, who was parked to the left of the crease.

With the Coyotes employing a sixth attacker in the final minute, Couture popped in an empty-net goal at 19:31.

After a shaky start, Jones settled down at stopped 21 of 23 shots. Raanta finished with 26 saves, as the Sharks outshot Arizona 30-23.

“Martin’s been big here lately,” DeBoer said. “I think his season has mirrored our team’s season, getting off to a slow start and then finding our game. I think he’s done the same thing.”

The Sharks return home for a Tuesday game against Washington, then embark on an eastern road trip to Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Nashville.

Attendance at Gila River Arena was 15,485.

Sharks Beat LA 4-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 Friday afternoon at the SAP Center. Sharks goals came from Patrick Marleau, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Noah Gregor and Logan Couture. Martin Jones made 33 saves for the win. The lone Kings goal came from Kyle Clifford and Jonathan Quick made 18 saves in the game. Friday’s win came after an ugly 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

The Sharks’ ability to rebound from losses has improved recently.

After the game, Sharks goaltender Martin Jones said: “Based on our record, I’d say yes. You know, we’ve got a lot of veteran guys in here, it’s nothing new. You go through it every year, tough stretches. It’s pretty important to get it turned around as quickly as you can, not let it spiral.”

One of the Sharks goals was a career-first.

Joe Thornton talked about Noah Gregor scoring his first NHL goal: “It changes your mindset when you get that first one. Confidence is such a big part of sports and you could see after he scored that, confidence just grew and hopefully it can grow from there.”

“It felt was awesome,” said Gregor. “It took, I think this is game 11? It took a bit but it was awesome to see the puck go in the net for the first time.” Of what the coaches have asked from him over this season, he said: “Just try to stay consistent in my game. Bring that speed. I think the speed is my biggest attribute, just try to bring that every single night. Also, my defensive game, always trying to improve it, be a little harder on pucks and plays a little bit quicker.”

The first goal came shortly after a Sharks power play, at 7:26 of the first period. Joe Thornton wrested control of the puck by the Kings net, carried it out to center and then found Marcus Sorensen on the wing. Sorensen convinced everyone that he was about to shoot, drawing defensive attention to him, and making Jonathan Quick come out to stop the shot. Instead, he sent a pass across the ice to Patrick Marleau, who was skating toward an open net. It was Marleau’s sixth of the season. Assists went to Sorensen and Thornton.

The second goal came from Marc-Edouard Vlasic at 13:14 during a delayed penalty. With two skaters lined up in front of Quick, Vlasic shot it in the short side, sneaking over Quick’s pad and through a narrow gap by the post. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks 8-4 in the first period.

The Sharks resumed their scoring ways at 2:58 of the second period. Noah Gregor broke away through the neutral zone. He passed two Kings before catching a pass from Brenden Dillon and shooting on the fly. It was Gregor’s first NHL goal, in his 10th NHL game. Assists went to Dillon and Martin Jones.

The second goal of the second period came from Logan Couture at 14:42. Erik Karlsson sent a shot right down the slot. First it hit Barclay Goodrow’s stick, then Logan Couture’s right on the edge of the paint. Goodrow and Karlsson got the assists.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks 13-9 in the second period.

At 12:54 of the third, Antti Suomela collided with Kurtis MacDermid and had to leave the game. MacDermid was given a match penalty but after an official review that was downgraded to a minor interference penalty.

The Kings broke Martin Jones’ shutout bid with a couple of minutes left in the game. Matt Luff found Kyle Clifford in the slot with a pass from the boards. Clifford sent it in without hesitation and it went right by Jones.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks 11-8 in the third period. the Kings won 54% of the face-offs in the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona against the Coyotes at 5:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks get ninth win out of 11 dominate Kings 4-1 at SAP

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photo from sfgate.com: San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor, center, celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 29, 2019.

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Gotta be a thrill for the Sharks Noah Gregor to score his first goal for the season hitting it in the second period on a corner shot stick side of Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick

#2 Talk about Sharks goaltender Marty Jones getting the assist on the Gregor goal it doesn’t come often when a goal tender gets the assist on a goal.

#3 This team is taking each game by storm they picked up their ninth win out of their last 11 games today with a dominating win over the Los Angeles Kings.

#4 Sharks score two per period and in the second period it looked as if the Sharks had taken the wind out of the Kings sails.

#5 Sharks playing back to back head to Arizona to face the Coyotes who have won six of their last ten games talk about how you see this match up.

Mary Lisa is a Sharks beat writer and does Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Power Play Power Outage Problematic in Sharks 5-1 Loss to Jets

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photo from sfgate.com: Winnipeg Jets right wing Patrik Laine (29) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks felt the absence of Tomas Hertl especially hard Wednesday night, losing to the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 at home while going 0-for-6 on the power play. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves in a spectacular performance, with only Melker Karlsson solving the one-time Vezina trophy winner. Aaron Dell wasn’t sharp in net, allowing 4 goals on 25 shots, but his defense didn’t do him many favors either, with Winnipeg scoring 5 unanswered goals. Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler all had multi-point nights for the victors.

Melker Karlsson opened the scoring 9:28 into the game, netting his second goal of the year after taking a Joe Thornton feed and beating Hellebuyck for the 1-0 lead, but the Sharks would take their foot off the gas pedal after that.

Patrik Laine (1g, 2a) evened things up on a one-timer with a Shark in the penalty box with 6:45 left to play in the period, then Dell (and Erik Karlsson) were victimized by rookie David Gustafsson. Gustafsson skated right past Karlsson then beat Dell on what could be considered a soft goal 1:51 from the first intermission. Gustafsson’s first NHL goal pulled the Jets ahead 2-1.

San Jose didn’t do itself any favors early in the 2nd period when Mark Scheifele was left unmarked in the slot. Kyle Connor connected with him for the point-blank chance, which Scheifele buried for his 9th goal of the year. Jack Roslovic chipped a rebound home with 4:59 left in the second to give Winnipeg the 4-1 edge and Kyle Connor scored the empty-netter with 5:13 left in the game for the 5-1 final.

The Sharks power play, despite a number of opportunities without linchpin Tomas Hertl in the lineup still recovering from a lower body injury. They barely generated any shots on goal, accounting for 8 over the 6 man advantages. Even dressing 7 defensemen, a tactic that had been successful in some of the previous games, didn’t help things click. The Sharks will hope to have Hertl back for the Black Friday matinee against the Los Angeles Kings, a team the Sharks had beat Monday night in LA after originally blowing a 3-0 lead.

 

 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks and Jets ready to duel tonight for second meeting this month

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Photo credit: 660citynews.com

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Sharks grabbed their their third overtime win, which resulted in a shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night 2-1.

#2 Sharks captain Logan Couture has that laser beam shot when it come to shootouts. He’s had lots of practice and was responsible for a overtime win against the Vegas Knights at the beginning of this three-game overtime streak.

#3 The Sharks faced their former head coach Todd McClellan. The Kings coach used some strategy to almost overcome  a 3-0 deficit to come up a goal short 4-3.

#4 Sharks goaltender Marty Jones went 33-36 in the effort that earned him a .917 save percentage.

#5 The Sharks host the Winnipeg Jets tonight at SAP Center. The puck drops at 7:30 pm. If you can’t get enough of Winnipeg, this is your month as this will be the second time the Sharks have faced the Jets this month.

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

Sharks get third overtime win in a row, 4-3

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Pearl Allison Lo

LOS ANGELES — No, it wasn’t Logan Couture, but I don’t think he’ll mind that teammate Patrick Marleau scored the overtime winner this time, as San Jose scooped up another win after initially leading 3-0 in a 4-3 victory over the Kings.

Kevin Labanc made the initial shot and Marleau picked up the rebound before going top-shelf 2:35 into the extra period.

Timo Meier struck twice with a game-high six shots as the Sharks faced former head coach Todd McLellan for the first time with his new team Monday. It was Meier’s first two-goal game of the season. 

It was also the first time this pair of opposite state rivals faced off in the 2019-2020 season.

San Jose established a 3-0 lead in the first half as Los Angeles used the second to work their way back.  The Kings committed three penalties in the second half, the middle one no doubt a factor as Los Angeles scored the game-tying goal two seconds after the penalty expired. 

After a clearing attempt that Kyle Clifford ended up tipping to the Sharks, Erik Karlsson started the sequence. He passed to Evander Kane who sent the puck through Ben Hutton’s legs to Couture. After receiving the drop pass from Couture, Karlsson shot with an open stance above goalie Jonathan Quick’s left shoulder at 5:53. With the apple, Couture’s 20th assist, he now has a seven-game point streak. 

The Kings finished with the shot advantage in the first thanks to five shots on goal during the power play that ended the period. 

San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow stole the puck in the Sharks’ end and then Karlsson took it to the races. With a 3-on-2 advantage on the transition, Labanc passed behind Karlsson to Meier after Karlsson got closer to the two defenders. Once the puck hit Meier’s tape, he wasted no time, scoring just to the left of defender Alec Martinez and Quick at 6:19. 

The Sharks kept the momentum with smooth passing and Goodrow and Labanc holding onto the puck through two hits against the boards. Labanc found Brenden Dillon across the ice who shot through defenseman Sean Walker as Meier smashed the puck into open blue ice at 8:45.

Los Angeles started their comeback when they managed to get one past Jones a second before the final minute of the period. Once Adrian Kempe made a no-look pass behind him to Blake Lizotte, he shot through Radim Simek’s legs back to Kempe who found a hole through traffic. 

In the third, a glove was lost, a stick fell onto the ice and the puck rolled across the blue ice behind Jones during a flurry.

At 8:31, the circles on the ice lit up to mark a 3-2 score. Alex Iafallo was able to find Dustin Brown through traffic as Brown found the hole between Jones’ left skate and the post. 

Kempe aimed from the right faceoff circle on the power play and then Iafallo off the power play  as the puck might have hit Brown’s skate on its way back to Anze Kopitar. The captain earned his team-leading 10th goal from a kneeling position to even the match at three apiece. 

The whistle blew against San Jose for the second time in the third with 1:04 left in regulation as they were called for too many men on the ice.

The Kings outshot the Sharks 16-6 in the third.

Up Next: San Jose now heads home for two games facing the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday at 7:30 pm first. Martinez took an unfortunate skate to the wrist in the third from Melker Karlsson so prayers please. 

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Keefe gets win in 1st game at helm for Leafs; Sharks top Isles in OT; plus more

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photo from sports.yahoo.com: Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe proud to be a Leaf, gets his first win as head coach.

On the NHL podcast with Daniel:

1 Big shakeup in Toronto: Babcock out as Maple Leafs coach; Keefe gets win in first game in charge

2 Logan Couture scores in OT, Sharks cool off red-hot Islanders

3 Flames will ignore social media and not trade Johnny Gaudreau

4 Ex-Shark Joe Pavelski sparks shootout win for Dallas over the Blackhawks

5 NHLPA files a grievance to challenge Jets’ suspension of Dustin Byfuglien

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum is heard each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Sink Islanders 2-1 in OT; Loss Snaps Isles’ 5-game Win Streak

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photo from sfgate: San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture, right rear, is congratulated by left wing Evander Kane (9) and defenseman Brent Burns, front right, after scoring against the New York Islanders during overtime in an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. The Sharks won 2-1.

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks beat the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime Saturday. Marcus Sorensen and Logan Couture scored for San Jose, while Martin Jones made 27 saves for the win. Casey Cizikas scored for New York and Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves in the loss.

“We didn’t help ourselves tonight by getting in the box but we still found way and I thought it was a pretty gutsy effort,” said Sharks Head Coach Peter DeBoer. That was in reference to the six penalties in a row that the Sharks had to kill for the win. Sharks forward Evander Kane said: “We killed a lot tonight, let’s be honest. I mean we did a great job with the penalty kill and Joner was fantastic in stopping, some key saves there in some real dangerous scoring areas.”

The New York Islanders are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, with just one road loss before Saturday’s game. Asked whether that added value to the win, Logan Couture said: “The big thing was, I mean we saw all the teams around us before the game, they won. So we wanted to keep pace. You know, we’re right in it now, after a horrendous start. We’ve given ourselves an opportunity to make a push here and collect some more points. I think that’s enough motivation right there.”

A scoreless first period was marked by speed and offense from the Sharks as they out-shot the Islanders 8-1 in the first seven minutes of play. By the end of the period, the Sharks had an advantage in shots 13-7 and had won 73% of the face-offs. Barclay Goodrow won five of those face-offs and lost none. Each team took a penalty, each team killed one. The Sharks had four shots during their power play, the Islanders had none.

The second period started with a fight 37 seconds in, between Brenden Dillon and Casek Cizikas after a hit on Mario Ferraro.

Almost seven minutes in, Martin Jones had to make a save on a breakaway by Brock Nelson before the rest of his team arrived to help defend the zone. They made quick work of that and went the other way with Mario Ferraro and Marcus Sorensen attacking two on one. Ferraro’s pass bumped almost gently off of Sorensen’s stick and around Semyon Varlamov. Assists went to Ferraro and Joe Thornton.

Less than 30 seconds later, New York tied it up with a goal from Casey Cizikas. Adam Pelech’s shot went off of Cizikas’s body as he fought Brent Burns for position in front of the net. Assists went to Pelech and Ryan Pulock.

The Sharks challenged the goal for goaltender interference. The replay did look a good deal like the disallowed goal in Las Vegas Thursday, but the only contact with Jones was Brent Burns’ stick as Cizikas pushed his way through it. The goal was upheld and the Sharks were shorthanded but killed the penalty. They killed another at 12:08 when Lukas Radil was called for tripping Scott Mayfield. And another at 16:42, when Kevin Labanc was called for slashing Anthony Beauvillier. Over the course of those four power plays, the Islanders got credit for four shots.

Over the period, the Islanders had ten shots and the Sharks had only six. In the face-off circle, their dominance dwindled to 58%.

The Islanders were back on the power play early in the third period. This time it was Patrick Marleau in the box for tripping Scott Mayfield. This time the Islanders brought some real pressure to bear, getting three shots on goal and spending very little time retrieving the puck in their own end. The Islanders had another chance at 12:26, their sixth power play in a row, when Kevin Labanc went to the box for tripping.

In the third period, the Islanders out-shot the Sharks 11-5 but the game remained tied. The Sharks had some time to recover from the endless penalty kills during the pre-overtime break.

Exactly half way through overtime, Evander Kane picked up a drifting puck that Brent Burns left behind. He had to battle for possession but he got it and eventually found Logan Couture in front of the net for a game-winning shot.

The Sharks finished the game with a 53% winning percentage and the Islanders had 28 shots to the Sharks’ 26.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks face toughest team in NHL on Saturday night in Isles

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Photo credit: fearthefin.com

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks’ win on Thursday night just getting by the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 gave the Sharks seven wins in their last eight games.

#2 The Sharks, who won by a goal, got it from their captain Logan Couture, who scored it in overtime at 3:20

#3 The Sharks got their first goal from Timo Meier at 1:26 in the first period to open things up against the Knights.

#4 Talk about the job that goaltender Aaron Dell did stopping the Knights with stopping 37 out of 38.

#5 Sharks host the New York Islanders, who are 16-3-1, The Isles are coming off a win against the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3.

Mary Lisa is a beat writer for the Sharks and does Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks Tough It Out, Beat Golden Knights 2-1 in OT

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in overtime Thursday, in Vegas. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier and Logan Couture. Aaron Dell, making his first start in three weeks, made 37 saves for win. The lone Vegas goal came from Brayden McNabb and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves.

Aaron Dell last played on November 2, seven games ago for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks forward Timo Meier said: “He was incredible, he made some really big saves for us, he was steady all game in net. And that’s a big win and he definitely was a huge part of that.”

In his first game of the season, Antti Suomela seemd to scored the first goal. From high in the face-off circle, he tipped Brenden Dillon’s shot from the point at 6:08. Las Vegas challenged it for goaltender interference by Timo Meier. Merrill had given Meier a push as he hit Fleury’s glove while skating around him at the edge of the crease. The officials did not consider the push to be relevant and the goal was disallowed.

The Sharks started Thursday’s game without Tomas Hertl and Dalton Prout,  and Melker Karlsson and Radim Simek both left the game early with injuries. No injury details were forthcoming after the game but Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

It was a big character win for us, was a lot of thing stacked against us with some of the injuries in the lineup, obviously coming into this building and what happened the last couple times we’ve been in here. So, I thought our guys dug deep, I thought we got contributions from everybody. I didn’t think we had any passengers tonight and obviously Deller gave us a big game.

The Sharks took the only penalty of the first period, and that was to Logan Couture for tripping Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights had two shots on that power play and 14 shots in the period to the Sharks’ 6.

When Timo Meier scored at 1:26 of the second period, it counted. Skating through the neutral zone, Meier caught a pass from Dylan Gambrell and went tearing into the Vegas zone. Nate Schmidt had a step on him, but a stutter step got him around the defenseman and a hard stop by the goal sent Schmidt into the post as the puck went into the net.

By the middle of the period, the Sharks were being out-shot 8-2, and that was before they took a penalty for too many men on the ice at 9:12. Vegas got two shots on that power play as well.

The Sharks’ first power play came at 13:14 of the second, a tripping penalty to Marc-Andre Fleury against Marcus Sorensen. The Sharks got one shot early in the power play, but spent a lot of time stuck in the defensive zone after that, being turned back in the neutral zone again and again. They finished with two shots in that power play. The Sharks were out-shot in the second period 14-11.

The Sharks took their third penalty of the game at 4:18 of the third period when Brenden Dillon was called for interference on Cody Eakin. The Sharks had a couple of scares during that one, but their goaltender was up to the challenge and bailed them out. Vegas only had one shot in that power play.

Vegas tied it up at 10:18 of the third when Brayden McNabb took a shot from the top of the face-off circle. The puck found its way into the net through traffic. William Carrier got the assist.

The Sharks were on the power play at 11:17 when Cody Eakin was called for slashing Timo Meier. The Sharks had three shots in that power play. The Sharks had six shots for the period, as did Vegas.

In overtime, the shots were 6-4 Sharks after Logan Couture ended it at 3:20. His breakaway was made possible by a pass-interrupting tip from Marc-Edouard Vlasic in front of the Sharks net. Fleury stopped Couture’s initial shot, but Couture closed on the net and poked the puck under the goaltender before any defenders could catch him.

The three stars went to Logan Couture, Brayden McNabb and Ryan Reaves, likely for the 12 hits he got credit for.

The Sharks next play on Saturday back in San Jose against the New York Islanders at 7:30 PM PT.