Tag: Barclay Goodrow

Sharks Lose 4-2 to Kings, Losing Streak Up to 4

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center Thursday. Kings goals came from Dustin Brown, Matt Roy, Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. Jonathan Quick made 23 saves in the win, while Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 31 saves in the loss. Sharks goals came from Barclay Goodrow and Tomas Hertl. The Flames won in Calgary on Thursday, so the Sharks have now fallen five points behind them for first in the Pacific.

After the game, Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said:

We got now 4 in a row. We know the playoffs are coming soon and… we have to wake up and be ready for tomorrow’s game because if we play like that in playoffs, you know, it’s just four-zero and you’re out and we have to be ready and start playing our hockey and everything else comes with that.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was asked whether losing four in a row at this point of the season was particularly concerning. Burns said: “Every loss is doomsday and every win feels good. I think that’s just kind of the way this game is. You lose one game and you want to try to get it back right away and we haven’t done it. So we’re just gonna kinda get our game back and start winning.”

The Sharks started the game without several key players. Joe Pavelski has been out with a lower body injury since Monday. Erik Karlsson was also still out. Finally, Logan Couture was out with the flu Thursday. Of the holes in their lineup, Burns said: “It’s tough to lose anybody but you gotta play, you just play. I mean it’s good for somebody else to, they get more time or move up or whatever it is.”

Los Angeles took the lead 5:19 into the first. Dustin Brown skated up the boards with Hertl between him and the net. He took a no-look shot between Hertl’s skates. With two more skaters screening him, Jones did not see Brown’s shot coming. The Sharks challenged the goal for goaltender interference because one of those skaters, Alex Iafallo, had a skate in the blue paint. Toronto did not consider it sufficient to erase the goal. Assists went to Sean Walker and Adrian Kempe.

The Sharks tied it up at 17:33 of he period. Joonas Donskoi brought the puck up from the goal line and passed it to Marc-Edouard Vlasic at the point. Vlasic took a quick shot into heavy traffic and Barclay Goodrow deflected it past Jonathan Quick. It was Goodrow’s seventh of the season, with Vlasic and Donskoi getting the assists.

The Kings outshot the Sharks 15-7 in the first period. There were no power plays, only matching minors in the final two minutes that resulted in some four-on-four play.

The Sharks took the lead early in the second period, at 3:45. Hertl made a pass to Burns as Burns approached the Los Angeles blue line, then followed Burns into the zone. Burns drew several defenders to him before the made a pass back to Hertl for the shot. The puck went by Quick on the far side.

The Sharks had a power play near the end of the period, but did not score there. The teams were tied in shots for the second period at 11.

Matt Roy tied the game up for Los Angeles 9:28 into the third period. Iafallo had the puck above the face-off circle and he sent a gentle pass to nearby Roy at the point. Roy blasted it to the net and it went off of a Sharks stick and into the net. Assists went to Iafallo and Anze Kopitar.

Kopitar gave the Kings the lead at 11:45. He got behind the Sharks defense and found the puck as it came out of a board battle up below the blue line. He faked to the right and shot left and beat Jones. Assists went to Iafallo and Brown.

Jeff Carter ended a 20-game goal drought with a back-hand from the defensive zone into an empty net at 18:43. The Sharks were on a power play and also pulled Jones for a six-on-four advantage.

The Kings outshot the Sharks 35-25 in the game.

The Sharks play again Friday against the Anaheim Ducks at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Shut Out Wild 3-0

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks shut out the Minnesota Wild 3-0 on the road Monday. Goals came from Tomas Hertl, Barclay Goodrow and Logan Couture. Martin Jones made 24 saves for the shut out, while Minnesota’s Devan Dybnyk made 26 saves in the loss.

Barclay Goodrow deflected Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot at 14:06 of the second period. He was skating across in front of Dubnyk when the puck went off of his midsection. Assists went to Vlasic and Tim Heed.

Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi led their team in shots up to that point, with three each. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin had done the same for the Wild. It was a stifling goaltending game with a healthy shot count. In the first period, each team had 11 shots. In the second, the Sharks led 8-6.

Tomas Hertl made it 2-0 with his 31st of the season at 4:37 of the third. Skating in two on one with Timo Meier, his shot rolled off his stick above the blade and hopped over Dubnyk’s pad. Assists went to Meier and Gustav Nyquist.

Logan Couture was granted a penalty shot after being hooked on a breakaway and scored through the five hole without any fuss. That was his 24th of the season.

The play was reviewed after the fact, when the Wild attempted to challenge it as off side. The NHL’s response was that it could not be challenged as there was no goal on that play to challenge.

The Sharks power play was unsuccessful in two attempts, but their penalty kill was perfect against three Wild power plays. Their face off success rate was a healthy 54%.

With the win, the Sharks are back in first place in the West, leap-frogging Calgary by one point. The loss left the Wild in the second wild card spot, one point ahead of Arizona and one behind Dallas.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Winnipeg against the Jets at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Blackhawks 7-3 in Chicago

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 Sunday in a much-needed road win at the United Center. After a shaky first few minutes, the Sharks took over with goals from Melker Karlsson, Marcus Sorensen, Evander Kane, Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. In all, 13 Sharks earned points in the game, six of them earning more than one. For Chicago, goals came from Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.

Both teams used both of their goalies, with San Jose’s Martin Jones being replaced after giving up three goals on four shots in the first period, and Chicago’s Corey Crawford leaving the game after an injury in the first period. Sharks’ Aaron Dell did not give up a goal on 16 shots, while Blackhawks’ Cam Ward made 30 saves on 35 shots. San Jose’s special teams were perfect with four penalty kills and two goals on two power plays.

After the game, Sharks forward Logan Couture commented on how the team has improved lately:

We’re playing the right way now. There’s less cheating, less chances being taken in bad areas of the ice. Defensively I think we’ve played some very strong hockey, and when we do that, it may be hard to realize but it always leads to offense. You’re always going to score more goals when you’re defending well. It’s just the way this game works, you don’t think it when you’re on the ice, but that’s the way it works.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer talked about his fourth line of Melker Karlsson, Barclay Goodrow and Lukas Radil after the game: “Melker consistently gives me the same game. You know, his production maybe isn’t there all the time but I think you know what you’re getting from him every time he puts his uniform on and he’s going to do whatever he can to help you win a game. You know, that fourth line has some chemistry and they’re making a difference in games. That’s the first time we’ve had that in a while so it feels good.”

The Blackhawks scored first and last in a goal-laden first period. In the first four minutes, Chicago scored twice. First, Alex DeBrincat got his 14th of the season at 2:34. The Sharks were on a change as Erik Gustafsson carried the puck into the neutral zone. He made a pass to the Sharks blue line where DeBrincat waited and DeBrincat took the shot from just over that blue line. The puck trickled through Martin Jones. Less than one  minute later, Dylan Strome defelcted a shot from Connor Murphy that came from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Murphy and Patrick Kane.

The Sharks got one back, courtesy of Melker Karlsson at 9:58. Lukas Radil and Barclay Goodrow caused a turnover in the neutral zone, allowing Brent Burns to take the puck and send it away from the Sharks zone to Radil near the Chicago blue line. Radil made a quick cross-ice pass to Karlsson. Karlsson took the shot from inside the faceoff circle and beat Corey Crawford over the pad. It was Karlsson’s third of the season, with assists to Radil and Burns.

The Sharks tied it up with their next shot less than a minute later. Joe Thornton stole the puck in the neutral zone and gave it back to Justin Braun. Braun moved the puck quickly to Kevin Labanc, who sent it cross-ice to Thornton. Thornton found Marcus Sorensen in front of the net. Sorensen used a backhand to sneak the puck under Crawford fr his sixth of the season. Assists went to Thornton and Labanc.

Chicago retook the lead at 12:54 of the period. Brendan Perlini scored off of an ugly play that started with a breakaway by Dylan Sikura. Sikura got tangled up with Justin Braun and fell on his way to the net, but he continued to drive the puck forward. Meanwhile, Perlini won a race against Marc-Edouard Vlasic and tapped the loose puck around Jones’ skate. Assists went to Sikura and Brent Seabrook.

The Sharks switched goalies at this point, putting Aaron Dell in net.

With 1:30 left in the period, Corey Crawford was bowled over by Dylan Strome after Strome tried to slip between Logan Couture and Evander Kane as they converged on the net. Kane was called for goaltender interference. Strome was called for slashing Couture. Crawford left the game and Cam Ward came in. A tripping penalty 44 seconds later on Timo Meier turned the 4-on-4 into a 4-on-3, which carried over into the second period, but none of the penalties altered the score.

The Sharks tied it back up 4:21 into the second period with a power play goal from Evander Kane. Chicago was short-handed for playing with a broken stick, attributed to David Kampf. Kevin Labanc took a stick to the eye early in the power play. It was not observed by officials but Labanc had to leave for repairs.

With under 30 seconds left in the power play, Brent Burns took a shot from above the faceoff circle. The shot came off of Ward’s pads and went right up the middle to where Kane was waiting to swat it back in. It was Kane’s 10th of the season, with assists to Burns and Erik Karlsson.

Barclay Goodrow gave the Sharks their first lead of the game at 7:36 of the period. After a great shift from the Sharks’ fourth line, Justin Braun took a shot from the blue line that went off of Goodrow who was screening Cam Ward. It was Goodrow’s fifth of the season, with assists to Braun and Melker Karlsson.

Logan Couture stretched the Sharks’ lead out to two with his 11th of the season at 16:16. After a nice keep-in by Joe Pavelski up on the blue line, Evander Kane kept the puck away from two Blackhawks below the goal line before getting the puck up to Brenden Dillon on the blue line. Dillon took the shot and Couture deflected it over Ward’s shoulder. Assists went to Dillon and Kane.

The Sharks scored a second power play goal at 13:03 of the third period, with Chicago’s Patrick Kane in the box for tripping. Tomas Hertl kept the puck in at the corner, then moved it along the blue line to Burns. Burns juggled it a bit, just keeping it on the right side of the line. Burns then moved down the slot, threatening a shot, before passing it to Kevin Labanc. Labanc caught the pass just above the hash marks and beat Ward high on the short side. It was Labanc’s fourth of the season, with assists to Burns and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl got on the board with the Sharks’ seventh of the game at 18:27. The Blackhawks were pushing hard in the last couple of minutes, but Timo Meier broke the puck out and took it down behind the Chicago net. Meier put the puck in front of the net, where it came out to Erik Karlsson for a shot. That one came back out for Meier to shoot, but he broke his stick. It went back below the goal line to Logan Couture, who found Hertl coming in for his shot. Couture got the only assist on that one.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Minnesota against the Wild at 5:00 PM PT.

Senators Sink Sharks 6-2 in Ottawa

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks gave up six goals for the second time on this road trip. The Ottawa Senators got goals from Ryan Dzingel, Ben Harpur, Mikkel Boedker, Mark Stone, Magnus Paajarvi and Bobby Ryan. Sharks goals came from Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow. It is worth noting that Mikkel Boedker earned four points in the game. Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson made 36 saves for the win and Martin Jones made 21 saves for San Jose.

It was not an ideal first game back in Ottawa for Erik Karlsson (he had nine shots on goal but was still a minus 2), but he was grateful for the tribute before the game. He also talked about how the Sharks are struggling: “At the end of the day it’s up to us in that room to figure that out and find a way to get back to the team that we know we can be. As of right now it’s going to be tough to do that but we’re going to do everything we can to figure that out and we’re going to sort this thing out for tomorrow’s game against Montreal.”

He was asked about the experience of returning to Ottawa for the first time since being traded to San Jose, and whther he was glad to have this game behind him. He said:

I was happy to be able to play this game, yes. It’s not a lie that we’ve all known when it was coming up. There’s been a lot of talk and I’ve been trying to stay focused on the games that we had before that and I think I did a good job at that. I was happy and this was a great experience I had a lot of fun out there even though this was not a great game at all and I’m not happy by any means. But it’s going to be nice to move on now here. I’m excited to be able to play tomorrow in Montreal and hopefully sort this mess out.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski was with the team when they played their first game against Ottawa after Dany Heatley came to San Jose. After Saturday’s loss, he said: “Yeah, yeah very disappointing. You know, you come back in this situation, I remember when we came back when Heater was with us, you know, and winning that night. It always feels good that you can support a guy in an emotional night. We came out, we had a good first I think, we were right there, it felt like we were on top of them. We just didn’t sustain it.”

After a scoreless first period, the Senators got a power play just a few minutes into the second period. While Marcus Sorensen and Justin Falk were in the box with fighting majors, Evander Kane tripped Bobby Ryan. In the second minute of that power play, Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick broke in the Senators’ end, inspiring an odd-man rush for the Senators. Justin Braun and Martin Jones handled that well, with Vlasic doing what he could without a stick.

Once the power play had ended, though, Ottawa took the lead at 7:30. A shot from Thomas Chabot on the blue line got through to Jones, who kicked the puck out. But two Senators were right in front of him and Ryan Dzingel got to the rebound before Brent Burns could. It was Dzingel’s 11th goal of the season, with assists to Chabot and Matt Duchene.

The Sharks got a power play not much later when Cody Ceci hooked Joe Pavelski. That turned into a five-on-three for under a minute when Tom Pyatt tripped Evander Kane. Two seconds after the five-on-three expired, Joe Thornton tied the game off a tic-tac-toe play from Burns to Pavelski by the goal line. Pavelski’s pass went through the crease to Thornton. The play had Anderson moving from post to post and that left Thornton an open net to shoot at. It was Thornton’s fourth of the year with assists to Pavelski and Burns.

Ryan Dzingel almost had another goal at 11:17 when he broke away and took a shot that hit the the crossbar.

The Senators did score the next goal at 12:56. Ben Harpur received a pass from Zack Smith in the neutral zone, then took a shot off the rush for his first NHL goal. Assists went to Smith and Magnus Paajarvi.

Less than a minute later, two former Sharks combined to give the Sens a two-goal lead. Bobby Ryan’s pass found Chris Tierney on the Sharks’ blue line. Tierney sent the puck ahead of Mikkel Boedker, who was flying to the Sharks net. Boedker put the puck under Martin Jones with a last-moment backhand. It was Boedker’s third goal of the season, with assists to Tierney and Ryan.

The third period was more of the same, with Ottawa not letting up at all. A power play goal came at 4:03, off a three-on-one created when Vlasic was tied up briefly in the offensive zone. It was Mark Stone’s goal, with assists to Boedker and Chabot.

Pete DeBoer opted to pull Martin Jones with over five minutes left in the game. That lasted only seconds after the next faceoff, as Magnus Paajarvi’s shot went all the way down the ice and into the empty net.

Barclay Goodrow got one back for the Sharks with two minutes left. Goodrow deflected Brenden Dillon’s hard shot from the blue line for his third of the season. Assists went to Dillon and Joakim Ryan.

Bobby Ryan was able to restore the four-goal lead in the final minute, deflecting Boedker’s shot from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Boedker (his fourth point of the night) and Cody Ceci.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Montreal against the Canadiens at 4:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Erik Karlsson expected to be the team’s linchpin they need opening the season

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sfgate.com: The San Jose Sharks Erik Karlssson takes a shot on goal, Karlsson made his first regular season appearance on Wednesday night at SAP Center in San Jose against the Anaheim Ducks in the season’s opener

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

The San Jose Sharks’ addition of Erik Karlsson gives the offense depth, which is not bad for a defenseman. Karlsson has scored the most points than any other in the NHL with 518. How much are the Sharks depending on Antti Suomela, whose on the third line? Evander Kane had 14 points in 17 games since coming to San Jose from Buffalo. Kane signed a seven-year extension with San Jose.

Mary Lisa also takes a look at Marcus Sorensen, Barclay Goodrow, and Melker Karlsson. Will they be the bottom six forwards?

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose to Lightning 5-2 in Tampa Bay

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San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) is knocked down by Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (18) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

by M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks dropped the third game of this road trip to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 5-2. Two Lightning goals were scored by Tyler Johnson, two more by Nikita Kucherov and another by Cory Conacher. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 stops in the game. Sharks’ goals were scored by Barclay Goodrow, who had just returned from injury, and Justin Braun. Martin Jones stopped 38 shots for the Sharks.

The loss was a modest improvement over their previous loss to Tampa Bay, a 5-1 loss in San Jose on November 8, but it ended a four-game winning streak for San Jose in Tampa Bay. The Lightning continue to dominate in the NHL standings, maintaining a slim lead over the Winnipeg Jets. Entering Saturday’s game, they had a record of 17-6-2. On the other hand, half of those losses came in their last four games.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer saw few bright spots in his team’s game. DeBoer said: “The good news was that our goalie was outstanding, he was by far our best player. He gave a us a chance going into the third to get some points tonight. But we didn’t have enough contributions. We would have needed 20 guys tonight plus Jonesy’s effort. They’re a desperate team and rested, and we didn’t help ourselves.”

Beyond that, DeBoer seemed willing to put the loss behind him and move on. DeBoer said: “We’re not going to be down here in a back-to-back with half our team out again so we don’t have to worry about that.”

Sharks forward Logan Couture expressed disappointment with the loss. Couture said: “They out played us again. You know, you can say we’re on a back-to-back and all, I know that but still got to show up and put forth a better effort than we did tonight.”

Later, Couture acknowledged that the team really is in a tough spot with injuries. Couture said: “You know, we’ve been playing good hockey. This is back-to-back, we got a bunch of guys go down within a few game period. It’s tough. You miss three forwards who usually play in your top nine, so other guys gotta step up and gotta find a way to be competitive.”

The Sharks’ injury list changed overnight between Florida games. Goodrow returned from injured reserve and Jones was ready to start. Joonas Donskoi and Tim Heed were placed on injured reserve, while Marcus Sorensen was called up from the AHL’s Barracuda. Sorensen did not play Saturday, but will be available Monday.

Both Heed and Donskoi’s IR status was retroactive to the last game they played. For Heed, that was November 25, and for Donskoi it was November 28.

Additionally, Melker Karlsson was not available after being injured Friday. Kevin Labanc was back in the lineup and got credit for four shots on goal, more than any other Shark Saturday.

San Jose did hang in there for the first two periods, but in the third, the Lightning took the Sharks apart. The Sharks scored first, the only goal of the first period. With just over three minutes left in the period, Ryan Carpenter made a cross-ice pass to Daniel O’Regan as he skated down the right side. O’Regan took the shot and the rebound went right to Goodrow on the left side. He had an open net from that angle and he put it away. Assists went to Carpenter and O’Regan.

The Sharks went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead, but had been outshot 15-8 by Tampa Bay.

The Lightning’s first period effort paid off early in the second period, as Nikita Kucherov tied the game up just 27 seconds in. Ondrej Palat carried the puck in and the Sharks defense set up to prevent a cross-ice pass to Kucherov. In doing so, they left their goaltender to handle any shot from Palat. Instead of shooting, Palat took the pass and it made it through three defenders to Kucherov, who had Martin Jones moving across and not quite ready to stop his shot. Assists went to Palat and Brayden Point.

The Lightning again outshot the Sharks in the second period, this time 16-8.

Joe Thornton was called for high sticking Tyler Johnson at the end of the second period. The Lightning started the third period with 1:56 of power play time. At 1:39 of the third, Johnson scored a power play goal to give the Lightning the 2-1 lead. Palat shot the puck into the zone so that it came off the back boards while Johnson skated in and caught it right in front of Jones. Assists went to Palat and Mikhail Sergachev.

Johnson scored again after Victor Hedman got a breakaway and would have scored had Brenden Dillon not caught the puck on the goal line. As he cleared it from the crease, Johnson was coming in fast and the puck came right to him. He put it back in over Jones.

Cory Conacher scored at 11:01, after a shoot in from Dan Girardi caught Justin Braun inside the knee. Seeing the defenseman drop to the ice, Conacher skated by him and caught a cross-ice pass from Alex Killorn. His shot went over Jones’ left shoulder as the goaltender came across to follow the puck. Assists went to Killorn and Yanni Gourde.

Braun did not stay down for long, and returned to stop the bleeding at 13:37. Braun caught the puck after an offensive zone faceoff. His blue line shot went cleanly through five skaters to beat Vasilevski on the glove side. An assist went to O’Regan.

Nikita Kucherov came back with a fifth goal at 15:37 off a breakaway after Logan Couture tried to shoot the puck in from the blue line and it his Kucherov instead. The bounce gave Kucherov the head start he needed.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Washington DC against the Capitals at 4 pm PT.

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.

Sharks Preseason 2017: San Jose Wins 5-3 to End Preseason

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

After two losses in a row, and six periods without a goal, the Sharks finished the preseason with a 5-3 win in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights. The game winner came on the power play from young defenseman Nick DeSimone. Goaltender Aaron Dell stopped 20 of 22 shots in the first half of the game, while Troy Grosenick stopped 14 of 15 in the second half. For Las Vegas, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 32 shots.

NHL regulars to skate for San Jose included Joel Ward, Chris Tierney, Mikkel Boedker, Joonas Donskoi and Brandon Bollig. Dylan DeMelo was the most veteran defenseman. John McCarthy and Barclay Goodrow, AHL veterans with significant NHL time under their belts, skated as well.

The Sharks were outshot 13-6 in the first period. Unsurprisingly, Las Vegas scored first at 8:08. The Sharks had an offensive zone draw but McCarthy lost it to Haula. As the puck bounced around behind Fleury’s net, Haula predicted its path well enough to reach it in the slot and took off down the ice before McCarthy or Simek could catch him.

Late in the period, DeSimone went to the box for holding the stick. During an abbreviated 4 on 3 power play, David Perron was unable to hold the puck in after Radim Simek cleared it from in front of the net. Marcus Sorensen was there, chasing the puck out and he had momentum on his side when the puck slid over the blue line. Perron and Vadim Shipachyov both gave chase. DeSimone pulled up as Fleury came out to meet him on the edge of the blue paint. DeSimone moved the puck to his left while diving over Fleury’s legs to tap the puck in. Simek got the assist on the tying goal.

The Sharks picked up their game in the second, scoring twice and outshooting Vegas 13-9. At 4:28, Chris Tierney scored on a power play while Jason Garrison sat in the box for tripping. It only took seven seconds for the team to get set up. Joel Ward sent the puck to the blue line where Tim Heed caught it and sent it to Dylan Demelo, who shot it. Tierney tipped it in for San Jose’s first lead in seven periods.

Near the halfway point of the period, Ryan Carpenter redirected a stray puck out of the Sharks zone, to Barclay Goodrow along the neutral zone boards. Finding himself free to do so, Goodrow skated to the faceoff circle and put a shot over Fleury’s left shoulder. It was the Sharks’ only even-strength goal of the game.

Two minutes later, the Sharks thwarted a three on two rush from Vegas, but could not get the puck back out before David Perron got control of the puck along the blue line. After a moment’s reflection, he took the long shot and scored. William Karlsson got the assist.

After that goal, the shot count was 22-11 Las Vegas.

A couple of minutes later, Cody Eakin carried the puck around behind the Sharks net and found Colin Miller just crossing the blue line. Eakin’s pass reached Miller perfectly for a quick shot to tie the game. Assists went to Eakin and Shea Theodore.

Tied going into the third, the game winner came on a power play just past the halfway mark. After surviving a three on two short-handed rush, the Sharks went the other way quickly enough to keep the Knights from getting their penalty kill set back up. A shot from Daniel O’Regan produced a rebound that DeSimone was able to push under Fleury. Assists went to O’Regan and Timo Meier.

The Knights pulled Fleury with 1:45 left, and used their timeout. The Sharks kept the Knights to the outside of their zone until the final 30 seconds when Grosenick stopped a shot from Schmidt and kicked it right up into the slot. Luckily, Joel Ward was there to help it along, all the way down and into the empty net.

Ironically, Timo Meier and Mikkel Boedker led the Sharks forwards in shots on goal with four each, yet came away with just one assist between them. For the Knights, Jason Marchessault got credit for seven shots on goal.

The Sharks will play their first regular season game on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers in San Jose. The game starts at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Barracuda Tuesday game wrap: Fischer and Wood get Roadrunners early lead hand Cuda 2-1 loss in first of two meetings

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sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda forward John McCarthy (17) is chased by the Tucson Roadrunners center Chris Mueller (19) as the Roadrunners goaltender Adin Hill (33) looks on Tuesday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda pulled within a goal in the second period, but their comeback bid fell short and they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Tuscon Roadrunners at SAP Center Tuesday.

The Barracuda — the Roadrunners

The Roadrunners got on the board first. Christian Fischer took a pass from Chris Mueller and put it into the net for his 20th goal of the season at 15:57 of the opening period.

The Roadrunners went on their first power play of the game after Barclay Goodrow went to the box for tripping at 12:22. They capitalized with the man advantage for a 2-0 lead 43 seconds later. Kyle Wood used a wrist shot to beat Troy Grosenick stick-side for his 14th goal of the season. With that goal, Wood currently leads the AHL in power-play goals (11) among all rookies.

Shots were 12-9 in favor of the Barracuda, but they trailed the Roadrunners 2-0 after 20 minutes.

The Barracuda cut the lead in half with 5:51 left in the second period. Adam Helewka tried to beat Adin Hill five-hole, but hit the left post. Ryan Carpenter proceeded to clean up the rebound for his 14th goal of the season.

Alex Schoenborn was called for cross-checking just as time expired at the 20-minute mark. Despite outshooting the Roadrunners 21-16, the Barracuda continued to trail 2-1 after 40 minutes.

Schoenborn served his cross-checking penalty during the first two minutes of the third period.

The action intensified midway through the period. Dakota Mermis was called for hooking at 12:38. Less than a minute later, Jamie McBain received a double minor for high-sticking Rourke Chartier.

In his postgame press conference, Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer confirmed Chartier was okay after taking a stick to the face.

Hill was called for delay of game with 20.5 seconds left in regulation. The Barracuda went on the power play, but were unable to capitalize with the man advantage, and their comeback fell short.

The Barracuda (43-16-2-5) dropped a 2-1 decision to the Roadrunners (27-31-8-0).

“I think our power play is kind of (good) and we got some weapons on there,” Colin Blackwell said when asked if there was anything his team could’ve improved on the power play. “I don’t think they have to really improve anything…I think if we just keep shooting, we’ll score on the power plays…It was just one of those nights where we didn’t get ahead of them, but they’re a good team and I expect them to that (capitalize on power plays) for the rest of the year.”

“I thought we were (real) flat,” Sommer said. “You know, especially the first 20 minutes, 25 minutes until we scored in the second (period) and then the game picked up a little bit.”

Notes
The Barracuda honored Grosenick’s AHL Goalie of the Year victory on the jumbotron. Fans gave him a big round of applause.

The Barracuda were without Zack Stortini as he served the first game of his two-game suspension after a controversial incident with the Stockton Heat Sunday. Stortini was accused of kneeling Heat defenseman Oliver Kylington.

The Barracuda went with six defenders: Joakim Ryan, Tim Heed, Mirco Mueller, Julius Bergman, Dan Kelly and Jacob Middleton.

Up Next
The Barracuda and Roadrunners return to action Thursday at 7:00 p.m. PST on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

San Jose Barracuda Sunday post game wrap: Cuda wrap up conference title in overtime 2-1 over Stockton

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sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda celebrate on their bench as they defeat the Stockton Heat 2-1 in overtime on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center

By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda clinched the Western Conference, wrapping up their 12-game season series against the Stockton Heat with a 2-1 overtime victory at SAP Center Sunday.

After a quick stop in Stockton Saturday night, the Barracuda returned to San Jose to open a three-game homestand, starting with the Heat.

Following a brief fight, Zack Stortini received a slashing penalty while Jamie Devane sat in the box for cross-checking.

“It’s two teams that compete hard against each other,” Stortini commented. “We’re both playing for something and we’re very competitive so those kinds of games are very fun to play in.”

Andrew Mangiapane was called for high-sticking with 9:22 left in the period. The Barracuda got into another fight with the rival Heat. This time, it was over a questionable call made by the officials. Julius Bergman’s shot bounced off the end boards and Ryan Carpenter tried to slam the puck into the net, but the call stood. No goal for San Jose.

The Barracuda opened the scoring with just 51.5 seconds left on the clock. Garnet Hathaway went to the box for holding the stick. Tim Heed sent a pass to Danny O’Regan, who blasted it into the net, beating David Rittich for a power-play goal — his 22nd of the season.

The Barracuda led the Heat 1-0 after 20 minutes. Shots were 20-7 in favor of San Jose.

Things remained chippy in the second period as Mirco Mueller dropped the gloves with Ryan Lomberg for a fight at 13:08. As a result, both players served two-minute minors for roughing.

The Barracuda held a 1-0 lead over the Heat after 40 minutes. San Jose outshot Stockton 36-14.

The action ensued in the third period. Buddy Robinson dropped the gloves with Austin Carroll for an intense fight just 2:03 into the period. Consequently, both players served 10-minute misconducts and two-minute roughing minors.

Jacob Middleton was called for tripping at 14:07. Mike Angelidis then finished a tic-tac-toe play from Mangiapane and Mark Jankowski for a power-play goal — his seventh goal of the season — tying the game 1-1 at 13:39.

The game headed into overtime after the Barracuda and Heat remained in a 1-1 deadlock after 60 minutes. Troy Grosenick made a notable save, stopping the puck with his glove to prevent a potential game-tying goal from a Heat forward.

Barclay Goodrow scored the game-winning goal — his 25th of the season — to lift the Barracuda to a 2-1 win at 2:48 of the overtime period.

The Barracuda (43-15-2-5) edged the Heat (33-25-5-2) in a 2-1 overtime victory. Grosenick finished with 20 saves for San Jose.

“I was a little bit bored there,” Grosenick said when asked about how he shot the puck back and forth with Rittich. “So I wanted to play pass with somebody and I passed it to him. Then he took a shot on that and I wasn’t happy with that.”

Rittich made 47 saves in a losing effort for Stockton.

When asked about the melee between both teams, Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer didn’t have much to say.

“I don’t know man,” Sommer responded. “It was kind of just a heat of the moment thing…I don’t remember what he said. It was just one of those things and it’s kind of a team thing. They get under your skin and into your mind and shame on me, I guess.”

Notes Sommer received a misconduct — his second of the season — after attempting to discuss a call with the Heat bench. He now has 20 penalty minutes, zero goals and zero assists.

O’Regan was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team Wednesday.

Grosenick and Heed were selected to the AHL First and Second All-Star Team Thursday.

Up Next The Barracuda continue their homestand Tuesday when they host the Tuscon Roadrunners (26-31-8-0) at 7:00 p.m. PST on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW