NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Len Shapiro: Maple Leafs live another day with win over Bruins; Hurricanes move to next round with win over Islanders; plus more news

The Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Matthew Knies (23) celebrates scoring an overtime goal on Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) in game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden in Boston (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Toronto Maple Leafs survived being eliminated defeating the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime. The Leafs trail the Bruins in this first playoff round 3-2. The Leafs Matthew Knies scored at 2:26 in the overtime stanza for the game winning goal.

#2 No time like the present with the New York Islanders playing for their lives down 3-1 they were in a 3-3 tie until the third period and couldn’t hold on as the Carolina Hurricanes rallied with three goals in the third period with goals from Jack Drury, Stefan Noesen, and Evgeny Kuznetsov for the come back 6-3 as the Hurricanes advance to the next round.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche had a 3-2 lead going into the third period in game five and the series lead as well at 3-1 against the Winnipeg Jets. The Avalanche added three more goals in the third period to put away the Jets and came away with a three goal 6-3 win in Winnipeg.

#4 The Nashville Predators came into game 5 down 1-3 against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and were facing elimination and defeated the Vancouver Canucks in razor close game 2-1. All the scoring took place in the third period with the Canucks Nikita Zadorov scoring to start the period at 3:11 on a wrist shot, then the Predators came back with two unanswered goals by Roman Josi at 7:15 to tie it 1-1 and Alexander Carrier at 12:46 for the winning goal for a 2-1 final.

#5 Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said on Tuesday that signing Steven Stamkos is a priority. BriseBois told the media two days after the Florida Panthers eliminated the Lightning at locker cleanout day in Tampa Bay that Stamkos “needs a contract and we want him part of that group.”Stamkos signed an eight year $68 million contract back in 2016 with the Lightning

Len does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts each Wednesday or Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Len Shapiro: Taking a look at the playoff match ups for this weekend

The New York Islanders Matt Barzal (13) led with 80 points during the regular season for the Isles as New York faces the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs this Sat Apr 20, 2024 in game 1 (AP file photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len lets take each of the NHL Playoffs games that are coming up this Saturday and Sunday. The first game New York Islanders (39-27-16) and the Carolina Hurricanes (52-23-7). The Islanders Matt Barzal led with 80 points, Brock Nelson 34 goals, Noah Dobson 60 assists. The Hurricanes Sebastian Aho leads in 89 points, 36 goals, and 53 assists.

#2 Next match up are the Boston Bruins with David Pastrnak leading in all three categories with 110 points, 47 goals, and 63 assists. The Toronto Maple Leafs have Auston Matthews leading in points at 107, 69 goals, and Mitch Marner with 59 assists.

#3 The next pairing are the Tampa Bay Lightning with Nikita Kucherov leading with 144 points and 100 assists and Brayden Point leading in goals with 46. The Florida Panthers Sam Rienhart leads in points with 94 and 57 goals and Matthew Tkachuk has 62 assists.

#4 The Washington Capitals Dylan Stronme leads with 67 points, Alex Ovechkin 31 goals, and 42 assists for John Carlson. For the New York Rangers Artemi Panarin leads in all three categories in points 120, goals 49 and assists 71.

#5 The most active players without a Stanley Cups.

Len Shapiro does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Matthews gets Leafs by Jets 1-0 with late goal; Panthers clobber Coyotes 6-2; plus more news

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward Austin Matthews (34) scores on the Winnipeg Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit (39) in overtime at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wed Jan 24, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Toronto Maple Leafs put a win together on Wednesday night with Austin Matthews who scored with just 47 seconds left in the overtime stanza. The Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov saved 32 shots in the 1-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

#2 The Florida Panthers Sam Reinhart scored a goal and an assist and is now on an 11 game point streak. That effort helped the Panthers defeat the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night 6-2.

#3 The Boston Bruins dropped their nine game point streak Wednesday night when the Carolina Hurricanes Jordan Martinook scored a third period goal to help the Hurricanes to a 3-2 win at TD Garden in Boston.

#4 The Colorado Avalanche crushed the struggling Washington Capitals with a 6-2 win as the Ave’s Nathan MacKinnon scored four goals and had an assist to increase his point steak to 24 games and 82 points.

#5 The Seattle Kraken crushed the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena 6-2. The Kraken scored twice in each period of the game. In the third period the Kraken’s Tomas Tatar scored twice.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursday night’s at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Sharks hoping to take a bite out of the Big Apple Sunday against Rangers at MSG

The San Jose Sharks Anthony Duclair (10) chases down the puck against the New Jersey Devils in first period action. Duclair scored two goals against the Devils on Fri Dec 1, 2023 at the Prudential Center in Newark NJ (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson:

Titus Wilkinson on the SJ Sharks podcast:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Jacob MacDonald and Anthony Duclair each had two goals apiece as the Sharks turned up their offense a notch against the New Jersey Devils in New Jersey on Friday night.

#2 San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 44 shots and allowed three goals in the 6-3 San Jose win.

#3 Mikael Granlund scored a goal and had two assists and William Eklund scored for San Jose to help San Jose pick up their first road win of the season now with a 1-10-0 road record.

#4 San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn said “I’m happy for our guys. It’s been a tough year, especially on the road,″ Quinn said. ”To find a way to win is a tribute to our team.”

#5 San Jose will face the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm PT. The Rangers are first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 16-4-1 record. The Rangers have won eight of their last ten games and are in Nashville tonight before returning to New York on Sunday against the Sharks.

Titus Wilkinson filled in for Mary Lisa for part one on the San Jose Sharks podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Shut Out 3-0 by Bruins; Brief SJ two game win streak comes to an end

The Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha gets a top shelf third period goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) and defenseman Kyle Burroughs (4) at TD Garden in Boston on Thu Nov 30, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-0 to the Bruins at TD Garden Thursday. Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the shutout win. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves in the loss. It was the fourth time the Sharks have been shutout this season, and all of those have been on the road.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn summarized the game as follows:

“I thought we had a good first period, played a pretty good tempo, I thought our puck play was good, you know, played smart hockey, played with the right intentions. And I thought it really got loose in the second period. I thought our turnovers really hurt us and really ignited their game. I though they brought it to another level once that period got going and we weren’t able to control it really.”

Probably the most disappointing moment in the game was when the Sharks failed to score with a two man advantage. That power play ended the second period and started the third. After the game, Tomas Hertl talked about that power play:

“We just, like, nobody wants to take the shot, everybody tried passing and we have zero shots, five entries and that’s a tough situation. We have to be quick, put something on the net you know because we have two extra guys so we should get a rebound and stuff, but we couldn’t even get a shot.”

The Sharks went into the second period in a decent position. Each team had a power play in the first, neither scored. The shots were relatively even at 10-9 Boston. The second period would not be so balanced.

Danton Heinen broke the 0-0 tie just 1:39 into the second period. Matthew Poitras took advantage of an offensive zone turnover by the Sharks, who looked tired after being trapped in their own zone for too long. Poitras found Heinen in the faceoff circle for a quick shot that sent the puck between Blackwood and the post.

Jake DeBrusk made it 2-0 at 8:10 of the period. While Pavel Zacha carried the puck over the blue line, DeBrusk entered the zone across the ice and around the Sharks defense. Zacha passed the puck to him and he was able to carry it to the net for a backhand shot. Zacha and David Pastrnak got the assists.

The Sharks finished the second period with a shot deficit of 18-6 as well as the goals surrendered. They did get a two-man advantage at the end of the period after a series of skirmishes. The power play carried over to start the third but did not change the score.

Instead, the Sharks took a penalty early in the third and gave up a power play goal from Zacha. Pastrnak carried the puck in and found Zacha skating right up the slot for a close-in shot. Assists went to Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy.

The Sharks did make a push, out-shooting Boston slightly, 11-8 in the third. But the score did not change. The final shot count was 37-26 Bruins. In the faceoff circle, the Sharks won 47.3% of the draws.

After the game, Tomas Hertl explained that his absence from the previous game was due to a kidney stone. He said that he had surgery for that last Monday.

The Sharks next play on Friday in Newark, New Jersey against the Devils at 4:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: After losing 4 straight at home can Sharks turn it around on upcoming 5 game road trip

San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc Edouard-Vlasic (44) reaches his stick underneath the Boston Bruins center Trent Frederic (11) to get at a puck in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Oct 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Boston Bruins came into San Jose on Thursday night and got scoring help from Brad Marchand and James van Riemsdyk and wasted no time doing it scoring 21 seconds apart in the first period.

#2 The Bruins David Pastrnak added the third and final goal and goaltender Linus Ullmark stopped 26 Sharks shots.

#3 This was the final game of the Sharks four game homestand where they were swept for the entire four games to start the season. How surprising or not surprising was it that the Sharks lost all their games on home ice to start the season.

#4 The Sharks join two other teams in NHL history to open at home and lose four straight games. The 1971-72 California Golden Seals with two loses and two ties and the 1997-98 Calgary Flames lost three and had a tie.

#5 The Sharks open a five game road trip starting tonight in Nashville after seeing what happened in the last four games in San Jose how difficult do you see it for the Sharks to win this one tonight and the rest of the four games that’s waiting for them on this trip.

Join Mary Lisa does the SJ Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Still Winless To Start Season Lose To Boston Bruins 3-1

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro (38) scrambles for the puck as the Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) is just behind Ferraro at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Oct 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

Thursday, October 19th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The first four games for the San Jose Sharks have been against the current division leaders. Vegas, Colorado, Carolina, and now Boston. Described to some as the toughest beginning for a Sharks season in their history based on the strength of their opponents this early in the season, each game feeling harder than the last.

This feeling was no different with the San Jose Sharks against the Boston Bruins in the SAP Center and the Sharks coming off a loss against Carolina where they saw six goals pass Mackenzie Blackwood, who despite the score was having a great outing against the Hurricanes.

In this game’s postgame presser, Sharks coach David Quinn made it very clear how he felt his team played, quoted saying “I didn’t like the way we played for most of the night” and also saying “It’s certainly way too soft and way too slow.” This quote brings us to tonight’s game against the Bruins where the focus was to be more physical while not committing as many penalties as they did against the Hurricanes. 

A first period where the San Jose Sharks were going shot for shot with the Bruins and both goalies looking like the heroes this early in the night until Brad Marchand scored his first goal of the season in a shot that surprised the crowd when they saw the puck pass Kaapo Kahkonen. 1-0 Boston.

The second goal for Boston came so quickly that the first goal wasn’t even announced over the PA yet, but 19 seconds after the first goal James Van Riemsdyk scores by pushing a puck in that fans and even some Sharks thought was a frozen puck, but after further review it was a goal, 2-0 Bruins.

After this second goal an overwhelming number of Boston fans started chanting “Let’s Go Bruins” which then was followed by Sharks fans booing the chant from the opposing Boston faithful and then the first period ended with home fans feeling like they were in Boston after the SAP Center erupted for the Bruins.

The second period for Sharks fans can be classified as one word: embarrassing. A whole period went by and after 16:46 the reason the sold out crowd of 17,562 Sharks fans would deem the second period embarrassing would occur.

David Pastrnak went on the attack and bad defense caused Pastrnak to fall ad on the way down, he still accidentally knocked in the puck off of Kaapo’s skate and cheers from Boston fans overshadowed the boos from the Sharks fans and the rest of the second period was a blur for the fans in teal as they were witnessing a 3-0 score going into the third period and it was further proof of this season being the “toughest beginning of a season” ever for San Jose. 

A sign of hope for San Jose came from the high profile offseason signing, Anthony Duclair and he got the goal after leading an attack and on attempted pass to Tomas Hertl, the puck bounces off a Bruins defender and in the goal for Duclair’s first goal as a Shark and San Jose’s first goal of the game. 3-1.

Dueling chants between San Jose and Boston fans serenaded the arena as the third period continued. The Sharks emptied the net to hopefully even out the score, but the deficit was too great as the Boston Bruins celebrated a win on away that felt like a home game for them. 

The Sharks since the start of the last season are now 8-25-12 and this record at home speaks to why this game in particular didn’t feel like the Shark tank advantage that Sharks fans grew up with. With no wins in the first four games of this season showcase the start of a long and grueling season for this team on a rebuild, but the positive in this game is the fact that Duclair got his first goal as a Shark and that should be a silver lining for a dark cloud on the current state of the teal.

The Sharks open a five game road trip in hopes of turning it around. The Sharks start the trip against the Nashville Predators this Sat Oct 21 for a 5:00pm PT puck drop.

Sharks lose 6-3 to Hurricanes

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Anne

The San Jose Sharks continued their four-game homestand with game No. 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. The Sharks lost 6-3 to the Hurricanes at SAP Center. San Jose fell to 0-2-1, while Carolina improved to 3-1-0.

Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 36 saves in a losing effort, while Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta made 12 saves before exiting the game. Frederik Andersen made one save in relief of Raanta.

The Sharks drew first blood. Fabian Zetterlund helped the Sharks to an early 1-0 lead with a wrist shot 3:14 into the opening period. Tomas Hertl collected the lone assist on Zetterlund’s goal.

The Hurricanes tied the game 1-1. Seth Jarvis fired a wrist shot on the power play for a power play goal 4:06 into the first period. Michael Bunting and Teuvo Teravainen collected the assists on Jarvis’ game-tying goal.

The game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes. The Hurricanes outshot the Sharks 18-5.

The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead. Jaccob Slavin scored an unassisted goal, a short-handed one off a wrist shot, at 8:52 of the second.

The Hurricanes’ lead was short-lived. The Sharks tied the game 2-2 just 19 seconds later. Filip Zadina fired a wrist shot on the power play for a power play goal at 9:11 of the second period. Fabian Zetterlund collected the lone assist on Zadina’s game-tying goal.

The Sharks regained the lead 3-2. William Eklund fired a wrist shot on the power play for a power play goal at 16:06 of the second period. Henry Thrun and Tomas Hertl collected the assists on Eklund’s go-ahead goal.

The Sharks led 3-2 through 40 minutes. Carolina outshot San Jose 31-11.

The Hurricanes tied the game 3-3. Stefan Noesen fired a wrist shot on the power play for a power play goal at 9:08 of the third period. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brady Skjei collected the assists on Noesen’s game-tying goal.

The Hurricanes regained the lead 4-3. Seth Jarvis scored an unassisted goal on a slap shot on the power play at 11:51 of the third period. Brent Burns, a former San Jose Shark, collected the lone assist on Jarvis’ go-ahead goal.

The Hurricanes extended their lead 5-3. Martin Necas fired a wrap-around shot for a 5-3 lead at 14:53 of the third period. Michael Bunting and Brady Skjei collected the assists on Necas’ goal.

The Hurricanes expanded their lead 6-3. Brett Pesce fired a wrist shot for a 6-3 lead at 15:08 of the third period. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Stefan Noesen collected the assists on Pesce’s goal.

The Hurricanes won 6-3. Carolina outshot San Jose 42-16.

Notes
With his 28th save of the game, Mackenzie Blackwood has now made the most saves by any Sharks goalie in his first two games with the team (79). Kaapo Kahkonen made 78 on March 24-31, 2022 (36, 42).

The Sharks’ November Breakaway Pass offers nine games for $89, including the Sharks and Golden State Warriors’ Bay Area Unite Night and SJSharksGaming Night. For more information, click here.

Up Next
The Sharks will wrap up their homestand against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Pacific.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Flyers DeAngelo suspended two games for spearing; Oilers Kane back tonight in Boston; plus more news

Edmonton Oilers Evander Kane returned to the Oilers line up tonight against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston. Kane is made his first appearance after missing nine games. (file photo from nhl.com

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo was hit with a two game suspension for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning Corey Perry in Tampa Bay on Tue Mar 7. The penalty was assessed at 17:20 of the third period a major penalty and a misconduct for spearing.

#2 Edmonton Oilers star Evander Kane has finally returned to the line up after missing nine games he played in tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Kane had got his wrist cut by a skate on Feb 17th returned on line changes with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman.

#3 Len, the Carolina Hurricanes recalled goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov AHL affiliate Chicago on Wednesday. Kochetkov will replace Antti Raanta who suffered a groin injury on Tuesday in a Hurricanes 4-3 overtime shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said that Raanta tweeted his groin and hoped that it’s not too serious.

#4 The Oilers and Bruins game was nationally televised in order to highlight Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and the Boston Bruins David Pastrnak. The Oilers and Bruins are favorites to represent in the NHL Finals for the post season.

#5 San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn has been fined $25,000 for demeaning officials on Sat Mar 4th at SAP Center in San Jose in a game against the Washington Capitals. Quinn blew his top after on ice official Gord Dwyer had called Kevin LaBanc for hooking in the third period. Quinn was seen using colorful language and got the boot for a game misconduct abuse on an official.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursday nights on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Bruins coach Montgomery leads by being positive; Heads or tails on Canucks new coach Tocchet for now; plus more NHL News

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery talks with his players during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Boston. The Bruins hired Montgomery at the start of the 2022 season as their new coach. (AP News file)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Matt, talk about Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery this is his second team in the NHL he first coached the Dallas Stars before being fired by them in 2019 and has done a bang up job as head coach leading the club to a 26-6-4. Talk about the job Montgomery has done building up the Bruins?

#2 Under Vancouver Canucks (19-26-3) new head coach Rick Tocchet he’s 2-1 so far and in the first win he handled the Chicago Blackhawks rather handily 5-2 and in the second game in Seattle the Canucks got crushed 6-1, and on Friday the Canucks picked up a three goal win over the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. It’s early to tell but the Canucks critics say should have held onto Bruce Boudreau and let him finish out the season.

#3 Matt, are the Toronto Maple Leafs going to miss Austin Matthews something awful, Matthews is out with a knee sprain for three weeks, Matthews is second in goals, and is third in points. Matthews injured himself on Wednesday against the New York Rangers during a 3-2 overtime win.

#4 The Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov will replace Matthews at center at the NHL All Star game in Florida on Sat Feb 4th. Barkov is second on the Panthers with 43 points with 13 goals and 30 assists. He should get a good ovation when he is introduced in Sunrise next Saturday.

#5 Despite winning seven of their last ten games the Chicago Blackhawks (15-28-4) and defeating one of the tougher teams in the NHL the Calgary Flames (23-17-9) 5-1 on Thursday night in Calgary the Blackhawks are looking to deal stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each player is in the final year of their eight year contract.

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com