Tag: Brent Burns

Sharks Win 7-0 at Home

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

photo credit: USA Today SJ Sharks Tomas Hertl scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier in Saturday’s Sharks laugher

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks ran over the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 7-0 on Saturday. After the game, Sharks defenseman Justin Braun summed it up: “You can’t ask for much more, you know? Scoring, goalie played great. It’s one of those games you don’t drop and it works out that way.”

It would be an understatement to say that the Sharks have lacked depth scoring over the past dozen games, or even throughout the season. Players like Tomas Hertl, Tommy Wingels, Matt Nieto, Melker Karlsson, and Joonas Donskoi have all failed to pull their weight on the scoreboard. Saturday, they seemed hell bent on making up for that. Only time will tell if they can sustain it, but the 7-0 win on Saturday showed that they can do the job.

The Sharks started the game with distinctly different forward lines. They were: Donskoi-Couture-Karlsson, Pavelski-Thornton-Hertl, Ward-Marleau-Nieto, and Wingels-Tierney-Brown. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer was asked whether these new forward lines was the key to success for the struggling players. He said:

I don’t think the line shuffles changed it. I think we’ve got a proud group in there, I don’t think… they weren’t happy about where we were sitting. I think they were smart enough to recognize we were doing a lot of good things. But we needed a little bit more out of everybody. And they fixed that themselves. Now again we have to build on that.

Tomas Hertl scored twice and earned an assist. Joonas Donskoi, Matt Nieto and Melker Karlsson each scored a goal, and Wingels earned two assists. Usual suspects, Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski, scored the other two goals. After the game, Tommy Wingels said:

I think when we have four dangerous lines out there you see the potential that this team has. And if we’re going to make a run and string some wins together, that’s what we’re going to need. Certainly a lot of guys feel better about their games today than they have in games past. Myself, other guys– be happy with it, gain some confidence and continue it on to the next game.

The other guy with a big blinking question mark over his head has been goaltender Martin Jones, who seemed to share his team’s allergy to wins on home ice. His performance Saturday made him look like he was worth the first round draft pick that the Sharks gave up for him. Especially in the first period, while the game was still scoreless, Jones was key. In all, he made 28 saves for the shutout. After the game, he said:

It was a close game before we started scoring in the second there. Obviously we had some timely goals in the second and kind of ran away with it but it was just a solid game from everybody from start to finish.

The Maple Leafs gave the Sharks ample opportunity to score, and the Sharks took advantage. It was the first goal, from Brent Burns, that seemed to open the flood gates for the Sharks. It was a stand out play under any circumstances, but his single-handed incursion early in the second period was pivotal for his team on Saturday. After the game, DeBoer said of the goal:

That was huge, because I thought we were a little tentative, we were almost in that ‘waiting for something to go wrong’ mindset. And he just said **** it and took the puck and that changed the game for us. That play changed the game.

The game did not start off like a high-scoring affair. The Sharks had the first power play, after Jake Gardiner was called for holding Tommy Wingels. The hold resulted in a three-player pile up in the Toronto net at 5:24. Once the officials untangled the players, the Sharks attempted to launch an attack with the man advantage. Their efforts were no real threat to Toronto, and the two minutes elapsed without the Sharks adding a shot on goal.

The Sharks took another swing at the power play with just 2:09 left in the first. Leo Komarov went to the box for boarding Longan Couture. This time, the Sharks did get a shot on goal, one from Brent Burns. The second unit of Ward, Hertl, Donskoi, Burns and Vlasic got another shot in, and another pile up in the goal crease.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 12-7 Toronto. Five of those San Jose shots were from defensemen, Burns and Justin Braun with two each and Marc-Edouard Vlasic with one. The others were from Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels.

At 4:18 of the second period, Brent Burns took the game over for a shitf, skated out of the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, fending off defenders most of the way, and put the puck past James Reimer. Assists went to Paul Martin and Joe Pavelski. It was Burns’ 17th of the season.

The Maple Leafs had their turn on the power play at 7:01, when Paul Martin was called for a high stick against Shawn Matthias. The San Jose penalty kill was more effective than their power play had been. Perhaps that is because Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels don’t get much time on the power play. During the second minute of the penalty kill, Tommy Wingels chased a puck down in the offensive zone. The Maple Leafs seemed to have forgotten about the puck as they made a line change and almost no one went after Wingels. With Nieto darting down the other wing, a lone Toronto defender could not get back in time to prevent Wingels from making a late pass across to Nieto, who put the puck in the open net. Assists went to Wingels and Brent Burns.

The Sharks also killed the penalty.

Dion Phaneuf decided that Wingels was worth a five-minute fighting major, on top of the interference minor he received at the same time. The Sharks power play again lacked inspiration or cohesion.

Ironically, shortly after it expired, the Sharks extended their lead with a Joe Pavelski goal. Hertl’s pass from below the goal line was a thing of beauty, as he threw it behind him while facing the boards, hitting his mark perfectly. Pavelski was where he needed to be, right in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Hertl and Thornton.

Less than two minutes later, Justin Braun took a shot from high in the slot, which Hertl followed to the net. Hertl corralled the rebound and put it lightly over Bernier’s pad for a 4-0 lead. The lone assist went to Braun.

When the period ended, the Sharks were behind on the shot clock 19-21.

22 seconds into the third period, Matt Nieto was called for hooking. Martin Jones had to make several good saves in the first minute, a sign that the penalty killers were not as sharp as earlier in the game. The Toronto power play was also more composed.

A fifth Sharks goal came at 4:10. Chris Tierney caught a pass from Justin Braun at the Toronto blue line and sent it to Melker Karlsson as he darted across the line into the slot. Karlsson put the puck past Bernier and Toronto coach Mike Babcock made a coach’s challenge on the basis of a missed offside call. The challenge was overruled and the goal stood up. While Tierney’s skates were clearly across the line before the puck was, he had full control of it which negated an offside ruling.

Joonas Donskoi extended the lead to six when he took the puck from the half boards, evaded two different Toronto skaters, went behind the net and slid the puck in between skate and post. That was at 9:28 of the third, and assists went to Wingels and Vlasic.

Hertl scored again at 11:22, despite Bernier’s attempts to push him away from the net. Assists went to Braun and Vlasic.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 PT.

Sharks Fall to Senators 4-2

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo Sens Kyle Turis pushes the Sharks Marc Edouard-Vlasic during first period battle for the puck in Ottawa

The San Jose Sharks lost the third game in their current road trip, falling to the Ottawa Senators by a score of 4-2. As they had the night before in Toronto, the Sharks scored first and then gave up the lead. Unlike the Toronto game, they followed up on a weak second period with a worse third. The Sharks gave the swift Senators too many opportunities, odd-man rushes and power plays. That translated into four goals, three scored in the third period. Those goals were scored by Bobby Ryan, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris Wideman and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks’ goals came from Joe Thornton and Brent Burns.

The first period went by scoreless, with just two penalties called in the final five minutes. Both went against Ottawa, but their penalty kill kept the Sharks off the board. In their first power play, a hooking call against Kyle Turris, the Sharks recorded no shots. The closest they came was a Thornton shot that went off off Joel Ward in front of the net. The second power play carried over to the second period, the result of a tripping call against Mark Stone at 19:18. It is worth noting that the penalties were drawn by Joonas Donskoi and Melker Karlsson. After the first period, the Sharks had a slight lead in shots at 13-12.

Ottawa and San Jose both tend to win when they score first, so the first goal was eagerly anticipated, if misleading. It came 29 seconds into the middle frame, during the carry over penalty time. Though they lost the opening faceoff, the Sharks regained control quickly. The top power play unit established themselves in the offensive zone and a quick pass from Brent Burns near the right faceoff circle found Joe Thornton on the opposite side. Thornton’s shot was quick and went through the traffic cleanly into the net. Assists went to Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski.

Just over a minute later, Tomas Hertl was called from tripping, giving the Senators the first of three power plays in the second period, including a five on three. The Sharks killed the penalties but gave up an even strength goal at 4:46. Justin Braun caught a puck in the defensive zone and seemed to be trying to pass it off the boards to Marleau. Bobby Ryan was quicker to the puck than Marleau. He skated in and around Braun and then beat Stalock to tie the game.

It was a bad spot in Stalock’s game, which did have some bright spots. Near the end of the second period, Brent Burns had a puck jump by him on the Senators blue line, allowing Ottawa defenseman Dave Dziurzynski and forward Alex Chiasson to go the other way, with only Paul Martin in position to defend. Martin stayed with Dziurzynski but could not prevent his pass below the faceoff circle. Alex Stalock read the play perfectly and came to the top of his crease to reach out and block the pass with his stick. He caught the puck up and tapped it in the direction of Brent Burns, who by now had come back to help out. It was a good indication of alertness and confidence from a goaltender who has not played a lot of games this season.

The game remained tied through until 8:19 of the third period. After a shot by Diurzinsky went off of Stalock’s mask, Pageau picked up the rebound and put a shot through Stalock. Stalock sensed that it was behind him, and turned to try to catch it, but it got by. Assists went to Dziurzynski and Cody Ceci.

Stalock made a quick trip to the bench after, where heStalock got a new mask. Evidently the shot to the head did some damage to his armor.

The Sens stretched their lead with just over seven minutes left. Dennis Wideman took a shot from the blue line, while Chris Neil blocked Stalock’s view. Two Sharks and another Senator were also in the goaltender’s line of sight, so he probably did not see the shot at all as it flew by into the top corner. Assists went to Curtis Lazar and Shane Prince.

Ottawa added to the lead when some offensive zone action from the Sharks left the ice open for another two on one against, this time by Karlsson and Hoffman, with Brenden Dillon trying to defend. Hoffman drew Stalock to the right, then sent a pass around Dillon to Karlsson. 4-1 Senators. Assists went to Hoffman and Bobby Ryan.

With 2:24 left, Brent Burns got one back for the Sharks. Hertl, Goodrow and Wingels got the play started and Burns skated in to finish it up with a shot from in front of the net.

The Sharks had a 20 second power play when Mark Borowiecki was called for boarding Joel Ward. It was not long enough to make a difference.

Final score: 4-2 Senators.

Goalie Craig Anderson made 31 saves on 33 shots for the Senators. Alex Stalock made 31 saves on 35 shots for the Sharks.

Brent Burns led the team by a significant margin with seven shots on goal. Joel Ward had four hits and four shots. The Sharks were outshot by the Senators 35-33.

Some of the Sharks lines looked different Friday. Dainius Zubrus skated with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski again, while Tomas Hertl skated with Barclay Goodrow and Tommy Wingels. Measuring by ice time, that second group made up Friday’s fourth line. Matt Nieto was promoted to the line with Marleau and Ward. As previously mentioned, Chris Tierney centered Melker Karlsson and Joonas Donskoi. Despite their stats in Friday’s game, that line looked pretty good. They drew penalties and showed promise as a unit.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Chicago against the Blackhawks at 4:00 PT.

Lightning Strike Early And Often, Beat Sharks 4-3

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

photo credit: AP of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov skates as he scored twice aginast San Jose Saturday night

SAN JOSE: The San Jose Sharks finally scored a power play goal at home. They scored three, but lost 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Tampa Bay’s 20th place penalty kill probably jumped up a couple of ranking spots after killing seven penalties on Saturday night. Or maybe not, since they also gave up three power play goals. The first one was to Matt Tennyson, who broke the cursed power play scoring drought for the Sharks. The second went to Joel Ward, and the third to Brent Burns.

Al Stalock made 16 saves on 20 shots for the Sharks, while Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop made 24 saves on 26 shots before leaving the game with an injury. His replacement, Andrei Vasilevskiy made seven saves on eight shots. Tampa Bay goals were scored by Eric Condra, Nikita Kucherov (two) and Brian Boyle. There were some bright spots in the Sharks’ game, but not enough.

Tampa Bay wasted no time getting the scoring started. Just 2:19 into the game, Nikita Kucherov was able to skate through the slot, avoiding one Sharks defender and using the other as a screen, to put a shot right under Stalock. An assist went to defenseman Victor Hedman.

Near the halfway mark, Joe Pavelski was called for high sticking. Really, the infraction occurred as much as a minute before the time of the penalty, as Tampa Bay tried to make something of the delayed call, skating at length with their net empty. Despite their efforts, they were unable to launch an attack until the power play was under way. Even then, they only recorded one shot with the man advantage.

It was not until after that power play expired that the Lightning struck again, this time with a pass from the wall, near or below the goal line, that seemed to bounce off of a well-placed stick in front of the blue paint. The goal went to Eric Condra, with assists to Andrej Sustr and J.T. Brown.

The Sharks drew a hooking call with 3:27 left in the period. Brian Boyle was the culprit. The Sharks had some difficulty getting their power play in order, and Tampa Bay’s penalty killers were aggressive.

Karlsson, Donskoi, Hertl, Braun and Martin took the ice with less than 30 seconds left in the penalty. The first power play unit was made up of Thornton, Pavelski, Ward, Marleau and Burns. The power play expired and the Sharks went into the first intermission down by 2-0. The Sharks were also trailing on the shot clock, with just four to Tampa Bay’s six.

The Lightning took another penalty, this time for too many men on the ice, but Tommy Wingels was called bout 30 seconds later for goaltender interference.

During the four on four time that followed, the Sharks kept the Lightning hemmed in their zone, and put a few shots on net to boot.

Around the seven minute mark of the second, the Lightning overwhelmed the Sharks’ fourth line of Chris Tierney, Dainius Zubrus and Mike Brown. The Lightning did not score, but the Sharks were trapped in their zone for too long.

The Sharks had another try on the power play at 9:20, when Braydon Coburn was called for holding. Tommy Wingels drew that call. The Sharks recorded a few shots during the power play but did not get anything past Bishop.

At 12:55, the Sharks seemed to have scored after a wild scramble, but the goal was called off as the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle before the puck crossed the line.

That was followed by a holding call to Andrej Sustr, and again the bulk of the power play time was given to the top unit. They could not do anything with that time, but the second unit, if indeed that is what they are, did score. Matt Tennyson’s shot from near the point got by Bishop, with assists to Justin Braun and Tomas Hertl. The other skaters on the ice were Donskoi and Karlsson.

With just over five minutes left, Chris Tierney went to the box for tripping. The Sharks were doing a great job killing the penalty, often stopping the Lightning at the blue line. Half way through, Joel Ward was called for tripping as well, putting the Sharks down by two men for 50 seconds. The Sharks held them off for 30 of those seconds but Steven Stamkos and Kucherov took advantage of the Sharks being a little too far from their goal and found a 2 on 1 chance. A late pass from Stamkos set Kucherov up perfectly. He picked a corner over Stalock’s shoulder and gave Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead.

At the end of the second, the shots were 18-14 Sharks, the score 3-1 Lightning.

The Sharks’ belaguered power play had another shot 40 seconds into the third period, when Tomas Hertl drew a tripping call on Anton Stralman. Donskoi, Hertl and Karlsson started this one, but had no luck. The Ward-Marleau-Thornton unit came out for the second minute of the power play. No joy there either.

DeBoer put the third line out after the power play expired, with Wingels, Hertl and Nieto. They started well but Brian Boyle broke away with Brown in a two on one. Stalock stopped Brown’s shot but lost track of the puck. As it sat there behind his skate, Boyle tapped it in.

Jason Garrison went to the box next, 5:42 in, for interference. That power play started with a two on one chance for Tampa Bay. Burns and Stalock stopped them from scoring but the Sharks never gained any traction.

Victor Hedman went to the box at 8:13 for cross-checking Chris Tierney. Thirteen seconds into the power play, Brent Burns’ shot went off Joel Ward and by Bishop. Marleau was acting as a screen, and Bishop claimed there was some interference but the goal stood up after a review. Assists went to Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski.

With 11:10 left in regulation, Ben Bishop took a stick through the mask and left the game, being replaced by Andrei Vasilevskiy.

With the penalty count becoming ridiculous, Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn went to the box for boarding Brenden Dillon.

Brent Burns was clearly on a tear as he took control of the power play, caught a puck at the point, skated backwards around the Lightning zone to pick his spot, and shot it over Vasilevskiy’s shoulder from the faceoff circle.

The Sharks had a couple fo chances after that but even with an empty net they could not truly control play in the offensive zone and no more goals were scored.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 6:00 PT, a road game against Calgary.

Six Win Road Trip First In Sharks History

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks ended a perfect six-win road trip on Sunday, with a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was the first time the Sharks swept a road trip longer than four games, and the first time they won six games on a single trip.

Al Stalock got his first start since November 10, making 28 saves on 31 shots. Sharks goals came from Patrick Marleau, Brent Burns, Brenden Dillon, and two from Joe Pavelski. It was Brenden Dillon’s first goal of the season and the game winner. After missing Saturday’s game for a personal matter, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer was back behind the bench in time for the game.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said the team did not set out on this trip thinking of a win streak:

We didn’t talk about it. We talked about one day at a time. You look back now, it’s just a long time from then. Six in a row. You know, it’s good but it’s… we need that. It’s what we expect. We expect to win on a nightly basis and give ourselves that opportunity. Once we’re here it’s “take the good from it and now we gotta translate it back home.”

The Sharks started the game well, out shooting the Blue Jackets 10-5 in the first period. Each team had a power play in the first but the only goal scored came at even strength from Patrick Marleau. Joonas Donskoi took a shot that resulted in a small rebound. Marleau was in front of the blue paint, where he could tap the puck under Sergei Bobrovsky and into the net. Donskoi and Ward got the assists.

Micheal Haley and Mike Brown both fought in the first period, within four seconds of each other, against Dalton Prout and Gregory Campbell respectively.

The Blue Jackets pushed back early in the second period, out shooting the Sharks 7-1 in the first five minutes. Their efforts paid off when Ryan Johansen, surrounded by Sharks in front of the net, poked the puck between his feet and through Stalock. Assists went to Kerby Reichert and Josh Anderson.

Seconds later, the home team took the lead with a goal from Boone Jenner. An odd-man rush drew Stalock to the left, and a cross-ice pass left an open net for Jenner to shoot at. Assists went to William Karlsson and Brandon Saad.

The Sharks’ struggles continued through the first half of the period, until they got some respite from a power play. Joe Pavelski took a stick to the face from Rene Bourque at 8:57. The power play was short-lived as Brent Burns was called for interference just a minute in. Half a minute later, Justin Braun was called for holding.

The Sharks survived the brief four on three and the five on three that followed. Some seconds of five on four followed but the Sharks weathered it.

The Sharks got another chance on the power play at when Dalton Prout was called for cross-checking Mike Brown. The Sharks did not score but it was still an improvement over the previous attempt. By the end of the second, Columbus had the 2-1 lead on the scoreboard, and a 19-7 lead in shots for the period.

Late in the period, Tommy Wingels went to the dressing room. He had blocked a couple of shots earlier and seemed to be suffering the effects. He was back on the bench for the third period.

The Blue Jackets put the puck in the net at 2:23 of the third. DeBoer challenged the goal, as Scott Hartnett was standing in the blue paint for some time before the goal, impairing Stalock’s ability to move freely. Donskoi was blocking Hartnell’s exit, if he wanted to make one. The challenge came up empty, giving the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead. The goal was Cam Atkinson’s, with assists to Nick Foligno and Hartnell.

The Sharks cut the lead to one goal, with a Justin Braun shot from the blue line, deflected in by Joe Pavelski at 6:13. The assists went to Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks then tied it up with a power play goal. Joel Ward was at the point and gave every indication he was looking for a shot. Brent Burns was lurking in the circle on the other side of the ice. Ward sent a quick pass through the penalty killers to Burns, who knocked it in before Bobrovsky could get across.

1:50 later, San Jose’s Chris Tierney won an offensive zone draw and Brenden Dillon caught the puck on its way to the blue line. He took a shot that Bobrovsky probably could not see, as Tierney was screening him as he made his way to the net.

The Blue Jackets pulled Bobrovsky with less than two minutes left. Seconds later, Pavelski stole the puck from Boone Jenner in the offensive zone and scored into the empty net.

Scott Hartnell picked up a misconduct in the final minutes, putting the Sharks on a power play for the final 1:16 of the game.

The final shot count was 31-29 Columbus, the final score 5-3 Sharks.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Marleau Scores 1000, Sharks Win Streak At Five

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

photo credit: tjcnewspapers.com Patrick Marleau skated to his 1000th career point vs. Pens 11-21-15

In a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau earned his 1000th career point, and his 1001st. Former Penguin, now Sharks defenseman Paul Martin scored his first goal of the season, and the Sharks extended their winning streak to five. Brent Burns scored two goals and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 38 of 39 shots. The Sharks did this despite the absence of head coach Peter DeBoer, who was away due to a personal matter.

The win holds added promise as the team changed their lineup somewhat from the group that won the last game in Philadelphia. Defenseman Matt Tennyson was in, Mirco Mueller was out. Nikolay Goldobin was in, while Micheal Haley was out. This was also the first game of this road trip that the Sharks won by more than one goal. It was a step forward in an already excellent road trip. After the game, Patrick Marleau described the team’s success on this road trip:

I think when we haven’t been our best, there’s different guys stepping up and playing key roles. Jonesy’s been playing great, but finding a way  to get those points, those wins is big. You’re not going to have it every night, and I think last game against Philly we saw that and we still found a way to get it in overtime. I think tonight we played a pretty strong sixty minutes against a very powerful offensive team with a  lot of good players over there.

The first power play of the game went to the Penguins, after a hooking call against Melker Karlsson. The Sharks penalty killers kept the Penguins at bay and only allowed one shot to get through to Martin Jones. The penalty ended in a two on one for Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Marleau opted to shoot, but he hit the near post.

The penalty kill seemed to energize the Sharks. After the break, they spent three long shifts in the offensive zone. During the third one, Brent Burns picked up a rebound from a Ward shot and put the puck in an open net. The second assist went to Marleau.

The assist was Marleau’s 1000th career point. When this was announced, the Pittsburgh crowd gave Marleau an understandably subdued but gracious round of applause.

The Sharks had to kill a second penalty when Mike Brown was called for kneeing at 12:40. The Sharks killed that off and had two unsuccessful power plays of their own before the first period ended. At the first intermission, the shots stood at 12-9 Pittsburgh.

The Sharks took another penalty early in the second. Joe Pavelski was called for high-sticking Rob Scuderi at 6:39. The stick drew blood so the Penguins had four minutes with a man advantage. It took the Sharks 90 seconds to clear the puck the first time. On a third zone entry, Phil Kessel found some space and tied the game. The goal came just shy of the two minute mark, so the Sharks had to kill the second minor despite the goal.

The Sharks regained the lead at 13:06 when Burns took a shot from the point just as Ward cruised across in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. The puck clipped Scuderi enough to change direction and make the Penguins goalie’s job harder. Assists went to Paul Martin and Patrick Marleau.

The Penguins had another power play at 17:21. when Paul Martin was called for high-sticking. Pittsburgh had an early shot but the Sharks kept them out of the zone for most of the penalty.

San Jose failed to convert on yet another power play early in the third, but some good chances set the tone for a strong period. 8:27 into the third, Paul Martin extended their lead to 3-1. His shot from the blue line went through traffic and Fleury after a great shift from Matt Nieto, Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi. While Nieto and Hertl wreaked some havoc near the Penguins net, Donskoi sent the puck up to Martin for the shot. An assist went to Donskoi.

By the end of the game, the Penguins had a shot lead of 39-29 but the score was still 3-1 Sharks.

Logan Couture skated on Saturday in full gear. Couture explained that this was part of the process, and that he still had no specific return date: “I don’t plan that far in advance, I didn’t plan this whole trip in advance, like I said it’s kind of a day by day thing. All how it reacts.”

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 2:00 PT, in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. It will be their second meeting of the season. The Blue Jackets defeated the Sharks 5-2 on November 3 at SAP.

Sharks Pounce on Panthers for 5-2 Win

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo SJ Sharks Joonas Donskoi (27) scoring against Florida Panthers

SAN JOSE- The Sharks defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Thursday. It was a great response to a very disappointing loss two days earlier against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was also a noteworthy game for some other reasons. Joonas Donskoi scored a goal in his first game against the team that drafted him, and earned the first star of the game. It was Sharks defenseman Justin Braun’s 300th game. It was goaltender Al Stalock’s first home start of the season, and rookie forward Nikolay Goldobin earned his first NHL assist.

Al Stalock’s first home start began with a flurry of red and white. The Panthers began the period with a relentless attack that lasted several minutes. Less than 3 minutes in and recent Sharks call up Micheal Haley fought Shawn Thornton. This may have been a response to the Sharks being mostly trapped in their own zone for the span before that.

The Sharks finally did push play into the other end. After a few forays, the Sharks got serious. Brent Burns made a behind the back pass across the crease, and the puck was thrown at the net repeatedly by Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi and Burns too. They kept Florida goaltender Al Montoya jumping. The crowd was still exclaiming disappointment that none of those shots went in when Brent Burns took another shot and did score.

The second goal was scored by Joonas Donskoi, with assists to Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. The puck only crossed the line after several bodies piled up in the blue paint, mostly Panthers. One Panther even launched himself over the paint into the net, as if to prevent a goal. But Donskoi just fell after him and knocked the puck in anyway. The goal stood up after a review.

The third goal was scored by the Panthers. After mostly winning a faceoff in the Sharks’ zone, Vincent Trocheck chased the puck to the crease and shot it past Stalock, who was a little too far from the net to get back in time.

Near the end of the first period, coach DeBoer started mixing up his defensive pairs. Vlasic skated with Burns, while Martin was on the ice with Dillon and then Braun was out there with Dillon. The defenseman shuffle did not carry over to the second period. Whatever occured to keep Matt Tennyson off the ice in those later minutes of the first, he was back with Dillon when their shift came in the second.

The second period again started with a strong push from the Panthers, but it did not take the Sharks long to push back.

At 3:48, Patrick Marleau skated in with the puck, going around a defenseman and cutting back across the crease. He had to make a hard turn to get back from the goal line and to the front of the blue paint. The maneuver looked unlikely to succeed. Maybe the goaltender thought so too, because he was not ready for Marleau put the puck in the far side of the net. Assists went to Joel Ward and Tomas Hertl.

The first penalty was called at 10:47 of the secod, a slashing call to Florida’s Dmitri Kulikov. The Sharks could not do anything with that. The next penalty came at 13:26, this time to Donskoi for interference on Jaromir Jagr. The Panthers did make something of their power play and with a minute and 20 seconds remaining in the penalty, they won a faceoff, made a quick cross-ice pass and Brandon Pirri sent it in from well above the circles. Assists went to Brian Campbell and Jussi Jokinen.

That seemed to galvanize the Sharks and a hush fell over the Tank for several shifts. Joe Thornton took an especially long shift and finally found himself in the zone with his linemates. A pass across the slot from Thornton to Donskoi resulted in a fine-looking goal. Unfortunately, Florida coach Gerard Gallant challenged the play as offside. The goal was overturned after the review.

In a three on one with trailing Panthers, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun and Nikolay Goldobin descended on Montoya. A fine pass from Goldobin to Vlasic set up Vlasic’s first goal of the season. It was also Goldobin’s first NHL assist.

At the end of the second, the shots were tied at 22.

1:33 into the third, Tommy Wingels was called for roughing. The Sharks penalty kill was very efficient, limiting the Panthers to one and done attacks. As soon as Wingels was released, the Sharks went the other way and got set up for a couple of emphatic shots.

At 3:56, Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad went to the box for hooking. The Sharks had some trouble getting set up and even had to go back to their own zone when a pass went awry and came up icing. When they finally did get set up, they only got a couple of shots on net before the Panthers pushed them back out.

At 12:20, Dillon went to the box for tripping Garrett Wilson. The Panthers did not get a shot on net during the power play, and the Sharks went right to the attack at the end of the penalty. Play was in the Panthers’ zone when the next whistle blew.

The Panthers pulled their goalie with a couple of minutes left. With just over a minute left in the game, Chris Tierney scored an empty-net goal. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Brent Burns.

Final score 5-2, San Jose.

Apart from the score, the game was very close in many regards. The shot count was 33-32 Florida, with the teams being tied at 11 each in each of the first and second periods. The Panthers outhit the Sharks 25-17, and won just one fewer faceoffs, with the Sharks leading 28-27. The Sharks blocked a few more shots, with 18 to Florida’s 13. With all of that counted and calculated, it is safe to say that Al Stalock had a better game than Al Montoya did.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:30 when they host the visiting Anaheim Ducks. The San Jose Barracuda will also play at 1:00 pm for the season’s first double header at SAP.

Sharks Lose 5-3 to Stars Despite Special Teams Improvements

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo of Antoine Roussel scoring third period goal on Sat

The San Jose Sharks lost on the road to the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday. Special teams overshadowed even strength play: power plays and penalty kills were central to scoring, though not always in the usual fashion. A wide array of power play and penalty kill results were on display from both teams. Sharks goals were scored by Joe Pavelski, Matt Nieto and Joel Ward. Alex Stalock made 20 saves on 24 shots. Dallas goals were scored by Vernon Fiddler, Patrick Sharp, Jason Demers, Antoine Roussel and Tyler Seguin. Antti Niemi made 26 saves on 29 shots for the win.

It was a good challenge for the Sharks, as the Stars were 8-2-0 before Saturday’s win. The Sharks’ only win in the last five games came against the struggling Carolina Hurricanes. The Sharks had their chances on Saturday but were disappointed again, for the fourth time in five games. After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

We were right there, we had our chances, power plays right at the end. It definitely was better, gave us that chance. Special teams too. It was there for us, but it’s been there for us, the last few games, throughout this little bit of losing streak we’ve had, games have been there. We’ve got to get a little bit more, out of each and every guy. We’ve got to win these games or… It’s what the league is. You play so many one goal games and you’re in tight spots and teams are good. You gotta find yourself on the right side.

The Sharks faced two former teammates, goalie Antti Niemi and defenseman Jason Demers. Sharks’ defenseman Brenden Dillon was also facing former teammates, as he came to the Sharks in a trade from Dallas for Jason Demers. The game was also a chance for Sharks goalie Alex Stalock to face Antti Niemi.

The first period began with an early goal from Stars forward Patrick Sharp. Stalock stopped an intial shot from Jason Demers, but he could not cover the puck before Sharp got a stick on it and put it over Stalock’s outstretched pad. Tyler Seguin was part of the four on three that set up the goal, and his pass found Demers right in the slot. Assists went to Demers and Seguin.

The first penalty of the game went to the Sharks, for too many men on the ice. This pitted San Jose’s 16th ranked penalty kill against Dallas’ 2nd ranked power play. Several short-handed chances for the Sharks turned those rankings on their heads. The Sharks penalty killers were successful in that first try and the next, when Joonas Donskoi went to the box for interference late in the period. The Sharks finished the period down by a goal but not by a power play goal. The Sharks also looked pretty good on the shot clock, trailing Dallas just 10-9, despite the power plays.

The second period expanded on those special team numbers. The Sharks’ first power play of the game came early in the second, when Jordie Benn went to the box for holding Tommy Wingels. Where the Sharks penalty kill had over-achieved, their power play did not look ready to do the same. They could not get organized to begin, and only managed one shot on goal during the man advantage. The Sharks got another chance a couple of minutes later when Alex Goligoski went to the box for interference on Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The second power play started even less well, with an odd man rush against and a short-handed goal by Stars defenseman, ex-Shark Jason Demers. Assists went to Antoine Roussel and Vernon Fiddler. It was Demers’ first NHL short-handed goal.

The power play was not yet over, and not done behaving unpredictably. The Sharks finally got on the board with a goal from Joe Pavelksi. Brent Burns took a couple of shots from the point and on his second try he hit Pavelski’s moving stick just perfectly for a deflection. Antii Niemi did not see it coming because Patrick Marleau was right in his eyes.

The next penalty went to Justin Braun not long after that goal, for closing his hand on the puck. The Sharks did a good job of clogging up the neutral zone against the Stars attackers, and made some space for a short-handed attack by Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto. Wingels stripped the puck from Jason Spezza and only John Klingberg was able to get back to defend. Wingels made a slick pass under Klingberg’s stick to Nieto. Niemi could not get across in time and Nieto shot it into the far corner of the net. It was Nieto’s second goal of the season. An assist went to Wingels.

The Sharks killed off the rest of the penalty. The score was tied 2-2, and so were the shots at 15 apiece.

With five minutes left in the period, Vernon Fiddler gave the Stars another lead. Brent Burns fell with some help from Roussel and slid behind the net. Fiddler escaped ahead of the wreck with the puck and Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon was trapped behind Burns, unable to pursue Fiddler as he went around the net and roofed it for his first goal of the year. A well-deserved assist went to Roussel.

The Sharks answered a couple of minutes later with a power play goal. After several seconds to warm their power play up during a delayed call, the Sharks tied the game again. A Thornton pass from the side boards was sent to the net by Patrick Marleau. Joel Ward’s stick stopped the puck in front of Niemi, then pulled it to him and popped it into place. Assists went to Marleau and Thornton.

Tomas Hertl drew another penalty for the Sharks. On what could have been called a breakaway, Hertl was hooked by Stars defenseman Jyrki Jokipaka. The Sharks only had 45 seconds of the second period left.

The Sharks did not score on that power play, in either the second or third periods. Where the second period had been littered with whistles, the third period did not see a penalty called for the first 15 minutes. It did see the Stars take back the lead, again, when three Stars crashed the net. Antoine Roussel got the goal, with assists to Klingberg and Fiddler.

The Sharks opted to challenge the goal using the offside option. It looked very close but the call on the ice stood up and the Stars had a 4-3 lead with 6:27 left in the game.

The first penalty of the period went against the Sharks with just 1:49 left. The penalty was against Brent Burns for interference. DeBoer pulled Stalock to even it up. A long shot from Tyler Seguin missed the net but seconds later, he tried again from the blue line. His shot went between Vlasic’s legs and in to give the Stars a 5-3 lead.

To make matters worse, Chris Tierney was called for holding before the Burns penalty was up.

The Sharks next play in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at 11:30 PT.

Sharks Beat Devils 2-1, Start Season 4-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their fourth in a row to start the season. They needed overtime and a shootout to defeat the New Jersey Devils 2-1. Goaltender Martin Jones set a new shutout record for the franchise, spanning from the team’s first game of the season to the final minutes of the fourth game. Regulation goals were scored by Patrick Marleau for the Sharks and Adam Henrique for the Devils. The game was a far cry from the trouncing that they gave to the Washington Capitals, but in light of recent injuries, it was a good win.

Earlier Friday, the Sharks announced that they would be without the services of forwards Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi. Head coach Peter DeBoer opted to make wholesale changes to his lines when he lost the top top six forwards. Bringing Ben Smith in as fourth line center, he moved Chris Tierney to the third line between Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto. Tomas Hertl moved to the second line between Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Nikolay Goldobin took Donskoi’s place next to Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski.

Near the end of the game, DeBoer moved the more experienced Barclay Goodrow to that top line. Patrick Marleau took on some additional penalty killing minutes in Couture’s absence, while Paul Martin took the point on power plays. The number of adjustments required spoke to the importance of Couture to the team.

The Sharks’ penalty kill streak ended at 15, and Martin Jones set a new shutout streak for the franchise. The game was not pretty but it did keep their winning streak alive.

Less than three minutes in, the new second line of Hertl, Joel Ward and Patrick Marleau scored. The goal featured a good board battle won by Hertl, followed by a smart pass from Ward to a well-positioned Marleau. All in all, that line looked good.

Martin Jones has not given up a goal since 1:49 into the Sharks’ first game of the season on October 7. Shutouts in game against the Ducks and the Capitals put Jones in a position to break Al Stalock’s shutout record of 178:55, 45 seconds into Friday’s game. He did that and set the new one at 234:33. A couple of pucks got by him during that time, only to have the goals waived off, but it is still a tremendous record.

Jordin Tootoo and Mike Brown took matching roughing penalties at 8:58 of the period but the four-on-four minutes did not change the score. The first period ended with the score still 1-0 Sharks, and the shot count 10-5 Sharks.

Early in the second period, Tomas Hertl had a scoring chance thwarted by a slash to the hands from Adam Larsson. No penalty was called but Hertl looked a little sore. That hand could bear watching. The first power play of the game went to the Devils at 14:01 of the second. Joe Pavelski was called for hooking. The Sharks killed it off, keeping their penalty kill record perfect at 12-0.

With 2:06 left in the period, Goldobin drew a penalty against Jon Merrill. The ensuing power play highlighted how the Sharks were losing some momentum. They let Stephen Gionta escape the zone for a short-handed chance just over half way through the power play.

Gionta saw his rebound go to Josefson, who put it in the net, but the goal was waived off because Gionta made contact with Martin Jones before the shot went in. The contact was initiated while Gionta was still outside the crease, and ended with Gionta falling over Jones in the crease. The contact certainly slowed Jones down, but calls like that are going to make this season interesting. It was probably worth a coach’s challenge, but Devils head coach John Hynes did not make one.

At the end of the second period, shots were 23-17 Sharks, with the 1-0 score unchanged.

Less than two minutes into the third period, the Devils were back on the power play after Justin Braun was called for holding the stick. With 43 seconds left in the power play, Brenden Dillon shot the puck out of play in the defensive zone and gave the Devils a two man advantage. The Sharks survived the five-on-three and were about to kill the second penalty when Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot the puck out of play and joined Dillon in the box. The second two man advantage would only last 17 seconds. Chris Tierney managed to clear the puck out during the short five-on-three. Matt Nieto cleared it next, letting the team refresh their lines. The Sharks managed to steal the puck in the neutral zone shortly after that, getting a quick short-handed chance for Pavelksi. Several quick clears by the Sharks frustrated the rest of the Devils power play.

Jones made his 100th consecutive save once the teams were back at even strength.

Chris Tierney and Tommy Wingels had a good chance around the nine minute mark but Corey Schneider stopped it. Tierney had a very good game and proved that he is a great option for the Sharks in that third line center spot.

The Sharks penalties were not done, as they were called for too many men with under five minutes left in the third. The Martin Jones shutout streak ended with a power play goal from Adam Henrique. The score was still tied at the end of regulation.

The Sharks only had a 32-28 lead in shots as overtime started. Thornton, Pavelski and Burns started for the Sharks in three-on-three. Next came Marleau, Hertl and Vlasic. DeBoer put Tierney on the third unit with Wingels and Martin.

With 11.3 seconds left in overtime, Burns tripped Henrique and went to the box. The 4-on-3 power play looked good for New Jersey but they ran out of time.

The Devils shot first, starting with Adam Henrique (goal). Jacob Josefson shot second (save) and Mike Cammalleri went third (miss) .
The Sharks’ shooters were: Joe Pavelski (goal-smokin’ shot, top shelf), Brent Burns (goal-very slippery backhand). No third shooter was needed for San Jose.

The shot leaders for the Sharks were Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Paul Martin with four apiece. Burns (30:38) and Martin (30:09) led the team in ice time by a sizeable margin.

The Sharks next play Saturday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders. The game will start at 4:30 PT.

Jones, Penalty Killers Lift Sloppy Sharks to 2-1 Preseason Win Over Canucks

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

A win is a win any time of the year, even preseason, so Tuesday night’s 2-1 San Jose Sharks win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks is a great final result. How the Sharks got there, however, was a different story.

“It’s a good thing it happened in the preseason,” said Sharks forward Tommy Wingels on the team’s sloppy effort Tuesday. “It’s good that we grinded it out and found a way to win the game. You don’t have your best at all times but certainly lots tonight we have to improve on.”

“It’s not the kind of game you’d like to have,” said Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer. “We found a way to win but we were sloppy with our puck management. We have a lot of things to work on. The good news is I thought our goaltending was excellent and our penalty killing was excellent.”

The Sharks scored a goal each in the first two periods, then used a 4-for-4 penalty kill effort and a 30-save outing from Martin Jones to cling to a 2-1 advantage and improve to 3-1-1 in the exhibition schedule with one last weekend road trip still remaining.

“(Assistant coach Johan Hedberg) has done a great job with these guys,” said Wingels on Jones and returning goalie Alex Stalock. “They’ve been at the top of their game from day one.”

Wingels tipped in his first goal of the preseason at the midway point of the first period, redirecting a Paul Martin point shot past Canucks netminder Ryan Miller.

“You don’t want to get too cute,” said Martin on the goal. “We’ve seen that, when you put the puck on net, good things happen. We have guys that are good around the cage and make plays down there.”

The lead would be short-lived, with the visitors scoring in the final minutes of the period. Winger Matt Nieto picked up a loose puck in the corner boards of the defensive end and spun a drop pass in front of Sharks keeper Martin Jones to jump start the rush. Instead, the puck was picked up by opportunist Jared McCann. The unmarked McCann ripped a shot over Jones’ shoulder for a goal with 1:26 remaining in the period.

The Sharks leading scorer in the preseason put them back on top at the 7:43 mark of the 2nd period. Brent Burns received a pass from Mirco Mueller and skated up the left side, burying a wrist shot between Miller’s pads for a 2-1 edge. Burns has a team-high 2 goals and 4 points over 3 preseason contests playing on a pairing with offseason acquisition Paul Martin.

“He definitely makes my job easier,” said Martin. “The hockey sense and the size with the skill he has being that big is impressive.”

“Coach has been great keeping us together, allowing us to grow our chemistry,” said Burns on his rearguard partner. “There are going to be reads that happen in a game in a split second where you’ve got to know what the guy is thinking. It takes time.”

The Canucks threw their weight around in the third period, drawing two power plays, including a 4-on3 to try to tie the game, but a valiant effort from the San Jose penalty kill kept the Sharks ahead. Chris Tierney, Justin Braun and Tommy Wingels all blocked shots shorthanded with just over 5 minutes left in the period. In total, the Canucks outshot San Jose 9-2 in the third (31-22 total), a period that saw DeBoer shuffle all four lines from the starting lineup.

“We wanted to give some guys some different looks in some different spots,” said DeBoer. “We weren’t really happy with where we were at in the game. We tried to shuffle the deck and it didn’t really work.”

The Sharks wrap up the preseason with two weekend road games, Friday in Arizona followed by a Saturday match-up in Anaheim. DeBoer is hoping to see a better performance out of his team, but understands knowing the team’s weaknesses before opening night in Los Angeles on October 7th is more important.

“You’re better having that now then next week,” said DeBoer. “We will know what we have to do better to have success on a consistent basis.”

Notes: After Joonas Donskoi received the opportunity on Friday to play on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, it was rookie Nikolay Goldobin’s turn Tuesday. The 19-year-old Russian had one assist and was +1 with a shot on goal. “He did a good job. He definitely showed that he’s skilled enough to play with those guys,” said DeBoer… Chris Tierney left the ice early in the 2nd period after skidding into the Vancouver goal. He missed just one shift while visiting with the trainer and returned to play on his next shift…Tommy Wingels tongue-in-cheek after a successful night in the faceoff dot “I think we should expect that every night.”

Playoffs Over For Sharks, World Championships Underway

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

The dust has settled around the Sharks’ 2014-15 season, Todd McLellan will be choosing another team to coach, Doug Wilson will continue as San Jose general manager. Brent Burns was named a finalist for the NHL Foundation Player Award, for his work with Defending the Blue Line. The Sharks are negotiating an extension with the City of San Jose, so rumors that the team plans to leave town should die down.

The Worcester Sharks played their final game on Friday against the Hershey Bears. The Sharks lost in fairly spectacular fashion, giving up ten goals to the Bears while scoring four. Barclay Goodrow, Nikolay Goldobin, Daniil Tarasov, Brian Lerg and Chris Tierney were all on the playoff roster for Worcester. In the series, Tierney had a goal and two assists, Tarasov had three assists, and Goodrow and Lerg each had one assist. Rookie goaltender Aaron Dell started three of the four games, while Troy Grosenick started one. It was a regrettable final appearance for the Worcester Sharks. Next season, they move to San Jose to play at SAP Center as the San Jose Barracuda.

Sharks owner Hasso Plattner published a statement of confidence in his GM, in which he addressed the fans directly. Plattner also expressed disappointment with the team’s recent failures. The letter came soon after Doug Wilson’s press conference, where he was asked if Plattner would be available to the media. Someone did suggest Plattner might address fans directly, maybe the letter was a response to that. In any case, Plattner continues to have little interest in discussing his decisions with the press.

Offseason changes that Sharks fans can expect will probably include a new starting goaltender. That Niemi was not resigned before the end of the season is strong evidence of that. Hardly any Sharks veteran gets this close to free agency and returns to the team.

In the choice of a new coach, Wilson has said that he will take the time he needs. It is odd that he did not even suggest he would like a new coach before the draft. He might not necessarily need his head coach’s input for drafting prospects. What one would expect the coach to participate in would be trade activity that happens around the draft. Perhaps Wilson has no intention of making any trades for players. Some might consider that an ill omen for next season.

Todd McLellan is currently in the Czech Republic coaching Team Canada at the world championships, with Brent Burns on his roster. For those wondering, Burns is listed as a defenseman for Canada. Canada has played two games so far, winning 6-1 against Latvia and 10-0 against Germany. Burns had an assist in the game against Latvia, and against Germany.

Tomas Hertl and Ben Smith are there too, playing for the Czech Republic and the USA respectively. The Czechs lost 6-5 to Sweden and defeated Latvia 4-2. Hertl had a goal in the game against Sweden.  The USA has won their two games, beating Finland 5-1 and Norway 2-1.

Sharks prospect Nikita Jevpalov was named to the roster for Latvia. Poor Latvia has not won yet, losing to the Czechs and the Canadians as listed above. Jevpalov has not played yet.