San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks Hertl stays hot goal scoring is the difference in 2-1 win over Stars; Goaltender Reimer stops 34 shots for Sharks

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San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer, rear, defends against a shot by Dallas Stars center Luke Glendening (11) at SAP Center in San Jose Sat Dec 11, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (15-12-1) Tomas Hertl scored for the fourth consecutive game as long as he stays on a roll he’s going to make a difference like he did in the one goal decider against the Dallas Stars (13-10-2) on Saturday night.

#2 Defenseman Erik Karlsson scored a late goal in the second period and has scored five goals in his last seven games.

#3 The Stars Michael Raffl got the only goal for Dallas. The Stars who won seven in a row have now dropped three in a row.

#4 The Sharks goaltender James Reimer (9-4) had a great game between the pipes with 34 saves he was the difference in the Sharks one goal win.

#5 The Sharks face off against the Seattle Kraken (9-15-3) Tuesday. The Kraken eighth in the Pacific. The Kraken have lost four of their last five and lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-11-1) tonight 5-4 in overtime. The Kraken have had a couple players who were in Covid 19 protocols.

Join Len for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Beat Stars 2-1, Reimer Returns, Hertl scores

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) scores on Dallas Stars right wing Alexander Radulov (47) and goaltender Braden Holtby (70) at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Dec 11, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson scored for San Jose. That goal tied Karlsson for third in the NHL among defensemen. James Reimer made 34 saves for the win. Michael Raffl scored for Dallas and Braden Holtby made 23 saves in the loss.

The Stars’ power play is ranked fourth in the NHL right now, so it was a good sign for the Sharks that their penalty kill was perfect Saturday. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Our penalty kill has been sort of our backbone all year and we take a lot of pride in that. It was nice to respond. This is a good power play here in Dallas. I thought we did a really good job of coming up with sort of a game plan to nullify that shot Klingberg has at the top.”

Tomas Hertl deflected Timo Meier’s shot to start the scoring at 8:30. Meier spun on the face-off dot before taking the shot. The puck ramped off of Hertl’s stick and went off the top bar and in. Assists went to Timo Meier and Alexander Barabanov. That was Hertl’s 14th goal of the season, and he has now scored in four games in a row.

The Sharks took two penalties in the first period, and allowed five shots to the Dallas power play. The Stars out-shot the Sharks 14-6, and beat them in the face-off circle 61% of the time.

Erik Karlsson scored with a hard shot from the blue line at 16:28. The Stars challenged it for goaltender interference as Tomas Hertl was in the blue paint behind Braden Holtby. Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell helped Hertl get into that spot. Assists went to Timo Meier and Alexander Barabanov. That was Karlsson’s eighth of the season.

The goal held up and the Sharks earned a power play from the failed challenge. The Stars killed the penalty, spending much of the penalty time in the Sharks zone.

The Sharks took one penalty in the second period and gave up two shots to the Stars power play. The Stars took two penalties. The Dallas penalty kill gave up one shot to the Sharks power play, and got one short-handed shot on goal. The second period shot count was 11-10 Sharks, and in the face-off circle, 54% to the Stars.

Michael Raffl cut the lead in half by deflecting Radek Faksa’s shot over James Reimer at 8:26 of the third period. Assists went to Faksa and Jani Hakanpaa. It was Raffl’s third goal of the season.

At the time the goal was scored, the shot count was 6-2 Dallas. After the goal, the Sharks reasserted themselves on offense and balanced out the shot disparity. Noah Gregor and Jonathan Dahlen in particular had some good shifts in the o-zone. The final shot count was 35-25 Stars, with the face-off wins also going to Dallas at 53%.

Kevin Labanc was injured on his first shift of the game and did not return. After the game, Boughner had no specific updates on Labanc’s condition but he said it was some type of upper body injury.

Timo Meier had two assists in the game but he is still chasing his 100th NHL goal.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT. They will host the Seattle Kraken for their first meeting ever.

Warriors can’t stop 76ers Embiid lose fifth game 102-93

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The Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid (21) takes a shot against the Golden State Warriors Kevon Looney (5) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sat Dec 11, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Joel Embiid scored 26 points leading Philadelphia to an upset win over Golden State 102-93. The win came as a result of some exceptional defense.

So tonight the chase continues as the Warriors (21-5) took on the Philadelphia Sixers (12-16) at Wells Fargo Center. Most importantly Golden State wants to win this game and improve their record but they also want to see their team mate Stephen Curry achieve history and break Ray Allen’s record. Curry is ten three’s away from this amazing record but first and foremost in his mind is a win for his team.

The first quarter was a very inauspicious start for the Warriors. They trailed after the opening quarter 23-22. At one time in the half the Warriors were 2 for 14 on three’s. It was later in the second quarter when Curry began to heat up. For most of the first half the Sixers were making Golden State fight for every point with some outstanding defense.

The standouts in the first quarter were Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole. Going into the second quarter Curry got hot finishing with 15 points, two of them from downtown. At the half the team was 4 of 18 from outside. Wiggins had 12 and Poole with 10 points giving their team the lead at the half 49-46.

The third quarter belonged to Golden State for the first 12 minutes and then it began to slip away. It took the Sixers less than three minutes to pull to within three points trailing 73-70.

Philadelphia continue to pour it on in the fourth quarter. The Sixers saw a 16 point turnaround in the final quarter leading by as much as 10 points. The third and fourth quarter that we are used to seeing from Golden State did not materialize. With two minutes left in the game Philadelphia led 96-89 and the Warriors were in danger of losing their fifth game of the season.

There was no magic for the Warriors tonight. The Sixers were determined that there would be no record for Curry in their house and we all saw that in their defense which was brilliant. A lot of credit to Matisse Thybulle who had the unenviable task of guarding Curry all night.

We all know that we are going to see this record broken sooner rather than later but more importantly we want to see the Warriors get back on the winning track in their next game. They will be playing Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse taking on the Indiana Pacers. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

Cavailers take down Kings 117-103

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Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley (4) makes an attempt to hang onto to a pass while Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield (24) works on defending at the Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland on Sat Dec 11, 2021 (AP News photo)

It was a tale of two halves, but in the end the same result for Sacramento.

The Cleveland Cavaliers bench helped deliver a 117-103 over the Kings on Saturday evening at Rocket Mortgage Field House.

Sacramento have lost two games in a row and four out of its last seven. Cleveland is on a hot streak as they have three games in a row and seven out of its last nine.

Cleveland (16-12) jumped out to a fast start with two runs, an 11-3 run and a 7-3 run to jump out to 18-6 lead.

The Cavaliers shot 60% from the field during the first quarter. Small forward Issac Okoro led the team with 11 points. Rookie center Evan Mobley had five points.

Buddy Hield provided the offense for Sacramento (11-16) in the first quarter with eight points.

It got worse for the Kings in the second quarter as Cleveland went on a 12-3 run in in a span of 1:35 early in second quarter to go up 55-37. The Cavaliers finished the half on a 18-4 run in the final two minutes to go up, capped off by a Mobley dunk from Darius Garland to end the half up 81-52, their biggest lead of the game.

The Kings had allowed 335 points in their last 10 quarters.

The second half saw Sacramento come out with a more aggressive attitude as they started out the third quarter with 10-0 in the first 3:20.

The Cavaliers went ice cold in the second half as they were shooting 7/28 with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter. Sacramento had outscored Cleveland 18-4 with under four minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento shrunk the deficit to 107-99 with just over two minutes left in the game.

However, that was as close as the Kings would get, as the Cavs went on a 10-2 run with 1:09 left to put the game away that included two three pointers from Ricky Rubio.

Rubio finished with 15 points off the bench. Cedi Osman led the Cavs bench with 18 points and Kevin Love chipped in with 11 points.

Okoro led Cleveland’s starters with 20 points. Jarret Allen has 19 points and Garland chipped in with 16.

Hield led the Kings in scoring with 21 points off the bench and Donovan Mitchell had 14. De’Aaron Fox led the starters with 13 points.

GAME NOTES: Sacramento finished 7-28 from beyond the arc. Cleveland was 12-31.

UP NEXT: Sacramento continues their road trip north of the border as the take on the Toronto Raptors on Monday at 4:00pm at Scotiabank Arena.

Kane makes his AHL debut in Barracuda’s 5-1 loss to Canucks

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Evander Kane played his first game as a San Jose Barracuda on Sat Dec 11, 2021 against the Abbotsford Canucks at SAP Center in San Jose (Bay Area News Group photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—This wasn’t just any typical AHL debut.

Evander Kane played in his first ever AHL game as the San Jose Barracuda loss 5-1 to the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center.

San Jose have lost two games in a row and seven out of their past eight. Abbotsford have won three out of its past four games.

Kane, the embattled forward trying to make his back to the NHL, was on the ‘Cuda’s third line with Joel Kellman and Joachim Blichfeld.

“It was nice to get back out there and get the juices flowing,” said Kane after the game. “There’s some adjustments you need to make and how you read the play a little bit. But yeah, it was a good first game.”

Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer appreciated the effort by Kane in his first game in 213 days.

“For a guy who hasn’t been in a game in seven months, I thought he was pretty good. I thought his effort was there, he didn’t cheat us that way, (he) finished some hits. But it was his first game,” Sommer said.

Abbotsford (8-7-2-1) drew first blood on the power play early in the first period. Cameron Schilling found Sheldon Rempal along the right slot and Rempal snapped home a wrist shot past ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko for his sixth goal of the season at the 5:38 mark.

The Canucks doubled its lead just over two minutes later. Madison Bowey sent a home run pass up the ice to Vincent Arseneau who skated in from the right wing and wired a wrist shot past Sawchenko for his second goal of the season at the 7:53 mark.

Both of Arseneau’s goals have come against San Jose this season.

Abbotsford scored its third unanswered goal of the period on an odd man rush. Nic Petan dished the puck over to Phil Di Giuseppe who slid a backhander past Sawchenko for his fifth goal of the season at the 14:48 mark.

Di Giuseppe leads the Canucks in points against the Barracuda this season with seven (4G, 3A).

The Canucks made it 4-0 just 23 seconds into the second period. Justin Bailey got around the ‘Cuda defense off a pass off the boards, skated in and beat Sawchenko with a point-blank shot for his fourth goal of the season. Danila Klimovich and Jet Woo were credited with the assists.

San Jose (6-11-1-0) finally answered back when Adam Raska was able to skate around the Canucks defense from the left wing and his shot deflected off a Canucks skate into the back of the net for his career AHL goal at the 7:32 mark. Jeffery Viel received the primary assist on Raska’s goal.

The goal set off a fleury of stuffed animals thrown onto the ice as it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night by the Barracuda.

The Barracuda outshot the Canucks 9-5 in the middle frame.

Abbotsford regained their four-goal lead early in the third period. A shot from the point by Bowey pinballed around the crease and a crashing Tristen Nielsen cleaned up the rebound for his second goal of the season at the 2:58 mark.

That ended the afternoon for Sawchenko as Sommer replaced him with Alexei Melnichuk. Sawchenko finished with 12 saves on 17 shots in 41:21 of ice time.

San Jose has given up four goals or more in six straight games and defensively the team’s confidence has been shaken during the past eight games.

“Right now, we’re kind of fragile. You can see it on the bench. When we get scored on everyone on the bench is like ‘oh man’,” said Sommer.

Canucks goalie Spencer Martin finished the game stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced to earn the victory. Melnichuk was a perfect six for six coming in relief for Sawchenko in the third period.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Abbotsford was 1-for-2.

San Jose dropped to 2-5-1 at home and are 0-3 in playing afternoon games.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Rempal 2) Petan 3) Raska

UP NEXT: San Jose continues their three game homestand on Sunday 12/5 as they host the Abbotsford Canucks at 4:00pm at SAP Center.

Kings Lose Heartbreaker to Charlotte 124-123

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Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) reaches up to block a shot by Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) shot in the first half of action on Fri Dec 10, 2021 in the Spectrum Center Charlotte (AP News photo)

Kings Lose Heartbreaker to Charlotte 124-123

By Barbara Mason

After a hard fought game the Kings lost by a single point to the Hornets 124-123 squandering a significant lead in the third quarter .

The Sacramento Kings have won three games in a row, two of which were impressive wins over a very good Los Angeles Clippers. Los Angeles is in fifth place in the Western Conference so these wins were encouraging for Sacramento. The Kings are currently in tenth place in the Conference. They followed those wins over the Clippers with a third win over the Orlando Magic.

Tonight the Kings (11-14) took on the Charlotte Hornets (14-13) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC looking for a fourth win in a row.

The first quarter was very close with the Hornets leading by the slimmest of margins 37-36. The second quarter was equally as close as the first quarter. The Kings came out on top in the quarter 35-32. At halftime Sacramento was leading 71-69 in a real dog fight.

In the third quarter the Kings led by as much as 12 points. In the final three minutes of the quarter the Hornets began to really heat up and trailed by a single point as the third quarter came to an end 99-98. The Kings had a lot of work to do in the final quarter of this game. They needed to put the stops on the surge that Charlotte finished the third quarter with.

Charlotte refused to back off in the early part of the fourth quarter and took the lead for the first time in the second half 101-99. The Kings De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and Terence Davis were driving this game with the help of some great work off the bench from Marvin Bagley, Buddy Hield and Davion Mitchell.

The Hornets continued to extend their lead in the final quarter. The Kings began to miss far too many shots combined with turnovers and Sacramento was really struggling and would have to dig deep to win this game. They had to regain the momentum they had going in the third quarter.

Sacramento fought hard in this game but came up just short losing 124-123. They had every opportunity to win this game but just ran out of gas. They had great efforts from Fox with 31 points, Davis with 19 and outstanding work from their bench. It was a very tough loss for the Sacramento Kings.

There will be no rest for the Kings taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night. The Cavs will be another tough game for the Kings as they try to get back on track. Tipoff

Las Vegas Raiders podcast with Rich Perez: Taking a look at how Raiders will attack Mahomes and Chiefs on Sunday

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) takes a keeper as Denver Broncos linebacker Bradley Chubb (55) is laid out on the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City turf on Sun Dec 5, 2021. Mahomes and the Chiefs host the Las Vegas Raiders this Sun Dec 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the Raiders podcast with Rich:

#1 The Washington Football Team (6-6) just had enough in the tank to get by the Las Vegas Raiders (6-6) last Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas 17-15. The Raiders just couldn’t get generate much offense with no scoring in the first quarter, a field goal in the second and third quarters and scoring nine in the fourth quarter.

#2 Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw 28-38 for 249 yards no touchdowns and no interceptions did you see Washington all over Carr he sacked, couldn’t convert the three and out, and was not exactly pleased about missing wide receiver DeSean Jackson on a pass as he was wide open.

#3 How disappointing of a loss this had to be last Sunday as the Raiders were coming off a win against the Dallas Cowboys 36-33 on Thu Nov 25 only to really struggle against Washington and lost by two points.

#4 How bad was the play calling of the two point conversion attempt by Derek Carr in the fourth quarter after scoring six but couldn’t convert and the Raiders went onto lose by two points.

#5 The Kansas City Chiefs (8-4) are next they were full control over the Denver Broncos last Sun Dec 5 at Arrowhead Stadium 22-9 and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw 15-29 for 184 yards and one interception. How do you see the Raiders and Chiefs matching up Sunday.

Rich Perez is a Las Vegas Raiders beat writer. Join Rich for the Raiders podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings get big double digit contributions from six scorers in Wed’s win over Orlando

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Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III is thrilled after scoring a three pointer in the first quarter against the Orlando Magic on Wed Dec 8, 2021 at Golden One Center in Sacramento. The Kings play against the Charlotte Hornets tonight in Charlotte (AP News photo)

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 There is little doubt that the Sacramento Kings (11-14) left it all out on the floor on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic ((5-21) at Golden One Center in Sacramento with a convincing 142-130 win.

#2 Jeremiah, the way you saw Wednesday night’s game did it seem that both coaches Jamahl Mosely for the Magic and Sacramento Kings Alvin Gentry just open up the floor and never the mine the defense and it was about who was going to make it to the finish line?

#3 The Kings had six scorers finish in double figures and De’Aaron Fox finished on top with 33 in a game like that Fox had to be drained at it’s conclusion and he no doubt made every shot count.

#4 The Kings Tyrese Haliburton had a big fourth quarter and finished up with 18 points tied for second in scoring on Wednesday night.

#5 The Kings tip off with the Charlotte Hornets (14-13) tonight at 4pm, the Hornets who got swept in a two game series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday 127-124 in OT and Wednesday 110-106 are looking to get back in the win column. Jeremiah how do you see the Kings and Hornets matching up tonight.

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Daniel Dullum: Cardinal return after 13 days off to host Oregon on Sunday night at Maples

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The Stanford Cardinal guard Michael Connell (5) drives the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes guard KJ Simpson (2) at the CU Events Center in Boulder on Sun Nov 28, 2021 the last time the Cardinal played. They return to host the Oregon Ducks Sun Dec 12, 2021 at Maples Pavilion. (photo by Stanford University Athletics)

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Daniel:

#1 The Colorado Buffaloes (6-1) got some key free throws from Keeshawn Barthelemy who helped the Buffaloes get a four point win over the Stanford Cardinal (4-3) 80-76 Sun Nov 28th.

#2 Daniel, talk a little about Stanford forward Spencer Jones who led the Cardinal with 15 points that kept the Cardinal in the game against the Buffaloes hitting 5-of-6 from the field – including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers.

#3 With 1:49 left in the second half, Tristan da Silva hit a 3-pointer, putting the Buffaloes up 73-66. The Cardinal responded with four layups, including one on a three-point play and another on a dunk by Lukas Kisunas, cutting Stanford’s deficit to 75-73 with :36 remaining.

#4 The Cardinal shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field, including 10-of-24 3-point shots. Stanford was also 14-of-15 at the free throw line. Stanford outrebounded the Buffs 32-28.

#5 The Oregon Ducks (5-6) who have won five of their last eight games will be paying the Cardinal a visit at Maples Pavilion on Sunday for a 4:00 PM PST tip. The Ducks lost their last game to Arizona State Sun Devils (3-6) 69-67 at Eugene. Daniel how do you break down this match between the Ducks and Cardinal for Sunday.

Join Daniel Dullum for the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 5-2 to Wild, Wild Win Streak at Eight

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Minnesota Wild center Victor Rask (49) tries to get control of the puck against San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor (73) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Dec 9, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The Sharks fell 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild Thursday. It was the Wild’s eight win in a row. Wild goals were scored by Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway (2) and Kirill Kaprizov. Cam Talbot made 33 saves for the win. Sharks goals were scored by Jonathan Dahlen and Tomas Hertl. Adin Hill made 22 saves in the loss.

To start the third period, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner juggled his lines a bit. The result was positive but not enough, as he explained after the game:

“We switched up the lines a little bit, sometimes it’s good to put them in the blender when things aren’t going your way. We did that and the team reacted but, it’s just, you know, it’s a good team and in order to beat those good teams you have to be good for sixty minutes, especially our team and it I think that it took too long to find our game tonight.”

Minnesota’s Kevin Fiala scored the lone goal of the first period, 6:22 in. Jon Merrill’s shot was blocked by Mario Ferraro right in front of the net. The puck dropped in front of an open net for Fiala’s shot. Assists went to Merrill and Brandon Duhaime.

Joel Eriksson Ek scored the the Wild’s first power play goal at 7:04 of the second period. Jacob Middleton was in the box for tripping Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello sent the puck into a crowd in front of the net and it went off of Eriksson Ek’s stick for a perfect deflection past Hill. Assists went to Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov.

Jordan Greenway scored Minnesota’s second power play goal at 15:20. Jacob Middleton was in the box for holding Nick Bjugstad. Kevin Fiala brought the puck into the slot, then made a pass out to Greenway in the face-off circle. Greenway took a quick shot and beat Hill on the far side. Assists went to Fiala and Alex Goligoski.

Jonathan Dahlen scored for San Jose 3:29 into the third period. Tomas Hertl won an offensive zone face-off and sent the puck up to Erik Karlsson at the point. Karlsson brought the puck down the boards a bit before taking a shot that went off of Dahlen in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl cut the Wild lead to one with a power play goal at 13:26. Jonathan Dahlen took a shot that created a rebound. The puck fell to Hertl at the side of the net and he lifted it in behind Talbot. Jonathan Dahlen and Logan Couture got the assists.

The Sharks pulled Adin Hill for the extra skater with more than to minutes left. The Wild got the puck out and Jordan Greenway raced Brent Burns for the puck. As they reached the net, Greenway was able to nudge the puck in to make it 4-2. Moments later, with the net still empty, Kirill Kaprizov broke away to make it 5-2.

The Sharks had a good night in the face-off circle, winning 57% of them. The shots were close in the first to periods, but in the third, the Sharks outshot the Wild 19-9. the Sharks penalty kill gave up four shots along with the two goals, and the Wild penalty kill gave up four shots and one goal. Jacob Middleton took three penalties in the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT, against the visiting Dallas Stars.