Tag: Arizona Coyotes

Donskoi scores two goals, Sharks beat Coyotes 6-5 in wild overtime game

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-5 in overtime at SAP Center Saturday.

It was the Sharks’ first game back after their mid-season break that started last Monday. The Sharks’ goals came from Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and two from Joonas Donskoi. The Coyotes’ goals came from Derek Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Christian Fischer, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Archibald. Sharks’ backup goaltender

Sharks’ backup goaltender Aaron Dell made 13 saves on 14 shots after coming in to relieve Martin Jones en route to a thrilling victory. Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 38 saves on 44 shots in a losing effort.

After the game, Dell said: “It wasn’t too bad. We were playing pretty well, I think the bounces just weren’t really going our way. I guess they weren’t really going anyone’s was. Kind of a weird night all around.”

Sharks’ head coach Pete DeBoer said:

It looked like the first game back after a five day break. I thought we had great energy, great legs. We were making some really good plays, I thought a little loose in some situations defensively. But you know, we found away. It was one of those games where there were some strange bounces and the chances they got they ended up sticking in the net, so we had to show some resiliency and we did.

The first period exploded with six goals scored. Every time the Sharks took a lead, the Coyotes tied it up. Joe Thornton scored at 5:53, off a sneaky behind the net pass from Pavelski. Stepan scored a few minutes later, with a shot from the faceoff circle that touched Jones’ left sleeve and went in. Assists went to Brendan Perlini and Richard Panik.

Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal at 10:59. Pavelski’s shot initially seemed to go off of Tomas Hertl’s stick, but in fact, it went off of Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers’ stick. Assists went to Thornton and Brent Burns. 1:17 after that goal, Alex Goligoski scored off a faceoff win by Stepan.

Logan Couture answered that with a goal about a minute and a half later. The Coyotes were breaking out of their zone when Burns sent a pass back the other way. Donskoi caught it and fought his way to the net under pursuit. He managed to get a shot off and it rebounded gently to Couture as he came down on the other side of the ice. Scott Wedgewood could not get back across and Couture had an open net. Assists went to Burns and Donskoi.

Christian Fischer tied it up a third time less than 30 seconds later. His backhand beat on a breakaway after a Sharks miscue at the Coyotes’ blue line. An assist went to Kevin Connauton.

That was the third goal given up on six shots for Jones. Dell came in to replace him.

The second period was predictably more sedate. Donskoi got lucky with a breakaway, set up by his goaltender and Mikkel Boedker. He was even luckier when, as Wedgewood came out to poke the puck away, his stick collided with Wedgewood and the puck popped out of the collision and then bounced over the goalie and into the net. Assists went to Boedker and Dell.

Going into the third period, the Sharks had taken over 50 attempted shots for their 4-3 lead, while the Coyotes had fewer than 30.

The Coyotes tied the game at four apiece when Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot from the blue line went off of Tim Heed in front of the net. The Coyotes took their first lead at 6:22. Archibald’s shot, again from up near the blue line, got through with the help of some traffic in front of Dell. DeBoer issued a challenge on the bass of goaltender interference.  The goal stood up.

The Sharks pulled Dell with 2:17 left in regulation. They used almost every remaining second and Donskoi scored with just 15.8 seconds left. Burns had taken a shot from the blue line that was stopped by Demers’ skate. The puck trickled under Wedgewood and Donskoi was there to tuck it across the line. Assists went to Burns and Chris Tierney.

The Coyotes started overtime with possession, but a miscue at center ice gave Chris Tierney a breakaway. He took the shot, but was also able to get the puck back after the rebound. The Sharks held the puck almost exclusively after that until Pavelski’s shot caused some chaos at the Coyotes net. Marc-Edouard Vlasic followed Dvorak into the net. The puck went into the net off Dvorak’s skate, though, Vlasic’s stick seemed to touch it as well. The NHL situation room challenged it for goaltender interference, but the goal held up. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.

Up Next: The Sharks next play the Kings on Monday in Los Angeles at 1:00 pm PT.

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks come back home after 1-4 road trip; They’ll face Arizona Sat before 3-game road trip

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

On the San Jose Sharks Podcast with Len Shapiro:

1 The Sharks have lost three straight and four out of five on this last road trip. It was an important trip meaning that the Sharks could have gained ground on the LA Kings and Vegas Golden Knights

2 Sharks’ Logan Couture scored a power play goal and three assists and Sharks goalie Martin Jones had 26 saves great efforts but the Jets were much too much in the 4-1 loss

3 Despite the loss, head coach Peter DeBoer said the Sharks got four out 10 points, mainly from the overtime loses in Toronto and Ottawa

4 The Sharks also got a win in Montreal last week–their only win on the trip

5 The Sharks return home for a home game against the Arizona Coyotes Saturday night before a three-game road trip that starts in Los Angeles on Monday

Len Shapiro does the San Jose Sharks Podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks snap Coyotes’ three-game winning streak with 3-1 win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, November 22, 2017

GLENDALE, Ariz. – It wasn’t that long ago that the San Jose Sharks could have easily looked past their NHL Pacific Division game Wednesday against the Arizona Coyotes, a team that has struggled for most of the season.

The Coyotes were trying to win a fourth consecutive game for the first time since January 4 to 12 of last year. Arizona had a three-game winning streak at the end of their recent Canadian road trip against the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

A key penalty kill followed by Joe Thornton’s third goal of the season set the tone for the Sharks in their 3-1 victory before 11,214 fans at Gila River Arena.

Joe Pavelski and Joel Ward also tallied for San Jose, while goaltender Martin Jones turned away 26 of 27 shots. The Sharks took 25 shots.

The Sharks’ win snapped a three-game winless streak for San Jose (11-8-1, 23 points). It was San Jose’s first victory since Nov. 12 at Los Angeles.

“We got enough offense to win. That’s all that matters,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “On the road in a tough environment, (the Coyotes) are playing well, and I thought we played a good road game.”

Jones noted the importance of scoring first, adding, “I think we defended really well. We had a lot of jump in the first period, I thought, but we stuck with good structure against a team that’s always tough to play against, and we kind of wore them down.”

“We played a real tight team game,” Thornton said. “(The Coyotes have been playing real good with three wins in a row, so to come in here, kill off some big penalties early, that was a huge thing for us.”

At 10:49 of the first period, San Jose’s Logan Couture was called for interference, and at 12:10, Brent Burns joined him in the box after a slashing call, giving Arizona a two-man advantage for 39 seconds.

DeBoer said, “That was a tough one to kill. Any time there’s a marginal penalty it seems like you end up 5-on-3 and that’s what usually happens. We found a way, and our PK has been solid all year. We have confidence with it with Jonesey back there.”

“The three guys that were out there did a great job of not giving them anything,” Couture said. “(The Coyotes) didn’t get a great look; a great job by our killers.”

“That was huge,” Thornton said. “A 5-on-3 early on, then a 5-on-4, it was a big step up for our penalty killers and that could have won us the game.”

The Coyotes (5-16-3, 13 points) were held to one shot on goal during the 5-on-3. After killing the remaining Arizona power play, Joe Pavelski won a draw to the left of Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta, Burns took the pass in the slot, his shot deflected off Timo Meier and Thornton poked in the rebound.

“I’m starting to feel better,” Thornton said. “I was banged up for a little while, so I’m starting to feel better. My legs feel stronger, and it’s nice to get healthy.”

Thornton credited the addition of Meier, along with Pavelski, as a key to the Sharks’ first-line success.

“Timo brought a lot of energy, a lot of chances, and me and Pav really like playing with him right now,” Thornton said.

“That was a big goal at the right time,” DeBoer said. “We’ve been waiting for those guys to get on the board. It hasn’t been for lack of effort, but it’s nice to get the big guys scoring.”

Raanta suffered an upper-body injury after colliding with Couture and departed moments before Thornton’s goal, and was replaced by Scott Wedgewood after making nine saves. Wedgewood stopped 15 of 17 shots in relief.

San Jose made it 2-0 at 4:56 of the second period on Couture’s 11th goal of the season, and his first in five games. Couture took a pass from Joonas Donskoi, maneuvered past the Coyote defense with the forehand, then beat the sprawling Wedgewood with a backhand shot from a left angle.

“It’s tough to win in this league when you score only two,” Couture said. “It helped to hold (Arizona) off early. They’ve got some good, young players and they’re learning how to win. They’re a tough team to play against.’

Arizona cut its deficit to 2-1 on Brendan Perlini’s sixth goal of the season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson intercepted a Sharks clearing pass at the blue line, passed to Derek Stepan, whose shot in the left slot was redirected by Perlini past Jones’ stick side.

After Wedgewood was pulled for a sixth attacker, Joel Ward scored an unassisted empty-net goal at 19:12 of the third period.

The Sharks road trip continues with a visit to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday before returning to SAP Center to host Winnipeg on Saturday.

Sharks Preseason 2017: Coyotes Shut Out Sharks 4-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE– Arizona Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue was the star of the show on Saturday, stopping 31 shots from the Sharks for a preseason shutout in San Jose. Derek Stepan, with linemates Clayton Keller and Max Domi impressed with their two goals, and another two came from Brendan Perlini.

That was disappointing for the home crowd, especially since the Sharks had most of their regular lineup in the game. Conversely, this was the first outing for them as a group this preseason. The Sharks lineup included Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Joel Ward, Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, and Melker Karlsson up front. Also playing at forward were Timo Meier, Jannik Hansen, Kevin Labanc, Ryan Carpenter, and Mikkel Boedker. The defense was comprised of Brent Burns, Paul Martin, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon and Tim Heed. The loss follows another in Anaheim last Thursday, when a very different Sharks lineup was also shutout.

The Coyotes started well against the Sharks on Saturday, maintaining a close shot count and scoring midway through the first. In the second, the visitors earned a powerplay goal while Kevin Labanc sat in the box for a hook. Both goals were scored by Derek Stepan from Clayton Keller and Max Domi.

The Sharks had a couple of good chances early in the game, but Louis Domingue was very sharp from the get go. San Jose failed to score despite back to back power plays that overlapped by 11 seconds in the first period.

A noteworthy incident followed the second goal, when Joonas Donskoi was called for boarding Nick Cousins. He received a five minute major and a game misconduct. The call was not popular with the home crowd. Cousins looked shaken up but did return to the ice before the end of the period.

The Coyotes extended the lead at 2:58 of the third when Brendan Perlini got by Brenden Dillon and then Tim Heed to make it 3-0. An assist went to Adam Clendening. After that third goal, the Coyotes shifted down into defensive mode and took very few shots. After staying within two on the shot clock, Arizona only took four shots. Unfortunetely for the Sharks, that fourth shot went into an empty net for Perlini. Assists went to Dylan Strome and Lawson Crouse.

Apart from taking 13 shots to the Coyotes 4, the Sharks did not make much progress in the third. Ryan Carpenter drew a tripping penalty at 5:37, sending Alex Goligoski to the box. At 9:13, the Sharks had another try at the power play when Nick Cousins was called for interference/slashing against Brenden Dillon.

The Sharks will play their final preseason game in Las Vegas on Sunday, October 1 at 5:00 PM PT, against the Golden Knights.

Sharks Preseason 2017: Sharks Win 5-4 in Arizona

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their third preseason game on Saturday, against the Coyotes in Arizona. The final score after a shootout was 5-4. Tim Heed got the game winner, with Sharks goaltender Troy Grosenick stopping 24 of 28 shots.

San Jose got off to a slow start in Saturday’s preseason game in Arizona, falling behind by three goals before turning the tables late in the first period and through the second. Mikkel Boedker started the rally with two goals, followed by goals from Barclay Goodrow and Kevin Labanc, with goals in the shootout from Logan Couture and Heed. Coyotes goals came from Nick Cousins (2), Derek Stepan and Luke Schenn. Max Domi added a shootout goal.

For their third preseason contest, the Sharks lineup included forward prospects Timo Meier, Noah Rod, Ryan Carpenter, Kevin Labanc, and Rudolfs Balcers. On defense, Joakim Ryan, Radim Simek, Nick DeSimone and Tim Heed joined Sharks veterans Brendan Dillon and Dylan DeMelo. Recent addition Brandon Bollig played at forward with Sharks regulars Logan Couture, Chris Tierney, Barclay Goodrow, Joonas Donskoi, and Mikkel Boedker. Troy Grosenick started in net with Aaron Dell backing up. Goaltender Antti Raanta played the first two periods for Arizona, and his backup Marek Langhamer played the third.

The Coyotes jumped out to a strong lead with two goals in the first period. The first came just 30 seconds in from Nick Cousins, asisted by Alex Goligoski and Christian Dvorak. The second came from Derek Stepan at 7:26, assisted by Clayton Keller. The Sharks challenged the second goal as offside, but the call held up on review and the Sharks came away witha penalty to kill.

The Coyote power play was shortened by a hooking call to Goligoski at 9:01. Playing 4 on 4, the Sharks gave up another goal, this one to Luke Schenn, with Stepan and Keller picking up the assists.

The Sharks scored on the ensuing power play when Mikkel Boedker beat Coyote goaltender Antti Raanta. Assists went to Ryan and Heed. Boedker cut the lead to one when he took advantage of a broken play to score, assisted by Joonas Donskoi at 18:49.

Nick Cousins started the second period as he had the first, extending the Coyotes lead back to two at 1:38. The lead lasted for several minutes, until Barclay Goodrow and Kevin Labanc both scored in just over a minute. Sorensen and Carpenter took assists on the first, Tierney and Meier assisted on the tying goal.

Brandon Bollig and Michael Latta exchanged blows in the second half of the period. The teams exchanged penalties as the period wound down, but the score remained tied going into the third.

The Sharks had a scare in the middle of the third when Logan Couture caught a puck to the upper body after Simek tried to dump the puck in. Couture went down but got back up and seemed fine.

The game went to overtime and then on to the shootout. Logan Couture was the first San Jose shooter and he scored. He was followed by Mikkel Boedker, Kevin Labanc and Chris Tierney before Tim Heed got the game winner. Clayton Keller, Max Domi, Derek Stepan, Brendan Perlini and Conor Garland shot for Arizona, with the lone goal scored by Domi.

The Sharks next play on Thursday the 28th at Anaheim.

Sharks Win Last Game Before Playoffs

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith stops a shot from the San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl (48) during the first period at SAP Center Saturday

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes to win their final game of the 2015-16 regular season. The lone goal of the game was scored by Joe Pavelski in a third period power play. Martin Jones made 20 saves for the shutout. It took the Sharks 32 shots to get one by Arizona’s Mike Smith.

In Los Angeles, meantime, the Kings fell in a shootout to the Winnipeg Jets. As a result, the Anaheim Ducks have a chance to supplant the Kings at the top of the Pacific Division on Sunday. The Sharks, therefore, do not know yet who they will play to start the first round of the playoffs.

Paul Martin did not play on Saturday, and Mirco Mueller got the call to fill in. Mueller started the game with Justin Braun, while Dylan DeMelo was paired with Brent Burns. Dainius Zubrus was back in the lineup after missing Thursday’s game, on a line with Tommy Wingels and Chris Tierney.

The Sharks were on the penalty kill early in the first, after a boarding call to Roman Polak. Arizona did not do much with that, and not long after the penalty expired, the Sharks had their first power play. With Connor Murphy in the box for two minutes, the Sharks did not even manage a shot on goal.

The teams were almost half way through the first when Polak dropped the gloves with Shane Doan. That sprouted from some bumping and pushing in the Sharks’ zone that also involved Joe Pavelski. Polak went to the box for his five minutes, but the Sharks wound up with a four minute power play, as Shane Doan received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, two minutes for instigating a fight, five minutes for fighting, and a ten minute misconduct. Anthony Duclair served the four minutes for Doan.

The Sharks power play still did not produce. Better chances came back at even strength, where the Sharks kept the pressure on the Arizona defense.

The Sharks had a third power play in the first period, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson went to the box for hooking. The Sharks went 0-3 on the power play in the first period.

To start the second period, coach DeBoer switched his defensive pairs around, putting Justin Braun with Brent Burns, and Mueller with DeMelo. Arizona came out with some grit, trapping the Sharks in their own zone for a couple of minutes, but that seemed unrelated to the line adjustments, as Polak and Dillon were on the blue line for that unhappy spell.

The Coyotes had their second power play at 5:20 of the second, a cross checking call to Joel Ward. The Sharks’ penalty kill was a little fast and loose but it was effective and showed the Sharks to advantage. That was the only penalty for the second period, and by the end of forty minutes the game was still scoreless.

It was on the Sharks’ fourth power play of the game that they finally scored. The Sharks had a two man advantage at 6:33 of the third period, after Boyd Gordon was called for hi-sticking and Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for unsportsmanlike conduct simultaneously. A little under a minute into the power play, Joe Pavelski scored his 38th of the season. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Brent Burns.

The NHL Playoffs start on Wednesday and a more specific schedule is expected late Sunday.

The Sharks presented their end of season awards during and after the game. Joe Thornton received the Sharks Foundation Player of the Year Award, as voted on by members of the media. Joe Pavelski won the Xactly Inspired Performance Three Stars of the Year Award, for the number of times he was named as one of the stars of the game. Joonas Donskoi took home the Rookie of the Year Award presented by SAP, also voted on by members of the media. Brent Burns won the Fan Favorite Award presented by Enterprise Exotic Car Collection. This was tabulated by fan votes on social media.

Saturday’s game was the 300th NHL game for Tommy Wingels and 200th for Tomas Hertl.

Sharks Shut Out Coyotes 3-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl scores a second period goal and goes to the Sharks bench for a brief victory lap Sunday

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 3-0 Sunday. James Reimer made 25 saves for the shutout. It was his second shutout in four starts for the Sharks. Sharks goals came from Joel Ward, Tomas Hertl and Joe Pavelski. Brent Burns picked up an assist on Pavelski’s goal, setting a new record for most points by a Sharks defenseman in a season with 65.

The Sharks owed the Coyotes a good performance after their unimpressive loss last Thursday. The Sharks also needed a win against a non-playoff team, if for no other reason than to get one. Their recent record is littered with losses to the wrong teams, and wins against top tier opponents. This is not a problem that is likely to come up during the playoffs, but selective competing is not something the Sharks want to fall back into. For this reason, beating the Coyotes was a very good thing for the team.

Near the 14 minute mark of the first, Logan Couture blocked a shot and ended his shift a little early, but he did not leave the game. Justin Braun took the first penalty of the game, an interference penalty at 14:07. The Sharks were able to clear the puck twice in the first minute of the Coyotes power play, and allowed just one shot in that minute.

1:21 into the penalty, Patrick Marleau was called for high sticking and the Coyotes had a five on three for 39 seconds. The Sharks killed off the five on three, but had their hands full. The Coyotes added another shot before Braun came out of the box, but no more after that.

At 18:20, the Sharks took the lead with a goal from Joel Ward. He deflected Brenden Dillon’s shot from the point, a one-timer on a pass from Joonas Donskoi. Donskoi made the pass from below the blue line, for his 22nd assist of the season. It was Ward’s 20th goal of the season and Dillon’s seventh assist.

At the end of the first, the shots were 13-7 Sharks.

2:26 into the second, Brent Burn went to the box for tripping. The Sharks killed it off and finished the kill with a short-handed chance.

The Sharks had their first power play at 5:48, a holding penalty to Klas Dahlbeck. The Sharks power play had some difficulty establishing themselves in the Arizona zone. Eventually they did get set up, but the power play did not generate a goal.

They had another chance at 11:05, when Boyd Gordon went to the box for holding Melker Karlsson. the Sharks’ first unit again looked somewhat disorganized and the second jumped in for a faceoff and went right to work. In the space ofa few passes, they had the puck in the net. This time they got a little lucky as Hertl’s attempted pass to Ward hit Arizona’s Murphy and bounced back under Mike Smith. The goal went to Hertl, with assists to Donskoi and Paul Martin.

The Sharks went right back on the power play at 13:50, when Kevin Connauton was called for delay of game after sending the puck over the glass, but did not score. The Sharks finished the period on a penalty kill, as Nick Spaling was called for interference. The shots at the end of the second were 22-18 Sharks.

The Sharks completed the penalty kill to start the third period, and 13:10 in they had another power play. The Coyotes took yet another penalty at 17:55, a hooking penalty to Michael Stone.

The Coyotes pulled their goaltender with just over a minute left and briefly threatened in the Sharks zone. It was quite brief, and then Brent Burns took control of the puck in the neutral zone and passed it to Joe Pavelski for the empty net shot. It was Pavelski’s 34th goal of the season. Assists went to Burns and Joe Thornton.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:30, hosting the visiting St. Louis Blues.

Matt Nieto and Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed their second game after being injured last Thursday.

Sharks Defeat Coyotes 4-1

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: Sharks goalie Martin Jones stops a shot by the Coyotes Jordan Martinook during the second period of Saturday’s game

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 4-1 on Saturday. Matt Tennyson, Chris Tierney, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi all scored for the Sharks. Melker Karlsson earned two assists in the game, his first multi-point game since November. Martin Jones stopped  22 of 23 shots for the win. Martin Hanzal scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, while goaltender Louis Domingue stopped 24 of 27 shots from the Sharks.

Two very well-played periods were enough to give the Sharks another mark in the win column. While the Sharks were plying the Coyotes, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime. This moved the Ducks temporarily ahead of the Sharks in the standings. This fact added significance to an already important divisional contest.

The second period was the Coyotes’ only really strong one, or perhaps it was just a weak showing from the Sharks. While the Sharks did get goals from unusual scorers, their power play was a disappointment. It was not until Joonas Donskoi’s empty netter during the team’s fifth power play that the Sharks scored with the man advantage. By the same token, the Sharks penalty kill was perfect Saturday night.

The Sharks opened the scoring 2:59 into the first period. Matt Tennyson scored it with a laser beam from the point that went under Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue. It came back out so fast that it could hardly be seen in the net except on replay. It was Tennyson’s second of the season. Assists went to Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson.

The first penalty also went to the Sharks, near the halfway mark of the first. Dainius Zubrus went to the box for interference. The Coyotes managed one shot on the power play and the Sharks cleared it out three times.

With 4:04 left in the period, the Sharks had their first power play when Martin Hanzal went to the box for boarding. The power play did not produce but shortly after it ended, Matt Tennyson almost scored again and saw it disallowed by a quick whistle.

It did not sting too much. Seconds later Chris Tierney scored with a nice tap-in. Assists went to Brent Burns and Melker Karlsson.

With just 35 seconds left, Marc-Edouard Vlasic went to the box for holding.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led the Coyotes on the scoreboard by two goals to none. The Coyotes spent most of the period trailing in shots but by the end they had taken a slim lead of 10-9.

The Coyotes came out for the second hungry. They started with a couple of prolonged sieges to finish up their power play. Then Martin Hanzal intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and skated in alone to cut the Sharks’ lead in half. The goal came just 1:58 into the second, with an assist going to Tobias Rieder.

5:43 into the period, Antoine Vermette was called for hooking. The Sharks power play started with an early short-handed breakaway from Jordan Martinook. Martin Jones stopped his initial shot and Sharks skaters got control of the rebound quickly enough to prevent another shot.

After the power play ended, a scuffle in front of the Coyotes net landed Tomas Hertl and Shane Doan in the box with matching roughing minors. Less than 30 seconds later, the Sharks had a 4 on 3 power play after Martinook went to the box for holding. The power play was marked by a number of missed shots, both 4-on-3 and 5-on-4.

The period ended with no further scoring. The Coyotes did not run out of steam and had several good chances that Jones had to scramble to stop. The teams went to the dressing room tied in shots at 22 each, in a one-goal game.
By the middle of the third period, the Sharks had added three shots to their total and the Coyotes had none. Just under nine minutes in, the Coyotes got their first shot of the period, during a power play. Tommy Wingels was in the box for holding.

Just past the ten minute mark, Tomas Hertl had a goal called back for being off of a high stick. As with the first disallowed goal, the Sharks answered quickly with one that did count. Unlike the first case, this makeup goal was scored by the same person who lost it seconds earlier. The goal was a nice deflection of a Burns shot, done with his stick blade as low as it could get without digging a hole in the ice. It was Hertl’s eleventh goal of the season, with assists to Burns and Martin.

The Coyotes responded to the goal by quickly taking a penalty and putting the Sharks back on their thus-far ineffective power play. In was again ineffective, except for preventing offensive chances for the Coyotes.

With five minutes left, the Coyotes still only had one shot in the period. They did not get another. During a fifth power play opportunity for the Sharks, Arizona pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. As a result, Donskoi had an empty net to shot at during that final power play. It was his tenth of the season, with assists going to Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Tampa against the Lightning at 4:30 pm PT.

Another Preseason Win Looks Good on Sharks

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-0 in Glendale on Friday. The preseason game lineup proably closely ressembles the group that will start the regular season next week. The forward lines were: Donskoi-Thornton-Pavelski, Marleau-Couture-Ward, Nieto-Hertl-Wingels and Goodrow-Tierney-Brown. The defensive paris were: Vlasic-Braun, Martin-Burns and Tennyson-Dillon. Martin Jones was in net for the shutout. There will probably be only a couple of changes to that lineup when the Sharks play Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Joonas Donskoi distinguished himself again as a deserving member of the top line. His performance included good defensive sense and a few surprising offensive moves, including one pass that was so surprising it even caught Joe Thornton unawares.

Tomas Hertl’s preseason time as a center has not been wasted. He is to be handling the position well, and his game overall shows much improved confidence and strength.

The Coyotes took the first penalty of the game, as Michael Stone pulled Joonas Donskoi down at 5:29. The first Sharks power play unit included Burns, Pavelski, Thornton, Marleau and Couture. A pass from Marleau to Pavelski ended the power play just 17 seconds in to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. Assists went to Marleau and Couture.

The Sharks took a penalty at 12:16, after two on one was thwarted by some smart speed from Joonas Donskoi. Matt Tennyson was called for hooking Steve Downie. The Sharks penalty kill was effective, but Brenden Dillon took a cross-checking penalty against Matthias Plachta shortly afer the Tennyson penalty expired. The Sharks killed that off as well, but lost most of their early lead on the shot clock. By the time the second penalty was over, the shots stood at 12-10 Sharks.

Three minutes into the second period, the Coyotes took another penalty, this time to Antoine Vermette for tripping Mike Brown. The Sharks did not score on that power play, and as it ended, Joel Ward was called for hooking Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Sharks killed that off too, protecting their lone goal lead.

Tomas Hertl added to the Sharks lead early in the third period. Just after a line change, Matt Nieto and Tomas Hertl took off in a two on one against Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy. A short hesitation from Nieto gave him a chance to pick his spot before passing it to Hertl, who put the puck away. Assists went to Nieto and Dillon.

A second goal from Pavelski was essentially the nail in the Coyotes’ coffin. Thornton, behind the Arizona net, made what appeared to be a blind pass to Pavelski. Pavelski wasted no time putting the Sharks up 3-0.

The Coyotes had a chance to redeem themselves with a power play at 13:42, when Brenden Dillon was called for tripping. They did not score and the teams went into the obligatory 3-on3 overtime session with a final score of 3-0 Sharks.

The Coyotes did score in the overtime period, which may have done something for their confidence but did not change the game result. The goal was scored by Anthony Duclair, off a feed from Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

The Sharks next play in Anaheim on Saturday at 6:00.

Friday, the Sharks recalled nine players from the AHL Barracuda. Many will likely play Saturday, avoiding the unnecessary stress of back to back preseason games for the regular NHL players. The group includes four players with fewer than three seasons in the AHL: goaltender Troy Grosenick, forwards Ryan Carpenter and Jeremy Langlois, and defenseman Gus Young. Karl Stollery more seasoned than those four, with just over three seasons of experience in the AHL. Forwards John McCarthy and Frazer McLaren have both spent significant time on the Sharks roster and were mainstays in Worcester. Forwards Micheal Haley and Bryan Lerg have over five seasons of professional experience as well.

The San Jose Barracuda, in a preseason game against the Stockton Heat, lost 4-2 at Sharks Ice on Thursday. Petter Emanuelsson and Julius Bergman scored for San Jose, the game featured four fights and 66 penalty minutes. Troy Grosenick and Aaron Dell shared the net, with Grosenick making eight saves on nine shots and Dell making 14 save son 17 shots. Peter Emanuelsson left the game after taking a hit from behind. The Barracuda will play another exhibition game in Bakersfield on Saturday against the Condors. The game will start at 7:00 pm and be aired on KDOW at AM 1220 and online at http://www.KDOW.biz.

Changes Coming for Sharks, NHL in 2015-16

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

The Sharks will have a captain next season, head coach Peter DeBoer told 95.7 the Game on Wednesday. He did not say who it would be, but the floating leadership experiment appears to be over in San Jose.

DeBoer also voiced his support for the changes in the NHL overtime format, approved on June 24. Instead of playing four-on-four, the teams will play three-on-three for five minutes. Last season, the AHL changed its overtime format to three-on-three, but it followed three minutes of four-on-four. Input from players encouraged the NHL to skip the four-on-four and go directly to three-on-three. The plan should reduce the number of shootouts for the upcoming season.

Approved at the same time was the coach’s challenge. For the upcoming season, challenges will be limited to goals scored after potential offside or goalie interference calls. The challenge will result in expanded video review of the play in question. To make a challenge, the team must not have used their timeout yet.

Elsewhere in the NHL, the Arizona Coyotes have reached an agreement with the City of Glendale, yet again. The resolution allows the parties to avoid a more drawn-out legal dispute. Full details of the changes to the agreement will be available on the Glendale City website.

In Toronto, Lou Lamoriello was named general manager of the Maple Leafs. The move surprised many as Lamoriello’s stepping aside in New Jersey appeared to be a sign that he was looking to trim his schedule instead of take on a new GM role.