Sharks Shut Out Canadiens 5-0 in Montreal

San Jose Sharks rookie Jonathan Dahlen (76) holds up the stick after scoring a second period goal on the Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) the Sharks Nick Bonino (13) and the Canadiens David Savard (58) look on during Tue Oct 19, 2021 game at the Bell Centre in Montreal (Canadian Press photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks (2-0) won their first road game of the season, 5-0 against the Montreal Canadiens (0-4). Jonathan Dahlen scored his first and second NHL goals, the fastest first two goals from a rookie in Sharks history. Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc scored the balance of the goals. Adin Hill made 21 saves in the shut-out win. Jake Allen made 20 saves for the Canadiens.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how Dahlen fits on the line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier: “Dahlen is a real smart player and I think he’s a good complement to that line. He’s a guy that’s new to the league but you can put him out in situations, like we want to have [Couture] against the other teams’ top lines.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture also talked about how well his line is working: “Timo’s playing so well and Dahls is such a smart player, easy to play with. I think we read really well off each other.”

Jonathan Dahlen scored the first Sharks goal at 1:22 of the first. Brent Burns caught a pass up the boards from Logan Couture and sent it right down the slot. The puck went off of Timo Meier first, the Dahlen’s stick sent it in. The goal was initially given to Meier,until the second deflection was spotted on review. Meier and Burns got the assists.

Dahlen scored again a little more than two minutes later. Couture carried the puck down the slot and took a shot that hit Allen in the pad. Dahlen arrived just in time to catch the rebound and put the puck in the empty net. The skaters celebrated as if it were Dahlen’s first NHL goal. Evidently he was not sure about the first one either. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

Erik Karlsson made it 3-0 in the final minute of the period. Karlsson’s shot from the blue line snuck through a bit of traffic in front of the net, perhaps even touching a defender. Assists went to Matt Nieto and Mario Ferraro.

The Sharks had to kill one penalty in the first period, giving up no shots, and they had three shots in their one power play. The Sharks out-shot the Canadiens 12-3 in the period, and won 63% of the face-offs.

Timo Meier made it 4-0 with a power play goal at 3:09 of the second period. Couture’s pass from the slot found Meier at the top of the face-off circle. He took a quick wrist shot that got by Allen on the short side. Assists went to Couture and Karlsson.

The Sharks won 85% of the face-offs in the second period, but were out-shot 11-5 by Montreal. Each team had two shots on the power play.

Kevin Labanc Made it 5-0 with a power play goal at 14:31 of the third period. Labanc caught pass from Karlsson and took his shot from the top of the face-off circle. Jasper Weatherby was helping with a screen when the puck went in. Assists went to Karlsson and William Eklund.

The Sharks won 62% of the face-offs in the game, with Jasper Weatherby taking eight draws and winning six. San Jose out-shot Montreal 25-21. Timo Meier contributed seven of those shots.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Ottawa against the Senators at 4:00 PM PT.

In other news, the NHL has suspended Evander Kane for 21 regular season games for using a false COVID-19 vaccination card.

Sharks Preseason: Sharks Shut Out Golden Knights 4-0

The Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks faced off for the final pre season game Sat Oct 9, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (photo from fearofthefin.com)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks (3-2) defeated the Vegas Golden Knights (3-4) by a score of 4-0. In their final pre-season game, the Sharks got goals from Jonathan Dahlen, Keving Labanc, Willim Eklund and Brent Burns. Adin Hill made 25 saves for the shut-out win. Robin Lehner made 30 saves for the Golden Knights.

Timo Meier sent the puck across the crease to where Jonathan Dahlen was lurking to tap the puck in behind the goalie. Assists went to Meier and Erik Karlsson.

Kevin Labanc made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 6:37. Labanc found the puck as it emerged from traffic in front of the net. He sent it back down the slot and past Robin Lehner on the glove side. Assists went to Jasper Weatherby and Tomas Hertl.

The teams were tied on the shot clock, 6-6, at the end of the first. Each team had a power play chance. The Sharks penalty kill gave up two shots and their power play needed just the one to score. The Sharks won 75% of the first period face-offs.

William Eklund made it 3-0 at 3:32 of the second. He carried the puck through the neutral zone and passed to Balcers, low in the slot. Balcers passed it right back and Eklund took the shot. Assists went to Balcers and Karlsson.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights in the second, 16-9. The Sharks had the only second period power play. They got five shots in that one. The Golden Knights improved in the face-off circle, so the Sharks won only 56% of those.

Brent Burns made it 4-0 with a shot from the blue line at 9:36 of the third. The puck zipped through traffic and Lehner did not see it coming. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Matt Nieto.

The teams each had a power play in the third period. Neither penalty kill gave up a shot. The shot count was very close in the third, 12-10 Sharks. The Golden Knights won 60% of the face-offs.

The Sharks will play their season opener at home on Saturday the 17th at 7:00 PM PT against the Winnipeg Jets.

Sharks Preseason: Sharks Win in Vegas 4-2

The Vegas Golden Knights right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) moves the puck against the San Jose Sharks Gannon Laroque (28) at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 26, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 4-2 in a preseason match against the Vegas Golden Knights. The split squad that went to Vegas on Sunday was led by Logan Couture. Sharks goals were scored by Alexander Chmelevski, Jasper Weatherby, Adam Raska and Logan Couture. Sharks goalie Adin Hill made 21 saves for the win. Vegas goals were scored by Paul Cotter and Max Pacioretty. Vegas goalie Logan Thompson made 24 saves for Vegas. More than 17,000 people came to watch the game at T-Mobile Arena.

Alexander Chmelevski scored the only goal in the first period, on the power play at 15:29. Scott Reedy’s pass from the corner found Chmelevski right as he arrved in front of the net. Assists went to Reedy and William Eklund.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 9-6 in the first period. They had two power plays but scored on just one. They took no penalties. Vegas captain Mark Stone took a puck to the ear in the first and did not return.

Just over a minute into the second period, Vegas’ Peyton Krebs misjudged the situation along the boards and swept the puck into the slot where San Jose’s Jasper Weatherby was ready to take a quick shot. 2-0 Sharks.

At the three-minute mark, Vegas scored with a goal from Paul Cotter. He and Jack Dugan rushed into the zone two-on-one against Santeri Hatakka. Dugan and Brett Howden got assists.

The Sharks extended their lead at 7:31 with a goal from Adam Raska. Jeffrey Viel intercepted a pass off the wall and found Raska with a quick pass. Raska carried the puck to the net and snapped it past the goalie.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 11-6 in the second period. They took one penalty but killed it.

The Golden Knights closed the gap again, 34 seconds into the third period, on the power play. Max Pacioretty found the puck in a scrum at the net and shot it over the Sharks’ prone goaltender. Assists went to Nolan Patrick and Chandler Stephenson.

Logan Couture padded the Sharks lead with a power play goal at 15:56. Six seconds into the power play, Couture caught a rebound from a Burns shot and slipped the puck behind the Vegas goalie. Assists went to Weatherby and Burns.

In the third period, the Sharks took two penalties and killed just one. They had one power play and scored on that. The third period shots were even at eight each.

In the post-game shoot-out, Thompson stopped William Eklund’s shot but Jonathan Dahlen and Timo Meier both scored. Hill stopped Evgenii Dadonov’s shot, Noel Patrick hit the post, and Chandler Stephenson scored.

The Sharks play again on Tuesday, against the Kings at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose.

Sharks Shut Out 4-0 by Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes right winger Phil Kessel scored a hat trick in the third period and goes for the victory skate in front of the Arizona bench on Sat Mar 27, 2021 at Gila River Arena in Glendale (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The Arizona Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks 4-0 Saturday, thanks to a hat trick from Phil Kessel, a goal from Clayton Keller and a 34 save shut-out from Adin Hill. Devan Dubnyk made 23 saves for San Jose. The game was Patrick Marleau’s 1,756th, tying him with Mark Messier for second all-time in NHL games played.

Curtis Gabriel took a five minute major at 7:02 of the third period, with an open ice hit that was called for interference. He was also given a game misconduct. That was his third penalty of the game, and the Sharks’ second penalty of the period. In addition to those, the Sharks started the period killing most of a late second-period penalty . They killed off all of those and two more penalties in the third.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said that the game really hinged on those third period penalties:

“We held them to 13 shots after two periods, albeit we were down 2-0. I think that, you know, defensively we had a couple breakdowns and they had a bunch as well. We couldn’t capitalize on ours. But then, you spend the whole third period killing, it’s very tough obviously to catch up.”

The first period was scoreless. The Sharks had one power play and managed 6 shots with the man advantage. Overall, the Sharks outshot the Coyotes 17-9.

The Sharks out-shot the Coyotes in the second period as well, 9-5, but gave up two goals. The first came at 5:49 after Clayton Keller jumped on a neutral zone turnover. He skated to the other end and had a clear lane to shoot at Dubnyk.

Phil Kessell scored his first of the game on the power play at 14:16. He caught Oliver Ekman-Larssen’s pass at the point and then skated in, taking a shot from just above the face-off circle. Christian Fischer was right in front of Dubnyk creating an excellent screen. Assists went to Ekman-Larssen and Keller.

The Coyotes had two power plays in the second period, but got credit for just one shot in those power plays.

Phil Kessel’s second goal of the game came just as the third Sharks penalty expired. Kessel caught a rebound and then pushed it past Dubnyk’s leg. Assists went to Christian Dvorak and Alex Goligoski.

The Sharks used a coach’s challenge on the goal, arguing that Kessel pushed Dubnyk’s leg out of the way with his stick before pushing the puck in. The NHL did not see it that way and allowed the goal. That unsuccessful challenge triggered the Sharks’ fourth penalty of the period.

After the game, Dubnyk talked about that call:

“I was told that that was Phil Kessel’s follow-through, continued motion of a follow through. Which, you guys watched the play, I watched the play a bunch on the jumbotron. If you’re going to sit here and honestly tell me that’s the guy’s follow-through, that’s tough. And if he would have shoved my pad into the net with the puck underneath it, would it have counted? If the answer is no then the answer is that shouldn’t have counted either.”

Kessell’s third goal came at 17:28 into an empty net. He got that puck after a failed neutral zone pass from Erik Karlsson. Assists went to Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz.

The Coyotes out-shot the Sharks in the third, 13-8. The Sharks won 53% of the face-offs in the game, and took a total of 29 penalty minutes to the Coyotes’ 6.

The Sharks next play Monday against the Minnesota Wild in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.