That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Athletics Radio-Not the First Time

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photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez working in the Oakland Coliseum pressbox 19 during the 1979 season

Athletics Radio – Not the First Time.

Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–In 1979 during the last season of Charlie O Finley ownership of the Oakland Athletics, the team did not sign a local commercial flagship station to broadcast their games locally.

Finley sold the broadcast rights for $1 dollar to the University of California Berkeley, their campus radio station.. Their play by play announcer was Larry Baer, now a SF Giants top executive, Baer broadcast weekend games and just across the glass next both, Box 19, Amaury Pi-González was broadcasting weekends in Spanish for KBRG 105.3FM “Hot Hits” San Francisco.

KBRG (popularly known as KBRIDGE) one of the pioneer Spanish radio format stations in California. The A’s made a big change this 2020 season ending their relationship with KTRB radio 860AM who was their flagship station.All the games this season will be air for free on TuneIn.

A’s Cast, the Oakland A’s 24/7 audio streaming station on TuneIn, is now the official home of A’s audio content, including all 2020 game broadcasts, podcasts, and daily sports shows. Every Spring Training and regular season game in 2020 can be heard exclusively on A’s/ Although the A’s do not have a Bay Area station their retain and will air them on their radio network.

Ken Korach will return for his 25th season with the A’s and his 15th as the team’s lead radio announcer, pairing with Vince Cotroneo, who will begin his 15th season with the Club. Ray Fosse will also make special appearances in the booth throughout the season.

The A’s are also expanding their Spanish-language broadcasts on TuneIn to include coverage of every regular season home game in TuneIn and Spanish radio. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday home game Spanish-language broadcast will also air on KIQI (1010 AM, San Francisco Bay Area) and KATD (990 AM Pittsburg) covering Sacramento/Stockton and surrounding areas.

So, that’s it, “That’s the way the ball bounces”

Amaury Pi-González will return for his 27th season with the A’s and 43rd season overall in MLB. Pi-González will be joined by Manolo Hernández-Douen, who will begin his 12th season as an A’s analyst.

 

Sharks Trade Marleau, Goodrow at the Deadline

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popsugar.com file photo: Former San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau (12) who was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday will have a shot at playing the post season

By Mary Walsh

For the first time in many years, the San Jose Sharks are not expected to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That situation became clear early enough in the season for them to be sellers at the trade deadline. Both Patrick Marleau and Barclay Goodrow were traded today, following Brenden Dillon to playoff-bound teams in the Eastern Conference.

Patrick Marleau was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Barclay Goodrow went to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dillon was traded last week to the Washington Capitals. The Sharks also acquired defenseman Brandon Davidson from the Calgary Flames today.

The Sharks received a conditional 2021 third round draft pick from Pittsburgh, which would become a second round pick if the Penguins win the Cup in 2020. The Penguins are currently ranked second in the Metropolitan division, just 2 points out of first behind the Capitals. Patrick Marleau was on a one-year contract with the Sharks, so he will be a free agent again this summer.

From a Sharks press release:

“Patrick is one of the most iconic players ever to wear the Sharks uniform,” said Wilson. “Although we have had a disappointing season in San Jose, he deserves every opportunity to have a chance at winning a Stanley Cup, and we’re happy to accommodate that. We wish him the best of luck.”

Barclay Goodrow has another year on his very cap-friendly contract. In exchange for Goodrow, the Sharks got Tampa Bay’s first round pick and a third round pick (originally Philadelphia’s) in the 2020 draft as well as forward Anthony Greco. Tampa Bay is also second in their division, the Atlantic, five points out of first but boasting a +50 goal differential.

From the Sharks press release:

“Barclay has been an extremely valuable, team-first payer to our organization for the past six seasons,” said Wilson. “His story of perseverance and hard work from being an undrafted free agent to being one of the most versatile players in the National Hockey League has been a pleasure to watch. You hate to lose players like this, but this is an important step in acquiring valuable assets that can be utilized by our club moving forward.”

Anthony Greco was playing with Tampa Bay’s AHL team, after being recently acquired by Tampa Bay from the Florida Panthers.

The Sharks acquired defenseman Brandon Davidson from the Calgary Flames for future consideration. Davidson, 28, has played seven games this season with the Calgary Flames and played 34 games with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. During his career, he earned 23 points in 169 NHL games with the Flames, the Oilers, the Canadiens, the Islanders and the Blackhawks.

Despite many rumors, Joe Thornton was not traded to either the Dallas Stars or the Boston Bruins. He will finish the season in teal.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hosts Colorado Thursday night in effort to get in the win column

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photo from Calbears.com

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Not enough offense as you stated in the headline of your article that the Cal Bears (11-16) were stopped cold in their game in Seattle against the Washington Huskies (13-15)

#2 You always hope at least three people can shoot for double figures but Cal only had one player do that that was Matt Bradley who finished with 14

#3 For the Huskies they were draining shots all first half ending up with 43 points and sinking Cal to just only 26 points a clear indication of what was to come for the rest of the game

#4 The second half didn’t prove any more inspirational as Cal was spiraling again with only 26 points and the Huskies came up strong again with a 44 point second half.

#5 The Colorado Buffaloes (21-7) who have won three of their last five games but lost their last game which was at home are coming to Haas Pavilion Thursday night in Berkeley to face the Golden Bears could this be one of those games where Cal has a shot at bringing out some of those surprises

Morris Phillips does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cardinal sweep Washington schools, beat WSU 75-57

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photo from gostanford.com: The Stanford Cardinal’s Oscar da Silva (13) dribbles down court against the University of Washington Cougars on Sunday in Pullman.

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, February 23, 2020

Stanford kept its hopes alive for a possible at-large bid for the NCAA tournament on Sunday with a 75-57 verdict over Washington State in Pac-12 men’s basketball at Pullman, Wash.

It was the Cardinal’s second straight win after losing seven of eight games over the last month going into the weekend. Stanford beat Washington 72-64 on Thursday.

Stanford has won eight consecutive games against WSU, and completed their second sweep of the Washington-based schools in three years.

Oscar da Silva and Daejon Davis scored 19 and 17 points, respectively, to lead the Cardinal (18-9 overall, 7-7 Pac-12). Da Silva was 6 of 10 from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds, giving him his sixth double-double of the season. Davis shot 6 of 12 from the field.

Washington State (14-14, 5-10) lost its fourth game in a row. CJ Elleby led the Cougars with 22 points and 10 rebounds. WSU has been without starting point guard Isaac Bonton in the last three games due to injury, and the offense has suffered – the Cougars have not taken a lead in the last two games.

The Cardinal led by as many as 14 points in the first half, eventually going on a 15-1 run to take a 31-19 lead at 3:10 of the half. WSU reeled off a 10-3 run – which started and ended with a 3-pointer by Elleby – to pull within 36-29 at the break.

Stanford opened the second half with a 9-1 run, building a 45-33 lead. The Cougars responded with an 8-0 run, and after Stanford went 5 ½ minutes without a field goal, WSU cut the Cardinal lead to 47-43 at 11:30 of the second half.

The Cardinal began pulling away, then went on a 10-0 run with 5:27 remaining to build a 65-48 lead.

The Cardinal return home this week for key games against Utah on Wednesday and Colorado on Sunday.

Pelicans behind Zion Williamson come back beat Warriors 115-101

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photo from sfgate.com: Golden State Warriors’ Damion Lee out rebounds New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson in 2nd quarter during NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, February 23, 2020

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The New Orleans Pelicans visited the Warriors Sunday night and had to come back from a 10-point to win 115-101. It was a tale of two halves. The Warriors did everything right in the first half. They won the first two quarters of the game to lead 56-46.

The Warriors’ Damion Lee was on fire. He led the team with 18 points. The Warriors, who were without the services of Marquese Chriss and Draymond Green, played well on defense. The Pelicans shot just 34% from the floor. The only Pelican in double figures in the first half was rookie Zion Williamson. Williamson scored 14 points and was a force in the point.

The 19-year old star, who is six feet six inches tall and weighs 285 pounds, showed his athleticism as he made quick moves to the basket. He was difficult to defend as he likes driving to basket using his left hand. The Pelicans, the fourth-best three-point shooting team in the NBA, made seven threes in 21 attempts.

The Pelicans, who are within three games of the final playoff spot in the NBA Western Conference, came out with a vengeance to start the second half. They went on a 13-2 run to start the third quarter. The Pelicans made the first ten shots they tried in the period.

Five of them were three-pointers. The Warriors, on the other hand, missed all nine of their three-point shots. The Warriors didn’t quit. They played hard and tied the game 77-77 to finish the third quarter.

Things did not go well in the fourth quarter. The Pelicans started the road to victory with an 11-2 run. The Pelican’s Jrue Holiday got hot and began to make threes. The Warriors Juan Toscano-Anderson, who is from East Oakland, made a couple of threes to keep the Warriors within range of the leas.

Zion Williamson continued to wear down the Warriors defense. The Pelicans’ Nicolo Melli, J J Redick, and Holiday kept scoring from downtown. The Pelicans won the fourth quarter 38-14.

Game Notes and Stats- With the loss, the Warriors record drops to 12-44. The Pelicans improved to 25-32. The Pelicans started the season slowly. They had a lot of players unavailable due to injury. Williamson has played in about 10 games so far.

Alvin Gentry has his team playing well right now, and they are making a charge to get into the playoffs. Williamson, who was the first choice in the draft, has shown that he is for real. He will be a force down the stretch for New Orleans.

There were bright spots for the Warriors Sunday night. The team, down to just nine players, meshed well. The new guys, including Andrew Wiggins, played hard on both ends of the court. Wiggins had a tough night shooting.

He just couldn’t get anything going. He finished the night with eight points, ten rebounds, and four assists. The Warriors, nevertheless, had five players in double figures. Damion Lee knocked down 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four-threes.

Jordan Poole continued to play well. Poole had 19 points, four boards, and five assists. Juan Toscano-Anderson had a career-high 16 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds, had three assists, and made three threes. Backup Ky Bowman impressed with 15 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Rookie Eric Paschall had 13 points and five rebounds.

Williamson Led the Pelicans with 28. Holiday had 23 points and 15 assists, Melli 20, and Brandon Ingram 17.

The Warriors continue the homestand with visits from the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers. The Kings will be here Tuesday and the Lakers on Thursday. Both games will start at 7:30 pm.

Barracuda rule over Reign 5-2

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sjbarracuda.com photo

by Marko Ukalovic

ONTARIO, Calif- The San Jose Barracuda did a complete 180 less than 24 hours after a disappointing outing in San Diego. They used an offensive attack in where they scored three unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Ontario Reign on Sunday afternoon at Budwiser Events Center.

San Jose split its SoCal roadtrip with a 1-1 record. They now have won three out of their last four games. Ontario have lost two in a row after wining three games in a row.

Ontario (26-20-5-1) drew first blood with under five minutes remaining in the first period. Tobias Bjornfot sent a long outlet pass to Blaine Byron who waited for a trailing Matt Luff. The Reign right-winger then blasted a shot from the beyond the faceoff circles past ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko for his ninth goal of the season at the 15:46 mark.

San Jose (17-26-3-2) responded with the equalizer on the power play under three minutes later. Jeremy Roy picked up a rebound off a Sasha Chmelevski shot. Roy skated around the net and found an open Jayden Halbgewachs who despoisted the puck into an empty net for his team leading 16th goal of the season at the 18:24 mark.

The Barracuda dominated the second period with two goals to take a commanding 3-1 lead as they out shot the Reign 11-6.

Lukas Radil led a rush up the ice where he fed a cross ice pass over to Maxim Letunov. The Russian winger skated in a wired a wrist shot top-shelf to the right corner past Reign goalie Matt Villalta for his 12th goal of the season at the 1:16 mark of the middle frame.

Then Nikolai Knyzhov scored his first career professional goal in what turned out to be the game winning goal. Danil Yurtaykin out battled Lance Bouma along the boards before finding a trailing Knyzhov. The rookie defenseman skated in and sniped in a wrist shot from the point past Villalta at the 15:47 mark.

Ontario cut the ‘Cuda lead to one goal on the power play early in the third period. Byron fed a pass out Bjornfot at the point. Bjornfot fired a slap shot past Sawchenko, with the help of a Jaret Anderson-Dolan screen, for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:51 mark.

That would be as close as Ontario would get as San Jose scored two goals at the end of the period to seal the deal.

Chmelevski poked checked the puck away from Bouma out to Lean Bergmann from behind the net. Bergmann skated out to the right faceoff circle and snapped home a wrist shot past Villalta for his eighth goal of the season at the 17:25 mark.

Ontario pulled Villalta for an extra attacker and Halbgewachs fed an outlet pass to Jeffery Viel who scored an empty net goal from the Reign blue line for his 12th goal of the year 19 seconds later to complete the scoring.

Sawchenko (5-4-1) made 31 saves on 33 shots to earn his second-consecutive victory and fifth of the season. Villalta (8-5-2) took the loss after allowing four goals on 29 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/3 on the power play. Ontario was 1/5.

Viel extended his goal streak to three games and has four in that span.

Bergmann has scored three goals in his last five games.

Chmelevski with his pair of assists, recorded his sixth multi-point effort of the season.

The announced attendance was 7,961.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home to begin a six-game homestand as they host the Ontario Reign on Wednesday 2/26 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

“Islanders too tight” for Sharks, defense shuts down San Jose’s shots 4-1

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photo from sfgate.com: New York Islanders right wing Leo Komarov (47) and San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek, right, battle for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, in Uniondale, N.Y.

By Jessica Kwong

UNIONDALE, NY—The struggling San Jose Sharks extended their losing streak to four games with a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, the night before the NHL trade deadline.

Despite the back-to-back situation, San Jose played a “tight game for most of the night,” Sharks interim head coach Bob Boughner said.

“It was just one of those games, back and forth. The Islanders are pretty tight, they don’t give you a lot,” Boughner said. “We just couldn’t seem to generate any second or third chances around their net.”

Islanders center Mathew Barzal made a saucer pass to center Anders Lee, who scored at 6:49 in the first period to put the Islanders up 1-0.

The Sharks responded at 10:36 into the period, when center Dylan Gambrell redirected defenseman Radim Simek’s shot and tied the game at 1-1.

But the Islanders wasted no time in the second period. At 1:10, Lee scored, assisted by Barzal and defenseman Devon Toews to put the Islanders up 2-1.

Islanders center Brock Nelson forced a turnover and passed the puck to Toews down the slot for a shot into the top right corner of the net to extend New York’s lead to 3-1 at 17:38.

The Sharks failed to rebound in the third period. Lee passed the puck to center Josh Bailey for an empty netter at 17:41 and sealed the Islanders’ 4-1 victory.

Sharks center Barclay Woodrow said the team played well for some stretches, but had a couple of breakdowns including when he was stripped from behind.

“So it’s those little things that are costing us right now and we’ve just got to find a way to bury more shots and try to get some more goals,” Goodrow said.

Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov, who was on his fifth straight start, made 29 saves.

The Sharks are likely to make a move by Monday’s trade deadline, judging from their disappointing performance this season after coming within two wins of making the Stanley Cup final last year.

San Jose made the playoffs for the past four seasons and all but one of the last 15, but appear to be out of contention this season.

Regarding the trade deadline, Goodrow said, “there’s always a lot of unknown this time of year so it would be good to just get that over with.”

San Jose has been playing without three of their top players—captain and center Logan Couture (broken bone in the left ankle), center Tomas Hertl (torn left ACL and MCL) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (broken right thumb).

Boughner said that crossing the trade deadline should bring “some relief” to the team and “hopefully we’ll get a couple guys back healthy” as well as a head coach decision.

“Cross our fingers, I think we’ll start getting back some semblance of our line combinations at least,” Boughner said.

The Sharks (26-32-4) complete their four-game road trip on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers (35-20-7) at Wells Fargo Center. The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Ovechkin joins 700 goal club; Sharks Marleau and Thornton on trade block; plus more

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photo from whec.com: Alexander Ovechkin celebrates his 700th goal scored on Saturday

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum

1 Alex Ovechkin finally gets career goal No. 700

2 Sharks’ Marleau and Thornton find themselves ranked high on the TSN Trade Bait Board

3 Injury-riddled Blue Jackets still in hunt for East Wild Card

4 Blues’ D Bouwmeester releases statement after cardiac episode

5 Zamboni driver becomes emergency NHL goalie

NHL podcasts with Daniel Dullum are heard every Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Comtois paves the way with 2 goals in Gulls 6-3 win over Barracuda

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photo from sjbarracuda.com

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN DIEGO, Calif- Rookie Maxime Comtois scored two goals and added an assist as the San Diego Gulls scored four unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Barracudaon Saturday evening at Pachenga Arena.

San Jose had its two-game winning streak snapped. They are now 3-5 against the Gulls this season. San Diego have won three games in a row and jumped ahead of Ontario for fourth place in the Pacific Divison with 59 points.

San Diego (26-17-5-2) drew first blood early in the first period. Chase De Leo fed a pass up to the point where Chris Wideman’s shot was initially saved by ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar. Comtois was in front of the crease when he cleaned up the rebound for his first goal of the evening and sixth of the season at the 4:32 mark.

The former second round pick of the Anaheim Ducks has scored in five straight games, setting a Gull rookie record.

The Gulls doubled their lead when Josh Mahura led 2-on-1 break with Isac Lundestrom. Mahura fed Lundestrom who made a move forehand to backhand before he slid the puck past Korenar for his fifth goal of the season at the 11:29 mark

San Diego scored their third unanswered goal of the period when Scott Moldenhauer sent a wrist shot from the point that Chris Mueller tipped past Korenar on the right side for his sixth goal of the season at the 12:46 mark.

San Jose (16-26-3-2) had three good scoring chances go awry. Maxim Letunov had two point blank chances stopped by and Jonny Brodzinski had a shot hit a post.

San Diego out shot San Jose 16-12 in the opening frame.

The Gulls picked up where the left off in the second period going up 4-0 in the first five minutes. Alex Broadhurst fed a pass over to Comtois who buried a wrist shot past Korenar top-shelf on the right side for his second goal of the game and his seventh of the season at the 5:18 mark. De Leo received the secondary assist for a multi-point game.

San Jose finally stopped the bleeding halfway through the middle frame. Danil Yurtaykin fed a pass over to Thomas Gregoire who skated in and chipped the puck over the pad of Boyle, underneath his arm, for his fifth goal of the season at the 9:50 mark. The ‘Cuda defenseman has scored two goals in his last three games. Jeremy Roy received the secondary assist.

The Barracuda cut the lead in half when a turnover by Keifer Sherwood, who failed to clear the puck out of the defensisve zone, led to Jeffery Viel who snapped a wrist shot off the body of Jani Hankapaa in front of the net that went past Boyle for Viel’s 11th goal of the season at the 11:59 mark. Viel has scored three goals in his past two games.

San Diego regained a three-goal lead on the power play with under five seconds left in the middle frame. Broadhurst fed a pass over to Sam Carrick who sniped a shot past Korenar for his team leading 20th goal of the season. Comtois received the secondary assist.

San Jose scored a power play goal with 1:44 left in the third period to cut the deficit to two goals. Lukas Radil feathered a chip pass over to Lean Bergmann who wired a shot past Boyle for his eighth goal of the season. Joachim Blichfeld received the secondary assist.

Blake Pietila iced the game with an empty net goal 22 seconds later to complete the scoring.

Boyle finished the game stopping 34 shots of the 37 shots he faced to earn his sixth victory of the season for the Gulls backup goaltender. Korenar made 29 saves on 34 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-3 on the power play. San Diego was 1-for-1.

Fisticuffs! Keaton Middleton and Keegan Kanzig danced the tango in a long, spirited fight at the 7:45 mark of the second period.

San Diego had killed off 16 straight penalties before Bergmann’s power play tally. Their penalty kill is ranked sixth in the AHL.

Bergmann has scored in back-to-back games.

The announced attendance was 11,749.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their two-game roadtrip in Ontario as they take on the Reign on Sunday 2/23 at 3:00pm.

 

Sharks can’t hold it together in third period lose to Rangers 3-2

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photo from sjgate.com: San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton, left, celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

By Jessica Kwong

NEW YORK—The San Jose Sharks fought hard and alternate captain Joe Thornton reached an achievement at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, but they fell apart in the final period and lost 3-2 to the New York Rangers.

Thornton scored both goals for the Sharks and became the third player 40 years of age or older to have a two-goal game at the Garden, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. But the Sharks, tied with the Rangers after the second period, were scoreless in the third.

Sharks interim head coach Bob Boughner said the team “couldn’t have a better first period” and “produced a lot of chances.” But the Sharks are struggling with three of their best players injured: center and captain Logan Couture, defenseman Erik Karlsson and center Tomas Hertl.

“Again, I’ve said this, seems like a little bit of a broken record but I say that with the personnel that we have in there now we have to almost play a perfect or near to perfect game when you’re only scoring one or two a night,” Boughner said. “And it’s not for lack of effort, it’s not for a lack of compete, it’s not for a lack of chances.”

Rangers right wing Jesper Fast scored the first goal of the game at 9:35, assisted by left wing Artemi Panarin who was left alone, and center Ryan Strome.

Center “Jumbo” Thornton scored at 17:55 into the first to tie the game at 1-1, assisted by right wing Timo Meier and defenseman Mario Ferraro. It was Thornton’s third goal of the season.

“Timo just made a nice play and kind of pounded it,” Thornton said.

The Sharks took the lead at 13:47 into the second period. Thornton scored on the power play with the help of defenseman Brent Burns and right wing Kevin Labanc.

“Burnzie’s shot just tipped off my kneepad, so just at the right place at the right time,” Thornton said.

Thornton became only the third player 40 years or older to hit two goals at the Garden, and it was his first two-goal game since Feb. 18, 2019, against the Boston Bruins. He had a hat trick that night.

But the Rangers tied the game at 2-2 when center Mika Zibanejad scored at 17:27 into the second period, assisted by Panarin. The Rangers had the 8 final shots including a penalty shot that did not go in.

The Sharks came up in the third but the Rangers took control of the period, with Jesper scoring 6:54 in, assisted by defenseman Jacob Trouba and Strome. The Sharks blocked 9 shots.

Sharks goalie Aaron Dell said he thought he played “fairly good most of the time.”

“I think kind of the same story, soft in front of both nets,” Dell said. “And I think we had times where it was good and times where it wasn’t.”

The Sharks (26-31-4) continue their four-game road trip on Sunday against the New York Islanders (34-20-6) at Nassau Coliseum at 2 p.m. PT.