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Donskoi scores two, as Sharks bounce back to clinch Round 1

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~ (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES– Epitomizing the series, Game 5 was not easy, as San Jose came back from giving up three to defeat the Kings for good, 5-3, in their fifth season win at Staples Center Friday.

Rookie Joonas Donskoi scored two goals in a game for the first time in his career, as he nabbed his first and second career playoff goals. It was a game where the young ones stood up, as fellow rookie Melker Karlsson scored his first NHL career playoff goal and so did Chris Tierney. Matt Nieto got his first of the playoffs and third career playoff goal. Logan Couture and Brent Burns had three assist apiece, both career playoff highs, via Darin Stephens.

Between the teams, it was the Sharks’ first Game 5 win and the shortest series. This playoff season, it was the only game not decided by one goal.

Like Game 4, San Jose built a 3-0 lead, but this one was achieved a period earlier, by 4:05 of the second period. By the end of the period though, it was a whole new game.

It wasn’t the Sharks’ first shot of the game but the second worked just as well, 1:08 into the game. After crossing the blue line, Couture passed to Donskoi, who scored from the right faceoff circle, with a hopping Couture avoiding the puck in front of goalie Jonathan Quick. It was Donskoi’s second point of the playoffs, with an assist in Game 1.

Los Angeles’ Luke Schenn was called for interference at 2:45 as Tomas Hertl slid into the net. 16 seconds later, on the other end of the ice, Dustin Brown was called for tripping, resulting in a 5-on-3. However, San Jose only garnered two shots on goal.

In a similar fashion to Donskoi, Tierney made it 2-0 at 11:21. With Schenn already in front, a battling Jake Muzzin and Tommy Wingels added havoc in front of Quick. It was Tierney’s first point of the series and first goal since the day before Valentine’s. Burns got the assist.

The Kings had a power play late in the game at 16:27, but their attempt was lackluster as well, with no shots on goal.

The Sharks finished the period with the advantage in shots (13-4), blocked shots (9-3), hits (12-10) and takeaways (1-0). San Jose’s Roman Polak had three hits and four blocked shots.

Los Angeles came into the second with a lot of pressure, but scored first again at 4:05. From the boards, Couture made a pass behind to Joel Ward in front of the net. Ward in turn passed across to Nieto, who scored through Quick’s exposed right side. It was Nieto’s third career playoff goal.

San Jose’s Patrick Marleau was awarded a penalty shot on a breakaway, but his shot was saved at 5:31.

Then, the Sharks’ lead slowly sputtered.

Anze Kopitar won the faceoff and it went to Drew Doughty. His shot just got a piece of Dwight King and hit Kopitar’s skate, as the puck went past Martin Jones’ glove at 7:44 to end the shutout.

The 3-2 goal came at 11:26. From the boards, Muzzin got the puck to Jeff Carter, who had time to maneuver the puck and lift it in position to score, as Justin Braun tried to defend in front of Jones. Tyler Toffoli also got an assist.

After the puck bounced all around, the game was tied. Kyle Clifford shot at the right side of the net. It ended up on Jones’ exposed right side, and Kris Versteeg put the puck past Jones at 16:36. Muzzin got the second assist.

San Jose did not take too long to recover. Donskoi started and ended the game winning goal, skating to the net, but was initially stopped by Doughty. Burns was then able to pick up the loose puck and passed it back to Donskoi, who had gone behind the net to the other side, scoring at 3:58.

Sharks’ Captain Joe Pavelski then went five-hole with his fifth of the playoff series, aided by Burns and Paul Martin at 12:24.

Karlsson completed the 6-3 win with an empty net assist from Marleau at 19:38.

Game notes: This was the lone game without a power play in the postseason series. Pavelski left for a brief hiatus because of his right thumb in the first period. San Jose will face either the Nashville Predators or the Anaheim Ducks in Round 2.

Sharks get first lead and Game 2

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~ (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES — San Jose had the first leadoff goal at Staples Center this year, as goalie Martin Jones and the defense in front of him won over the Kings 2-1 Saturday.

Jones was on his way to a shutout until another late game scramble gave Los Angeles a goal.

He has won his last three starts while facing an increasing amount of shots, this latest game turning away 26 of 27 shots. Both teammate Paul Martin and Coach Peter DeBoer talked about his composure. Martin said, “When something happens…not too high, not too low. He’s very focused that way, so I think for us to play in front of him, calms us to know that he’s back there.”

The Sharks captain Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, two points for the second straight game and now has a four game goal streak.

Pavelski scored on San Jose’s first shot of the game for the second game in a row. Teammate Joe Thornton, who returned to the scoreboard, made a quick and close pass to Brent Burns along the side, who made another quick pass to Pavelski. From the center of the right faceoff circle, he shot it into the net with teammate Tomas Hertl in front of goalie Jonathan Quick at 3:37 of the first.

Pavelski and teammate Logan Couture led the first with two shots apiece. The Kings had five giveaways to the Sharks’ one.

San Jose’s Joel Ward had to leave during the second due to a hit, but was able to return later.

The Sharks got a 5-on-3 due to calls against Tyler Toffoli for roughing and Milan Lucic for charging at 8:14. San Jose took advantage 30 seconds later. Quick saved the initial shot by Pavelski, but Couture put in the rebound. Patrick Marleau got the second assist. That gave their fourth straight power play goal and 15th in 19 games. Couture’s last goal was April 5 and also a game winner.

It looked like it was going to be another quiet third.

There were overlapping power plays at 11:28. San Jose’s Nick Spaling was called for tripping and 29 seconds later, the Kings’ Jeff Carter was called for slashing.

38 seconds after the second power play expired, Los Angeles went on the power play again.

53 seconds into the power play, Vincent Lecavalier scored, aided by Jake Muzzin and Tanner Pearson.  

The teams finished with a combined 87 hits, 40-47. DeBoer said, “It was a hard fought game. It was a man’s game out there. A lot of physical contact, a lot of battles; two teams fully invested…”

Los Angeles’ Alec Martinez was out, as were Kyle Clifford and Andy Andreoff. In was Nick Shore, Marian Gaborik, who returned after being out over two months and Jamie McBain. Coach Daryl Sutter said, “…I thought [Jamie] McBain was our best defensemen and that Gabby [Marian Gaborik] was our best winger.” It was McBain’s first career playoff game.

Game notes: In playoff Game 2 comparisons, the 2013 Round 2 game was a 4-3 score. Both teams are now even at two apiece in Game 2’s. The Kings’ Drew Doughty finished with 29:15 of ice time. The margins for missed shots and attempts blocked were 11 (17-28, 13-24 Los Angeles-Sharks). San Jose will head to home ice, starting with Game 3 Monday at 7:30pm.

Warriors Keep Record Dreams Alive, Complete Comeback Against Memphis With 100-99 Victory

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By Shawn Whelchel

Draymond Green was candid about his desire to chase history this week when asked about breaking the Chicago Bulls’ record for most wins in a season.

On Saturday, he showed just how serious he was with big plays down the stretch on both ends of the court to secure a hard-fought 100-99 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road.

After being down by double digits at multiple points throughout the dwindling fourth quarter, Green would answer the call for the struggling Warriors with a pair of consecutive and-1’s to cut into Memphis’ lead. Green’s presence would be felt again with a tip in off a Steph Curry layup to give the Warriors a one point advantage with just a minute to go, which would ultimately be the difference in the game.

But perhaps just as important as his offensive contributions was Green’s defensive efforts in keeping big-man Zach Randolph from scoring on the Warriors late in the game. Green forced two clutch misses from Randolph late in the game while disallowing Memphis to rely on their biggest scoring threat with the game on the line.

The efforts by Green erased what was at times a 10-point deficit for a Warriors team struggling to find the long-ball that is crucial to their success. Golden State shot just 10-for-36 from the field from beyond the arc on the night, with Curry failing to connect on a three-pointer in the first half.

But with a chance at history on the line, Golden State rose to the occasion with three’s from Curry, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes- whose shot would give the Warriors their first lead of the fourth quarter with just over 90 seconds left in the game.

Lance Stephenson had a chance to win the game for Memphis on a wild drive to the hoop against Klay Thompson, but help from Curry caused an errant layup to be tipped out to the corner, where Stephenson would hoist up a final hail mary shot that would bounce off the side of the hoop to go out of bounds with .8 of a second left, securing the win for Golden State on an inbound pass.

The difference in the game was the play of Memphis’ bench, who would outscore the Golden State reserves by 32-17. The Warriors also found themselves on the other end of the free-throw differential, with Memphis getting to the line for 18 points compared to their 12.

But despite the balanced scoring attack throughout the Memphis lineup, strong nights from the Warriors’ starters in Green (23 points, 11 rebounds), Thompson(20 points), Curry (17 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and Barnes (14 points) saved what was a lackluster effort through three quarters for Golden State.

Matt Barnes would lead the scoring for the Grizzlies with 24 points on 17 shots, followed by Vince Carter with 15 points Stephenson with 13 of his own.

The win, which gave them their 71st of the season, was a record in its own right, as the 33 road wins ties the Bulls record for road victories in a single season. Golden State has one chance to claim sole possession of that record with their final road game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

Earthquakes Force Draw With A Late Score Against D.C

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By Shawn Whelchel

SAN JOSE, California-The San Jose Earthquakes nearly avoided dropping their second consecutive game after returning home to Avaya Stadium on Saturday night, as some late game heroics saw the retro-clad home team escape with a 1-1 draw against D.C. United.

After 87 frustrating minutes that saw San Jose squander multiple looks at the net, the Quakes finally broke through their string of misfortunes when Adam Jahn made a sprinting strike off of a beautiful cross from Shea Shalinas to notch the Quakes one and only goal.

The goal would be all San Jose needed to avoid consecutive losses after a 3-1 downing in Los Angeles two weeks ago.And while the outcome isn’t ultimately what head coach Dominic Kinnear would have hoped for, it was a welcomed sight at the end of a trying effort.

“I though the effort tonight was great. Ties aren’t the same, they’re a little bit different where if we got scored on late, the feeling would have been sickening. But it does give you a lift when you score late and you can get something.”

The score came from an unlikely hero in Jahn, who played a game-low eight minutes. But Kinnear said that the substitution was intended to take advantage of his height to break the opposing defense.

“I thought with Adam we could get a little more territory…I think at that time it helped to have Adam’s height and his eagerness to get on the other side of crosses. Good for him.”

Despite being the aggressors early and often, the San Jose Earthquakes couldn’t find the back of the net in what turned out to be a frustrating first-half for the home team.

San Jose had multiple looks at the net, including tries from Tommy Thompson, Chris Wondolowski and Quincy Amarikwa, but couldn’t cash in on the stumbling D.C. defense. But despite the aggressive pushes from the Quakes, it was United who struck first, as Patrick Nyarko took advantage of a momentary lapse in the San Jose’s defense to put the first goal on the board with a sprinter header past the outstretched hands of David Bingham at the 34′ minute mark.

San Jose would nearly add an equalizer just moments later off a beautiful feed from a Wondolowski header near the net, but Amarikwa would be caught jumping offsides to negate the goal. Nyarko’s goal energized the previous lackluster D.C squad, leading to another dangerous attempt from Fabian Espindola at the 38′ minute mark before the Earthquakes would retreat to the locker room at the half with a one score deficit.

The frustrations continued to spill over from the first half for San Jose, as the home team frantically sought to appease the loud Avaya crowd with a flurry of shots to open the second frame.

Alberto Quintero played spoiler to his team’s own cause on a three-man rush towards the net for San Jose. Quintero found himself alone on the left wing with two attacking Quakes on the far side of the pitch, but couldn’t chip the ball over Travis Worra for the score. Moments later, Amarikwa would put his second and third shots on the goal, only to be denied in back-to-back attempts. Both Tommy Thompson and Wondolowski would later find themselves in front of the goal, only to send lazy attempts into the chest of Worra in what seemed like a contest where the Quakes couldn’t buy a goal.

But with the time winding down on San Jose’s efforts, a pair of substitutes would breathe new life into San Jose’s lackluster offense. With San Jose seeming desperate for a solution, Shea Salinas would shake his man on the wing to send a cross towards the sprinting Adam Jahn, whose split-legged slide would add the equalizer for the Earthquakes in the 88′ minute.

The Earthquakes would add one last furious attempt to find the back of the net before the whistle would sound on stoppage time, sending D.C home still in search of their first win of the season, while sneaking away with a point of their own.

 

Warriors Beat 76ers Behind Klay’s 40, Draymond’s Triple Double

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Behind Draymond Green’s 12th triple-double of the season, the Golden State Warriors avoided becoming the 10th team to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors used 40 points from Klay Thompson and Green’s 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to a 117-105 win. Golden State (66-7) remains on pace to pass the 1994-95 Chicago Bulls for the most wins in a single season.

The 76ers (9-65) actually led the Warriors for parts of the first half, holding a 5 point advantage over the Western Conference leaders 22-17 with 4:43 left in the frame. After 12 though, Golden State would lead 32-31. Philadelphia would take a 33-32 lead with the first basket of the 2nd quarter, but with their next score the Warriors would never trail again in the blow out.

Thompson led the offensive charge with 15 field goals on 27 attempts with 7 treys. Stephen Curry added 20 points on a relatively off night for the MVP candidate who went 7 for 16 from the floor. Marreese Speights added 17 points off the bench on 7 of 10 shooting. As a team, the Warriors hit 44 of 83 shots for a 53 shooting percentage.

The 76ers, without the triumvirate of Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, were led by former Purdue standout Carl Landry. The ex-Warrior scored 22 points over 25 minutes while Ish Smith added 20 to go with 10 assists for the double-double. Robert Covington also posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors welcome another struggling Eastern Conference squad to Oracle Tuesday night. The 36-37 Washington Wizards head to the Bay Area in the first game of a back-to-back. After that, the Dubs head out to Utah for a Wednesday contest with the Jazz. After that, they return home for a 4-game homestand.

Ward proves too skillful for game Barrera – Kovalev next?

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By Jeremy Harness

photo credit: rocnationsports.com–Andre Ward delivers a right against Sullivan Barrera in Ward’s 29th career victory at Oracle Arena on Saturday night

OAKLAND – The verbal battle may have been won by Sullivan Barrera, but Andre Ward took care of the physical affair quite handily.

Fighting in front of thousands of his friends and fans in his hometown of Oakland – a crowd that included the likes of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Marshawn Lynch – Ward earned the right to face IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev with a unanimous decision victory over Barrera at Oracle Arena Saturday night.

Ward (29-0, 15 KO’s) won by scores of 117-109, 119-109 and 117-108, but he eluded to the fact that he may have a tune-up fight before taking on Kovalev

Ward may have turned back the physical challenge of Barrera, but the losing camp continued the verbal matchup.

Earlier in the week, Barrerra had called Ward “a coward,” and immediately following Saturday’s fight, his trainer, Abel Sanchez, said that he does not give Ward even a minimal chance of beating Kovalev.

“Who made Abel the voice of boxing?“ Ward asked. “I hear that guy talk about a lot of people in a disrespectful manner. Who gave him the absolute authority to speak (about) people.”

Barrera (17-1, 12 KO’s) made it a point to try to use his size to his advantage throughout the fight. He often forced Ward into the ropes or into a corner and pound away at the body. However, Ward had an answer for Barrera’s attack, and as a result, he came away with the decision.

While Barrera was the more aggressive fighter and continually moved forward, Ward was far more technically skilled, and that became more evident as the fight progressed.

The first two rounds were pretty much a feeling-out process, but in the third round, things started to get interesting. To start the round, the Cuban pushed Ward to the ropes and began working the body, only to get caught with a left to the side of the head that put him on the seat of his trunks.

As the fight continued, Ward found more success in countering Barrera’s lunging right hand with his own short left hook, a plan that Ward said was developed in training for this fight. Meanwhile, his defense was very much a factor as well, severely limiting Barrera’s effectiveness.

Even though Barrera threw more punches – 722, to be exact – he landed only 15 percent of them. Meanwhile, Ward landed 36 percent of the 463 punches he threw during the course of the bout.

However, one of Ward’s landed punches came a tad below the belt in the eighth round, and even without so much as a warning, referee Raul Caiz, Sr. took a point away from Ward. Two rounds later, he suffered a small cut over his left eye as a result of an accidental clash of heads.

Ward was nonetheless able to withstand those tiny obstacles to come away with the easy victory.

In the undercard, Jayson Velez, who was challenging for Joseph Diaz, Jr.’s NABF featherweight title, did his best to win some favor with the Oracle Arena crowd, donning a Warriors hat to go along with a robe that featured the team’s logo along with the number 30. It seemed to work quite well, as he got the majority of the cheers during the pre-fight introduction.

That didn’t help him very much after the fight started, however. The Puerto Rican could not get through Diaz’s defense, while the champion continually raked Velez with hard shots to the head and body

Diaz developed a cut on the corner of his right eye in the eighth round, but Velez did not have the punching power to pose any threat to him, and Diaz retained his title by unanimous decision.

In earlier action, Hayward native Aaron Coley won his six-round middleweight bout by unanimous decision over Urmat Ryskeldiev, during which he lost only one round on two scorecards while pitching a shutout on the other.

Burns Ties Sharks Franchise Record Wednesday Night Strengthening His Conversation for the Norris

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By: Joe Lami

photo credit: tsportstressblogitude.com–Brett Burns San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif.—On Tuesday night, Sharks’ defenseman Brent Burns record two points in the 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. The goal and assist brought his season point total to 64, tying the Sharks’ record for most points recorded by a defenseman in a season.

“It’s a pretty cool honor. I just think it means you’re playing with a lot of great players, and you’re the recipient of a lot of great plays by guys and this year it’s been a great atmosphere,” says Burns. 

The last Sharks’ blueliner to score 64 in a season was Sandis Ozolinsh in just his second NHL season.  Ozolinsh finished ninth in voting for the James Norris Trophy in the 1993-94 season, with the award going to Ray Bourque, who finished the year with 91 points and a plus-26 rating. The last Shark to be even in the Norris conversation was Dan Boyle in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. Boyle finished with 57 and 58 points respectively those years, but still only finished fifth and sixth in voting.

This year, Burns belongs in the conversation, as he currently leads the NHL in goals scored by a defenseman with 25 goals. He is also second in scoring, trailing the reigning Norris winner, Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators, who has 73 points and 13 goals in 71 games. Burns and Karlsson are tied in plus-minus, both having a mius-3 rating. 

“He has to be up for the Norris. The guy’s unbelievable; he plays in all situations. When he’s out there, you just feel like something can happen every shift,” commented alternate captain Joe Thornton.

After tonight’s contest, Burns has played in 69 games and is on pace to score 75 points this year and 30 goals. If Burns reaches 30 goals this year, it would be extremely impressive as only eight players have hit 30 so far this season, with all of them being all-world forwards.

“He’s been great and has carried us offensively for long stretches this season, so he’s really been good for us,” added Logan Couture.

It would be a crime if Burns wasn’t at least a finalist for the Norris this summer in Las Vegas, as he has put up the necessary numbers, leading his team into a playoff position late in the season.

The Dubs Celebrate Steph’s Birthday with a win.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors won their sixtieth game of the season downing the New Orleans Pelicans 125-107 Monday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won their forty-ninth consecutive home game in a row and now have a record of 60-6, something that had never been done before in NBA history.

The Pelicans came to play. The played the Dubs even for the first eighteen minutes of the game. They took a 42-40 lead with 6:38 left in the first half. The Dubs took control of the contest at that point.They went on a 19-8 run to end the first half with a nine-point lead, 59-50. Steph Curry scored twelve points and had four rebounds and four assists to lead the Warriors in scoring. James Michael McAdoo played well coming off the bench. McAdoo, who missed a lot of games due to an injury, looked like he was back in game shape as he played well on both ends of the court.

The third period was all Warriors. Golden State’s defense completely shut down the Pelicans and stopped their big man, Anthony Davis. The Dubs led 65-50 with *:36 left in the third period. They increased the lead to 80-55 as Andrew Bogut got the crowd buzzing with a three-point shot. Klay Thompson followed with a three. Curry made a two-pointer. Draymond Greem made a three-pointer much to the delight of the sold-out stadium. Steph made a three-pointer just before the end of the third period as the Dubs led 94-69 and the game was well in hand.

Coach Steve Kerr rested most of his regulars in the fourth period, and the bench players were able to get some playing time. Mo Speights, James Michael McAdoo, Ian Clark, Shaun Livingston all were active in the fourth period. The Dubs win by a score of 125-107.

Warrior Notes- Steph Curry led the Dubs with twenty-seven points. He made three three-point shots and had five rebounds and five assists. Klay Thompson had eighteen. Draymond Green had a double-double with fourteen points and twelve rebounds. McAdoo pitched in with eleven and Mo “Buckets” Speights added fourteen. The bench contributed over fifty points in the win.Steph and Klay set a new record for three-point shots made by two teammates. They set the old mark of 525 last year and the new mark is now 531.

Pelican Briefs- The Pelicans were led by Anthony Davis and Tony Douglas. They each scored twenty-two. Other Pelicans in double figures were Jrue Holiday with thirteen, Alonzo Gee with ten while Ryan Anderson and Luke Babbitt scored nineteen and twelve, respectively, off the bench.

The Warriors square off against the New York Knicks Wednesday night March 16th at the Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 7:30 pm PT.

 

Golden State Warriors Wednesday post game wrap: The Warriors continue to win at home, defeat the Utah Jazz

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors continued to win at home Wednesday night. They beat the Utah Jazz by a score of 115-94. It was the Warriors 28th straight win at home this season and 46th in a row. The  Warriors leader and best player, Steph Curry, scored just twelve points in the game. He did make three three-point shots and one he made at the first half was the turning point in the game. The Jazz’ only hope to win the game was to slow down the pace of play and they were successful at it for most of the first half.  The Dubs led by two 23-21  at the end of the first period. The Dubs just couldn’t get their game going until late in the second period. Steph made two threes to put Golden State in the lead by eleven at the end of the half 52-41. Steph made a three-pointer from halfcourt at the buzzer to send the Dubs into the locker room to ignite the crowd and the team.

The story of the second half and the game was the impressive performance of the bench as well as starter Draymond Green. Green , who had been a shooting funk, knocked down seventeen points to go with five assists, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. The other half of the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, led the Dubs with twenty-three. Mo Speights, Leandro Barbosa and Anderson Varejao all were terrific off the bench. Speights had sixteen points, four assists, and five rebounds. Barbosa pitched in with thirteen and Varejao added nine. The bench accounted for fifty-three points in the win.

Notes- Steph had ten assists and the Dubs recorded thirty-six assists in total for the game. Leading scorers for Utah were Trey Burke with eighteen off the bench and Rudy Gobert had fifteen rebounds.

The Warriors improved to 57-6 for the season and are looking forward to meeting the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night at the Oracle Arena.

Sharks hand Oilers their first shutout since December 31st

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~ Photo credit: (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ After his fellow goalie nearly had a shutout, San Jose’s James Reimer decided he would go for it, blanking the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 Tuesday, in the Sharks’ final game at Rexall Place.

Reimer made a strong contribution with 31 saves, in just his second start for the team. It was his first win since February 13. He is now 5-0 against the Oilers.

It was the largest margin of victory between the teams so far in three games this season. The other two games were decided by a goal.

San Jose had a solid back-to-back game effort, with their second shutout in just under a month. They ended Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot’s four game win streak. It was the most goals he had given up since February 23. The Sharks also killed two power plays.

After two games without a point, Logan Couture scored two goals, each with a different pair of teammates.

Couture got the game winner early. It was the second straight goal the Sharks scored within the opening two minutes. This one came at 1:33. Couture shot at the net and alertly got his own rebound, as he was able to spot the loose puck before Talbot. Matt Nieto and Joonas Donskoi aided with the goal.

At 15:50, 10 seconds into the power play, Couture struck again, this time after moving into the left faceoff circle. Joe Pavelski started it from the left faceoff circle, passing back to Brent Burns at the point before Burns passed to Couture. Burns now has a five game point streak

San Jose also emerged from the first with a penalty free period.

Pavelski joined the party, with his second goal in as many games. He did so at 14:03 of the second. Thornton started the play from the boards and Pavelski tipped in Paul Martin’s shot.

Game notes: The Sharks are now 22-2-0 leading after one and 25-0-2 leading after two. They being a three game homestand Thursday, facing the New Jersey Devils at 7:30pm.