Tag: Anaheim Ducks

Sharks end dad’s trip on positive note with 3-2 win over Ducks

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~ Photo credit: NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM — The San Jose Sharks won both back-to-back weekend games with a 3-2 shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center Sunday.

The Sharks showcased their resiliency after relinquishing four straight goals Saturday and earning full points Sunday after they were scoreless with 10 minutes left in regulation.

San Jose was rewarded with second place in the Pacific for now instead of a three-way tie for second, which would have been the case had they not gone to extra periods.

Logan Couture notched the game-winner versus goalie John Gibson in the second round. It was Couture’s fourth point in three games.

This match clinched a 3-1 regular season series between the teams. It was the third time they had gone to a shootout .

Anaheim started with a 2-0 lead for the second game in a row. They had a number of close chances in the first.

The Sharks went almost seven minutes without a shot on net, starting with Chris Tierney’s shot at 2:16.

Ondrej Kase raced past Brenden Dillon and shot past goaltender Martin Jones from the left faceoff circle. It looked like an initial save, but the puck squeezed through five-hole at 2:39.

Before Marc-Edouard Vlasic had San Jose’s next shot on goal at 8:58, the Ducks had four shots on goal and the Sharks blocked four shots.

Instead of 1-0 after the first, the score could have been 3-0 in favor of Anaheim.

San Jose got lucky when a strong shot went off the boards and the rebound went to Andrew Cogliano short side near a clear part of the net, as he missed with his shot in the opposite direction. Cogliano led with three shots in the period.  

With 18 seconds left, Corey Perry made it 2-0 on the Ducks’ second power play of the period, but it was negated for offsides.\

After 13 shots in the first, the Ducks’ sole two shots on goal in the second sandwiched the Sharks’ first power play of the game.  

Nick Ritchie had a shot at 3:48, San Jose had three shots during their man advantage and Rickard Rakell had Anaheim’s last shot of the period at 6:54.

The game’s first fight occurred at 15:11.

Joonas Donskoi had four and Jannik Hansen had three of the Sharks’ 14 shots in the period. San Jose also had 11 missed shots.

On allowing the Sharks to get back into the game, Ryan Getzlaf replied, “It started in the second period…at that point, you’re receiving the game a little bit.”

The Ducks went up 2-0 legitimately when Cam Fowler won and got to the puck before Jones at 6:28 of the third.

San Jose Captain Joe Pavelski relayed, “…guys show character and there was no reason for us to panic. We were playing good…Staring at it down 2-0, guys stepped up.”

Coach Pete DeBoer concurred, “Despite being down in the third, we had played well enough that we should have either been tied or up. So, the fact that we stuck with it, it took us 59 minutes…I liked our game tonight.”

Couture prevented the shutout and started the Sharks’ comeback when he shot from the top of the right faceoff circle through the slot at 10:56.

When San Jose started with the man advantage after Jones was pulled, the puck was cleared three times. The Sharks even had to bring Jones in to take a faceoff in their own zone. However after that, San Jose went around the horn and Timo Meier redirected Couture’s feed to tie the game with 53.7 seconds left.

Pavelski explained, “We are here to win, obviously. We went out on that last shift and the chatter was, we are scoring. We are not going to give up an empty net goal.”’

Fowler recounted, “That last goal is a tough one to give up. I kind of left my man in front, so personally I feel a little responsible for that one.”

Both sides had three shots apiece in overtime.

In the shootout, Adam Henrique’s shot was saved. Pavelski scored after corralling his shot around a spread out Gibson. Rakell hit the post after Couture’s winner.

Game notes: Anaheim’s Kevin Bieska played in his 800th NHL game.

Up Next: The Sharks head back to SAP Center for a three-game road trip, featuring the Arizona Coyotes first Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT.

Boedker breaks out two; Sharks rock the Duck Pond 6-2 Sunday

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~ Photo credit: sjsharks.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ San Jose Sharks’ Mikkel Boeder’s goals included the apt game-winner as San Jose overpowered the Anaheim Ducks, 6-2 Sunday.

Boedker’s tallies, career #100 and #101, were a season-high two goals and his first multi-point game since November 1st. He now has four goals in five games.

The further the game went on, the more the Sharks scored, scoring once, twice and three times in each period respectively. San Jose started and ended the game with three straight goals. It was their biggest margin of victory since December 9.

For the Ducks, it was their biggest loss since November 27, also when they last gave up at least six goals.

Sharks’ netminder Aaron Dell, in net for consecutive nights for the first time because of starter Martin Jones’ injury, was fine with now a four-game win streak, as he made 33 saves. The 35 shots faced was the most in his last four games as he earned the first star of the game.  

Anaheim is now behind Los Angeles and Calgary in the standings.

For San Jose, Boedker had two goals and an assist, Melker Karlsson, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton had a goal and assist apiece, Kevin Labanc had a goal and Tierney had two assists.

Rickard Rakell and Getzlaf had a goal and assist and a game-high four shots apiece for the Ducks.

Vlasic, Labanc and Boedker all scored within a period’s worth of time.

The opening goal came after a save by Dell and a kick by Timo Meier to clear the puck. Vlasic brought the puck into the zone, passed the puck to Hertl and then received the puck back before he scored at 13:53. It was Vlasic’s second goal in three games.

Labanc then scored for the first time since December 21 at 3:38.

Boedker’s goal came after more good work in the other end. Meier screened Gibson and Boedker scored on the opposite side of the way Gibson was leaning in order to see around Meier. The goal came with four seconds left in the slashing penalty to Brandon Montour.

Rakell then had a power play goal at 19:33. His previous game he came up empty off six shots on net.

Getzlaf followed to bring the game to within one at 1:47 of the third.

Thornton scored though a minute later with another power play goal for the Sharks, as he got back on the scoring train, not finding the net last game. The centerman has five goals in his last six.

Boedker scored his second at 9:49 and netminder John Gibson was pulled after 52:08 of ice time.

 It was the end of a three-game win streak for Gibson, who gave up five goals for the first time since October 26. He was replaced by Ryan Miller.

Karlsson scored San Jose’s sixth goal at 15:06.  

Game notes: Vlasic had a game-high eight blocked shots. Anaheim’s Nick Ritchie had a game-high nine hits. San Jose is now 2-0 with Make-A-Wish kid Hayden Bradley on the team.

Up next: The Sharks kick off a two-game homestand Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT versus the Winnipeg Jets.

Sharks Beat Ducks in Shootout 2-1, Extend Win Streak to Four

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday. Corey Perry scored for the Ducks early in the first period, while Joel Ward scored late in the third for the Sharks. Joonas Donskoi scored the difference-maker in the shootout. Martin Jones made 25 saves for the win, while Ryan Miller made 44 saves for Anaheim.

After the game, Jones said:

I thought we played really well tonight. If you look at the really high quality scoring chances, I mean I could probably count them on one hand, for the ones we gave up. So, it was a really solid game for us, I mean we could have run away with that one if Miller doesn’t play the way he does. So it was a good game.

The win represents the Sharks fourth in a row, their first real win streak of the season.

Despite the lukewarm start to the season, Joe Pavelski said that the team is feeling no panic:

I don’t know if you guys are panicking, I mean your questions are kind of sounding like that. There was no panic on the bench, there hasn’t been. We believe we’ll score, we’re getting a little bit of depth scoring right now, we’re winning games. We’re playing with the lead, we’re doign a lot of stuff that we’re trying to accomplish out there.

Both teams were missing key players on Saturday. The Sharks went into the game without Marc-Edouard Vlasic or Paul Martin, putting added pressure on the younger blueliners Joakim Ryan and Tim Heed. Dylan DeMelo entered the lineup after sitting out the last 10 games. On the Ducks’ side, Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler and Ryan Kesler were absent. The lone Sharks goal from Joel Ward and Barclay Goodrow would be some of that depth scoring that Pavelski spoke of. Goodrow has only played two games this season, and Ward has only played eight of the team’s 13.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer chose to put Goodrow at center on Saturday, though he has mostly played on the wing for the Sharks.

DeBoer explained that decision after the game:

I talked to him a little bit about it. He admitted he hadn’t played there in a long time but he had taken some draws recently for us in some games and did a good job and he’s a smart player. The way we play, we’re interchangeable down low. I thought that he could do it and help us and he did.

The Ducks got on the board first with a goal from Corey Perry. Perry caught a long pass through and across the neutral zone from Grant. This gave him a clean breakaway. Jones almost stopped the shot but it trickled through his pads and sputtered into the goal. The first period ended with the Ducks leading 1-0 and the shots 12-7 Sharks. The Sharks had two power plays in the first period, but did not score.

The Ducks were very organized in their own zone. It was rare to see any space for the Sharks to work with. Through most of the game, the Sharks seemed to be struggling to execute.

Pavelski did not see it as struggling:

I don’t know if we struggled. I think there was a couple times we maybe got caught trying to do too much or trying to be a little aggressive and gave up some odd mans, which we haven’t done, you know on the road trip and in the previous couple of games. It’s just something you have to stay on top of, but overall I liked the effort, liked a lot of the plays we had. Just gotta find a way.

By the middle of the second period, the Sharks had taken eight more shots to the Ducks’ four but the score was unchanged. No penalties came, no goals. The period dragged on.

The Ducks had their only power play in the middle of the third period. At the very end of that power play, Joel Ward and Barclay Goodrow caught a break and escaped through the neutral zone with just one Duck back to defend. Ward’s pass got by the defender, and Goodrow took the shot. Miller stopped it but Ward right on top of him to pick up the rebound and put it home. Goodrow received the only assist.

The game remained tied through the third and overtime. During the overtime period, the Sharks got credit for four shots and the Ducks none. In a six round shootout, Joe Pavelski scored on the Sharks’ first shot, while Joonas Donskoi scored on their sixth. For the Ducks, Rickard Rakell scored with a reaching backhand.

Up Next
The Sharks next play on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Ducks get 3-0 revenge

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM– San Jose found themselves on the losing end this time as the Ducks shutout the Sharks Thursday before a 15,439 preseason crowd.

It was the San Jose’s first preseason loss.

Both teams started the preseason when the Sharks shutout Anaheim 5-0. In this game, San Jose had 11 different players and the Ducks had 10.

The game-winner emerged in the third. Chris Wagner scored a wraparound goal at 5:28, aided by Dennis Rasmussen and Korbinian Holzer through Martin Jones’ five hole.

The first period saw two Sharks’ power plays and a 5-1 shot advantage until Francois Beauchemin had Anaheim’s second shot with 8:46 left. By the end of the period though, it was a one shot differential with San Jose leading 6-5.

More confrontation, shots and the first power play marked the second. Shots went the same direction as the first. The period started with the Sharks’ third power play. San Jose’s Joel Ward and the Ducks’ Andrew Cogliano had a scuffle in the second, short of a fight. Jacob Middleton gave the Sharks their first penalty when he cross-checked Corey Perry. Perry’s teammate Kale Kossila came in to defend.

Anaheim started the third period with new goalie Reto Berra. This time the period started with a Ducks’ power play. It became a two-man advantage when Tomas Hertl was called for hooking midway. San Jose killed the power plays but a minute after the last was when Wagner scored. He said, “We picked up a little energy after that goal. We started playing more in their end. We got better as the game went on.”

Anaheim doubled their lead at 16:17. With Jones positioned short side, Antoine Vermette got it into the open net far side. 40 seconds later, Kosila made it 3-0 when he directed the puck into the empty net.

The Ducks’ Head Coach Randy Carlyle felt, “we won the game ugly…scored some dirty goals.”

Timo Meier from the Sharks commented, “We played some good hockey at the end, but we let up a goal and then another one and then it broke down a little bit.” Head Coach Peter DeBoer thought, “Our defensive game was good. I thought Jones was solid. Again, you have to score to win in this league. We looked like we could have played for another hour and a half and not scored a goal.”

Game notes:  Anaheim outshot San Jose 14-9 in the third to win that battle overall 26-24. In Ward’s first action since surgery, he was on the ice for 14:01, had three shots, three attempts blocked and one missed shot. DeBoer said, “I thought as the game went on he go better. We know what he can do. We’ll be working him in.” The Sharks continue preseason with their second game against the Arizona Coyotes Saturday at 7pm.

Barracuda Finish Weekend With Loss to Gulls

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–San Jose goaltender Aaron Dell was in the headlights as the San Diego Gulls made work on net in their 3-1 victory at SAP on Sunday

SAN JOSE– The San Diego Gulls beat the San Jose Barracuda by a score of 3-1 Sunday. The teams split the weekend meeting with a win each. Two goals were scored by Antoine Laganiere, and one by Matt Bailey for San Diego. Goaltender Anton Khudobin made 34 saves on 35 shots for the win. The Barracuda goal was scored by Ryan Carpenter, while Aaron Dell made 17 saves on 19 shots.

The Gulls took six penalties in all, the Barracuda took none. The Barracuda did have two goals discounted, which did not happen to the Gulls. Anton Khudobin was in net for the San Diego Gulls on Sunday. His backup ws Matt Hackett. Khudobin has played 99 NHL games with Boston, Carolina, Minnesota and Anaheim. Hackett has played in 26 NHL game with Buffalo and Minnesota. It would appear that the Anaheim Ducks are not taking any chances with goaltending this season.

Nevertheless, the less experienced Aaron Dell only let two pucks get by him, while Khudobin let three in. Two did not count but they did get by him.

San Diego scored less than four minutes into the game, when Barracuda goaltender Aaron Dell collected the puck behind the net and passed it forward, where a Gull was lurking. He made the initial save on the quick shot that followed, but in doing so he slid too far from the net. Matt Bailey caught the rebound and put it behind Dell for his third goal of the season. An assist went to Antoine Laganiere.

The fifteen minute mark approached and San Jose was still trying to get their second shot on goal, while San Diego had nine. They got it, in the course of a power play. Harry Zolnierczyk was in the box for slashing. The Barracuda got credit for three shots on that power play, but the score remained unchanged.

The Barracuda had one more shot in the period. The first ended with the score 1-0 and the shots 11-5 San Diego. The Barracuda made up some lost ground in the first few minutes of the second period, creeping closer on the shot clock and even almost scoring a goal off a peculiar bounce that coincided with some confusion in the Gulls’ zone. The goal did not count but the shots were 12-9 at that point. San Jose was on the hunt and San Diego was caught a little bit off guard.

The Barracuda completed the shot clock comeback with a power play at 6:27, a too many men penalty to San Diego. That power play went by with the score still 1-0 visitors. The shot clock read 14-13 Barracuda 102 seconds later, when the Gulls scored again, this time through a chaotic coverage breakdown by the Barracuda. The goal was Laganiere’s 12th of the season. Assists went to Corey Tropp and Matt Bailey. It was the second shot of the period for the Gulls.

The Barracuda had a third consecutive power play at 11:40 of the second. This time it was Stu Bickel in the box for tripping. Still no goal fro San Jose. At 14:02, San Jose had a fourth power play and San Diego still had none.

That fourth power play made all the difference. Karl Stollery carried the puck off the wall into the slot, where he sent it in the direction of Ryan Carpenter, who was at the side of the net with his stick ready for a deflection. Trevor Parkes was battling with a Gull in front of Khudobin so the goaltender never saw the shot coming. It was Carpenter’s 4th of the season. Assists went to Stollery and Barclay Goodrow.

The shot count for the second period was 19-4 Barracuda.

San Jose had their fifth power play at 3:12 of the third, thanks to a tripping penalty on Corey Tropp.

After a frustrating sequence in and out of the Gulls’ zone, the Barracuda finally connected on a pass or two and Nikolay Goldbin took a shot from near the goal line at 9:04 of the third. The puck went in, but the presence of a teal skater on the other side of the blue paint qualified as interference. He did not really seem to be in the way but that is how the officials called it. For the second time in the game, a Barracuda goal was waived off.

The sixth Barracuda power play came with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the third period. Joseph Cramarossa was the culprit, confined for high-sticking.

Dell came out of his net with just under two minutes left, but the additional skater did not make the difference. The final shot count was 35-19 Barracuda.

While no Barracuda player had more than three shots, eight different players finished the game with three. It was a solid effort.

The Barracuda next play on Wednesday, in San Jose at 7:30 PT, against the Ontario Reign.

Ducks Defeat Sharks With Ferocious Start

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost a hard-fought game to the Anaheim Ducks Saturday. They lost by just one goal, the only goal scored in the game. The Sharks remain without a power play goal at home, despite having four chances on Saturday. That one goal was scored by Corey Perry.

The Sharks did not come out with intensity to match a desperate Ducks team. After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I thought the first ten minutes, they obviously had the jump on us. We were standing around watching, I don’t know why. But from that point on I thought we played a hell of a game. I thought our goalie was great, we put a lot of pressure on them, put a lot of pucks on the net, had a lot of opportunities. Obviously our power play didn’t click but it’s not like we’re not establishing possession, getting in, looking dangerous, getting chances. So we just got to stick with it, and know that eventually those are going to go in for us.

Ducks goaltender Anton Khudobin made 30 saves for the shutout win. Martin Jones made 16 saves on 17 shots for the Sharks. That the Sharks could limit the Ducks to so few shots after the first period was a feat, but not enough to change the outcome.

The only line change from the previous game was to the fourth line. Thursday, that line included Matt Nieto, Bryan Lerg and Michael Haley. Saturday, it was Mike Brown, wearing a cage, instead of Lerg. The power play also saw a couple of changes, with Marc-Edouard Vlasic moving to the top unit, and Joel Ward moving back to the second.

The Sharks looked quite outmatched for the first five minutes of the game. The Ducks had played the night before, but they started with more jump than the Sharks.

At the 4:56 mark, Corey Perry escaped detection as he lurked along the boards, then darted through the neutral zone. He received a pass from Ryan Getzlaf just outside the Sharks’ blue line and skated in to beat Martin Jones. Assists went to Getzlaf and Patrick Maroon.

By the midpoint of the period, the Sharks were being outshot 7-2.

Four minutes later, the Sharks had added a couple of shots, but the Ducks had added four more. With 6:09 left in the period, Sharks goalie Martin Jones had to make not one but three stops in a row as Ryan Kesler and Chris Stewart shot the puck at will.

With 4:42 left, Tommy Wingels drew a penalty as Jakub Silfverberg was called for interference. The new first power play unit (Vlasic, Burns, Marleau, Pavelski and Thornton) held the zone and took a couple of shots but at the first stoppage were replaced with the second unit: Braun, Burns, Wingels, Ward and Hertl. Evidently, as Brent Burns is already leading the team in ice time, he will play all the power play time too. The second unit also took a couple of shots, though they got ousted from the zone before the penalty expired.

What the power play did, and the Sharks did for the final minutes of the period, was stop the Ducks from shooting. When the first 20 minutes expired, the teams were tied at 11 shots each.

The Sharks came out with a lot more energy in the second period. Early, the fourth line had an excellent chance but Matt Nieto was moving too fast as he came to the net. He just missed a chance to put the puck in as it bounced around in front of the blue paint.

Another excellent chance came at 7:28, when Tommy Wingels broke through the neutral zone and beat the Ducks defenders to the circle. He took his shot from there, which Anton Khudobin slowed down but did not stop. The puck twirled through the air, hit the corner of the crossbar and came out again. The goal light went on, everybody cheered and the official review took it back.

The Sharks got their second power play at 11:20 of the second. Kevin Bieksa went for interference. The power play lasted 13 seconds before Joe Thornton was also sent away for interference. For the ensuing 4 on 4, Hertl skated with Donksoi, Vlasic and Braun. Goldobin and Pavelski replaced Hertl and Donskoi before the penalties expired.

As the second period wound down, the Sharks had taken a 16-13 lead on the shot clock, had not allowed another goal, and in general were showing more energy. With 3:22 left, Clayton Stoner took Joe Thornton down with what may have been a slew foot. It was at least the second time he bothered Thornton, and Michael Haley took issue with that. A fight ensued, and then another between Brendan Dillon and Chris Wagner. Wagner and Dillon both received game misconducts along with fighting majors.

Shortly after play resumed, Justin Braun was called for slashing. The Sharks penalty killers kept the Ducks at bay and during the few seconds left after the penalty expired, San Jose did take the game to the other end. At the end of the second, the Sharks still led on the shot clock 18-15.

They say that, in the case of back-to-back games, a team does not really feel it until the third period. As the third began, the Ducks still did not look especially tired. They closed the gap in shots and kept the Sharks off balance for the first five minutes of the period.

During the next five minutes, the Sharks looked more promising. They even mustered a breakaway for Marleau, and Khudobin had to scramble to stop him from scoring.

Coach DeBoer has not done a lot of line juggling during games this season, but to start the third period, he moved Matt Nieto up to the third line with Tommy Wingels and Nikolay Goldobin. That moved Tierney down to the fourth line. By the middle of the period, Tierney was back on the ice with the third line. By necessity, the defense pairs were a mix and match, since the Sharks were without Dillon.

The Sharks had some good chances in the second half of the third, but Khudobin fended them off with some impressive saves.

With almost five minutes left, Andrew Cogliano tripped Thornton near the boards and Thornton went down for a spell. He did get back up and was on the ice to start the power play. The Sharks got another chance at 17:36 due to a delay of game to the Ducks. Despite pulling their goaltender and having two more skaters than the Ducks had, the Sharks still could not get a puck by Khudobin. They finished the game leading in shots 30-17 but still trailing by that lone goal scored back in the first.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at SAP Center, against the New York Islanders. Puck drop shortly after 7:30 PT.

It was hard to ignore the trade rumors about Patrick Marleau that were buzzing around before the game. The presence of several scouts at SAP Center spurred those rumors. Whatever Patrick Marleau’s future, the day’s NHL-AHL double-header gave scouts a chance to see Sharks and Ducks prospects all in action. There were a lot of players for them to look at Saturday.

Of course the question came up post-game. Asked if he had heard the rumors, Marleau observed jovially that they were “starting early this year.” Asked whether the Sharks had asked him to waive his no-trade clause, he said no. Beyond that, he would not confirm or deny the possibilities that he may or may not be willing to consider a trade.

Couture And Donskoi Out, Goldobin Called Up

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By Mary Walsh

San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture will miss four to six weeks due to a broken right fibula. Per Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News, the injury was sustained during practice in New Jersey on Thursday. In a press release Friday, Sharks GM Doug Wilson said:

Logan was injured in practice on Thursday in New Jersey and suffered a fractured right fibula at the ankle. He will be returning to San Jose to undergo surgery under the direction of Kaiser Permanente’s medical team. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Forward Joonas Donskoi is also out due to an injury sustained blocking a shot during the game against the Anaheim Ducks.

Rookie forward Nikolay Goldobin has been recalled to fill one of the open spots on the roster. Goldobin was the Sharks’ first round pick in 2014. Last season he played 38 games with HIFK in Finland and nine games with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL. This season he played one game with the San Jose Barracuda.

Forward Ben Smith, who was a scratch for the first three games of the season, will also join the lineup tonight as the team faces the New Jersey Devils. Saturday, the Sharks will play the New York Islanders in Brooklyn.

Sharks Beat Ducks With Lively 3rd in Home Opener

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Saturday, the San Jose Sharks won their home opener 2-0 against the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks’ best period of the game was their third, and it was a relentless one. It seemed to be just the kind of game head coach Pete DeBoer was looking for from the Sharks:

That’s how we want to play with the lead. You want to keep your foot on the gas. We kept rolling four lines to keep our energy and our legs. The best defense for me in that situation is spending the period in the other team’s end and I think we did a good job of that.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski also talked about that third period push:

We kind of got better as the game went on, right from the start. The second was a little better and the third was definitely our best and it needs to be. I’d say last year that was one of the problems in this rink, we didn’t have strong thirds. So hopefully we can continue with that trend.

Joel Ward was asked about the developing chemistry between himself and his linemates, Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau:

When you get a chance to play with guys like Cootch and Marleau, it makes it a lot more fun, how dynamic they are and how skilled, what they can create on their own is pretty cool to watch. So, as you can see what Patty did tonight was a good example of that. Just try to get in the open areas and I just try to feed off them and know what they want from me, just communicating as best we can, it’s just going to continue to build.

Ward seemed to be communicating quite well with his linemates on Saturday, turning up in the right spot again and again, on both ends of the ice.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones has also made an excellent impression in this two game sample. Martin Jones, after his second game and second win as a Shark, praised the team in front of him:

I thought we did a really good job. I mean, that’s a big, strong team up front and typically they do a really good job, getting in front of the net with bodies and with sticks. I thought we did a really good job boxing out and I was able to see a lot of pucks tonight.

As second games of the season go, this one was impressive: two goals from Patrick Marleau, two points for Joel Ward, and a second win from Martin Jones. The game even had two 31s in net, one at each end. Jones and Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen both wear 31.

With nine minutes left in the first, the shots were 7-3 Anaheim. Sharks had killed one penalty, but had had no power plays. They did, however, have a very good spell right about then, lasting almost three minutes and shifts for as many lines. The third line started it, with some aggressive play in the Ducks’ zone. The top line followed it up and the Sharks seemed to be on a roll and likely to score. When they finally had to defend again, Martin Jones was there to stop the Ducks. The game remained scoreless, but by the end of that little sprint, the shots were almost even, 9-8 Ducks. By the end of the period, the Sharks had a solid 13-9 lead in shots.

They were right back at it to start the second period, spending most of the first two minutes in the Ducks’ zone. After that, however, the Ducks pinned the Sharks for a solid couple of minutes. A breakaway from the third line broke up the Ducks’ momentum and ended with a discussion by the Ducks’ net. The second line picked up where the third left off, and added three shots to the Sharks’ tally in the space of a few seconds. By now, the Ducks were getting a little incensed.

By the middle of the second period, the game was clearly a goaltender battle. Both 31s were snuffing out scoring chances wherever they cropped up. Admittedly, they were few but that was partly due to quick reactions from the goalies.

The other limiting factor for those scoring chances was timing. A couple of shots fell flat for lack of follow-up and bodies in the right places. It was a reminder that this was only the Sharks’ second game of the season.

The game took on a delayed back and forth tempo, with each team trapping the other for a long shift before going the other way. The Ducks seemed to have the edge at the end of the period, catching up in shots and holding the zone just a little longer than the Sharks could.

The period was winding down to a scoreless close, but the Sharks’ second line had other plans. Joel Ward and Logan Couture chased the puck into the corner and kept after it. The announcer had just made the “one minute left” call when Ward got the puck to the net. Couture caught up with it on the other side and took a shot. Just then, Marleau followed up to take the third and fourth shots. He gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead with the fourth one. Assists went to Couture and Ward.

The Sharks ended the second period up by one goal and three shots, 27-24.

In the middle of the third period, the fourth line of Barclay Goodrow, Chris Tierney and Mike Brown had a very good shift, holding the zone with tenacity, getting a couple of shots in, and maintaining their composure when the Ducks finally got the puck out. They finished by slowing Anaheim down enough in the neutral zone for the defense to get organized for a line change.

Around the 13 minute mark, the fourth line held the zone again with aplomb, aided by Tomas Hertl Hertl, who had missed his line change. Eventually, he did manage to switch with Tierney, without the Ducks ever gaining control of the puck. It was an impressive shift by the fourth line and the top defensive pair of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun.

With almost six minutes left, the Sharks had taken twelve shots during the period. The Ducks had taken three.

Shortly after the next faceoff, Marleau scored his second of the game on the team’s 40th shot. It was a lovely wraparound after he carried the puck across the blue line and through the o-zone against two Ducks. The lone assist went to Joel Ward, who apparently made the pass while also playing it safe:

I knew he can do that so I just kind of “here, you take it, you go.” I came back to the bench… I knew we were in our zone a little bit and I just kind of tried to play it safe, I didn’t want to get caught up the ice. Next thing you know hands are up in the air and I was looking for water.

The Sharks got their first power play with 3:07 left in the game. The penalty went to Mike Santorelli for hooking Barclay Goodrow. They did not score but the power play prevented Anaheim from pulling their goalie or coming back in the last minutes.

The final shot count was 44-27 Sharks.

Patrick Marleau led the Sharks in shots with seven. Mike Brown led in hits with eight. Brent Burns had the most time on ice with 24:43. Martin Jones made 27 saves for the shutout.

Frederick Andersen made 42 saves for the Ducks, no small feat. That earned him the third star of the game. The first star was Marleau and the second was Martin Jones.

Jakob Silfverberg led the Ducks in shots with four, and Andrew Cogliano made the most hits for them: four.

The Sharks will hit the road and play Tuesday in Washington against Ward’s old team, the Capitals. The game will start at 4pm PT.

Competition Too Close to Call for Sharks Blue Line

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

The preseason is well under way, and the NHL season looms large for the San Jose Sharks. Their training camp roster is still long enough to easily ice two squads, so it is reasonable to expect that there will be more roster cuts this week. The Sharks have a lot of decisions to make before opening night, DeBoer explained:

Some tough decisions, some really tough decisions. It’s tough getting from 34 to 26 or -7 or whatever number we’re going to go to, and it’s going to be even tougher to go down to 22 or 23. That’s a good thing though, it’s a good problem.

Dylan DeMelo stood out as one of the young players getting a lot of ice time in preseason games. There is a little room on the Sharks blue line, and a number of players competing for it. Asked to comment on that competition, DeMelo said: “I can’t speak for the other guys but I think I’m playing pretty well and I think I’m showing kind of what’s advertised in my game.”

After the game, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer was asked if Dylan DeMelo was likely to make the opening night roster. DeBoer declined to say yes or no:

I’m not prepared to hand this job to anybody yet. Everybody’s competing, everyone’s playing well right now. It’s too close to call to be giving anybody the job right now. We’re going to take all the time we have on our side.

DeBoer did concede that DeMelo is “right in the mix,” with other defensemen. As with other players seeing a lot of preseason ice time, DeMelo is no lock for a spot on the NHL roster.

Another player who is getting a long look in these games is Joonas Donskoi. Saturday, he played on a line with Tomas Hertl and Matt Nieto. Donskoi is probably closer to a spot than DeMelo is, but the fact that he is playing only means he’s getting look, not getting the job.

The Sharks lost Saturday’s preseason game to the Anaheim Ducks. The final score was 2-1, with goals scored by Joel Ward for San Jose, Corey Perry and Chris Wagner for Anaheim. The game was a fine preseason sample of games between San Jose and Anaheim: riddled with penalties, there was even a game misconduct handed out.

Martin Jones was starting his second of the preseason, and his first at SAP as a Shark. He was glad to have a chance to play at SAP during the preseason:

I’ve had a couple games here, playing in LA, so I know what the building’s about. Yeah, it was nice to get the first one out of the way at home. Obviously, not the result we want, but we’re working through it. It’s still preseason and we’ll work it out.

The Ducks took two penalties in the first eleven minutes of the game, one to Shea Theodore at 1:22 and one to Corey Perry at 11:07. The Sharks did not score on either one of those power plays, but seconds after the Perry penalty expired, the Sharks did score. The goal was scored by Joel Ward, with assists going to Paul Martin and Brent Burns.

The goal was a good example of Ward’s playing style, and the style that DeBoer is encouraging the Sharks to employ. Asked about the goal after the game, Ward said:

It’s no secret, I’m trying to get in front of the net. I think most of my goals in the past have been around that area. So there’s no secret I’m just trying to go to the net, trying to get pucks and rebounds.

Moments after the Sharks goal, Frazer McLaren was called for boarding. He was given a game misconduct and received a five minute major. Ryan Carpenter served the penalty for him. The hit sent Anaheim defenseman, Korbinian Holzer, to the dressing room. Holzer was kept out for the rest of the game for precautionary reasons, the Ducks announced later.

The Sharks killed off the five minutes and even managed a short-handed chance near the end.

It took the Sharks several minutes before they took a shot on goal in the second period. Through the period, the Sharks had six shots.

The Ducks tied the game just over three minutes into the third period. The goal was scored by Chris Wagner, unassisted. He skated into the zone mostly unfettered and took a shot from the half boards that seemed to catch Jones off guard.

Just past the ten minute mark of the third, Perry went to the box for the second time in the game, this time for high sticking.

Before the penalty elapsed, Joonas Donskoi went to the box for a high stick. The Ducks made the Sharks pay for that, taking the lead with a goal with 7:36 left. The power play goal was scored by Corey Perry. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Simon Despres.

The Ducks went right from the celebration to the penalty kill, with Shea Theodore back in the box for interference. This put the Sharks on their fourth power play.

That came to naught, and the game wound down. With under two minutes left, the Sharks pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker. Logan Couture, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Patrick Marleau and Paul Martin made up the six players for the last minutes. Hertl made a nice pass after pulling the puck from a scrum along the boards, but Couture’s shot went just wide. After a time out, the same six returned to the ice but they could not even the score.

The Sharks will play another preseason game at SAP on Tuesday, September 29. Their opponent will be the Vancouver Canucks. Start time will be 7:30 pm.

Warriors Spoil Pelicans Playoff Push with 112-96 Triumph

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Despite a poor shooting night from Stephen Curry, the Golden State handedly topped an Anthony Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans squad 112-96. Curry went just 4 of 17 from the field, finishing the night with just 16 points, but Harrison Barnes continued his run of torrid play to beat the playoff-hopeful Pelicans in front of the Oracle Arena crowd.

Barnes, getting the starting nod from coach Steve Kerr, finished the night with 9 made shots in 13 attempts for 22 points. He now has back-to-back 20-point games for the first time since his breakout 2013 playoff campaign .

The Pelicans saw 6 different players post double-digit scoring totals Friday headlined by Norris Cole’s 16 off the bench. Quincy Poindexter and Alexis Ajinca added 15.

Golden State hit half their shots, sinking 44 of 88 Friday while New Orleans to a 42.3 shooting percentage knocking down 33 of the 77 would-be baskets.

The Warriors built a slim 30-26 lead after the first quarter, but outscored the Pelicans 56-42 over the middle two frames for the 86-68 edge heading into the final 12 minutes. New Orleans (37-32), two games back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, outscored the Warriors 28-26 in the fourth. By then it was too late, as Golden State rolled to its 55th victory.

The Warriors (55-13) now sit just four games shy of matching a franchise record in wins. A win Saturday over the visiting Utah Jazz Saturday night could move them one step closer.