Sharks Fall 5-2 to Blackhawks, Devin Cooley Makes NHL Debut in Net

The Chicago Blackhawks left winger Landon Slaggert (84) gets his shot stopped by the San Jose Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley (left) in the first period at the United Center in Chicago on Sun Mar 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Philipp Kurashev, Ryan Donato, Kevin Korchinski, Joey Anderson and Connor Bedard scored for the Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek made 25 saves for the win. Ryan Carpenter and Klim Kostin scored for the Sharks. Devin Cooley, in his NHL debut, made 26 saves in the loss.

Of playing his first NHL game, Devin Cooley said: “The experience was obviously amazing, first game, that’s something I’ve been working towards my entire life. Really happy that happened. For it to happen for my hometown team that I grew up watching, that’s pretty special.”

Of the rookie goaltender’s performance, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “I thought he played well. Made some big saves early I thought. I thought he played well and I feel bad that we weren’t able to bring it to the finish line for him ‘cause I thought he deserved it.”

Ryan Carpenter gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 10:33 of the first period. Carpenter and Alexander Barabanov skated into zone two-on-one. Carpenter passed the puck across but Mrazek followed it. Barabanov then passed the puck back to Carpenter with a bounce off of Mrazek’s pads, giving Carpenter an open net to shoot at. Assists went to Barabanov and Kevin Labanc.

Klim Kostin made it 2-0 at 16:32. Mikael Granlund had the puck behind the net. He passed it up to Kostin who was able to shoot it under the goaltender and a defenseman to score his fifth of the season. Assists went to Granlund and Mario Ferraro.

Philipp Kurashev cut the lead to 2-1 at 14:02 of the second period. Kurashev, Tyler Johnson and Connor Bedard skated into the zone three-on-two. Bedard passed the puck across the ice to Johnson, who centered it as Kurashev went to the net to score.

Ryan Donato tied the game at 10:39 of the third period. Donato scored his tenth of the season with a slap shot from just inside the faceoff circle. Assists went to Jarred Tinordi and Jaycob Megna.

Kevin Korchinski gave the Blackhawks the lead at 11:51 with a wrist shot from the blue line. An assist went to Lukas Reichel.

Joey Anderson made it 4-2 at 12:02. Anderson threw the puck into the blue paint with a backhand shot, it bounced off of Calen Addison’s skate and into the net. An assist went to Alex Vlasic.

Connor Bedard made it 6-2 with an empty net goal in the final second of the game. An assist went to P Kurashev.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 5:00 PT in Nashville against the Predators.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Canucks Demko out with lower body injury; Sharks eliminated from playoffs for 5th straight year; plus more news

Vancouver Canucks Goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) is out with a lower body injury and is listed as day to day. (Canadian Press via AP file photo)

On the NHL podcasst with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko the number one goaltender for the Canucks is listed week to week with lower body injury. Demko left with the injury on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-0 win. Demko had 12 saves when he had to leave in the second period at 6:40. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet says he’s not worried.

#2 NHL analyst and NHL six time Stanley Cup Champion legend Mark Messier said the Vancouver Canucks are in a great position to win the Stanley Cup this season. Vancouver is 42-17-7 and are first in the Western Conference.

#3 The San Jose Sharks loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night 3-2 eliminated the Sharks from post season play. Causes for the elimination were the injuries to Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. The Sharks have the worst record in the NHL at 16-41-7 this the fifth straight season that the Sharks have not made post season.

#4 NHL analyst and NHL six time Stanley Cup Champion legend Mark Messier said the Vancouver Canucks are in a great position to win the Stanley Cup this season. Vancouver is 42-17-7 and are first in the Western Conference.

#5 If the NHL Playoffs were to start today there are four teams from Canada that would qualify, the Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The last time a team from Canada won the Stanley Cup Finals was 31 years ago.

#5 Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard demonstrated why he’s all the hype against the Anaheim Ducks getting a career high of five points as the Blackhawks lit up the Ducks with seven goals in their 7-2 win in Chicago.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Stars look for big things from Tanev; Draisaitl scores two goals to beat Bruins; plus more news

The Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) scores on the Boston Bruins goaltender Luis Ullmark (top) in the overtime stanza at TD Garden in Boston on Tue Mar 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len you saw the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night and they sure got a bang for their buck in acquiring defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Feb 28th.

#2 Len their loving Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton as Draisaitl sccored an overtime goal that won it for the Oilers at 2:18 and help hand the Oilers their fifth consecutive win. It was Draisaitl’s second goal of the game a in 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.

#3 The Philadelphia Flyers call their star defenseman Nick Seeler their “Glue Guy.” Seeler sealed the deal with a four year $10.8 million contract today with an annual payment of $2.7 million. Seeler has a plus 15 and has played on average 16:58 seconds a career high for Seeler who has 184 NHL leading blocked shots. Seeler is in the final year of his contract three conntract with the Flyers.

#4 The Chicago Blackhawks worked hard last Tuesday night to snap their 22 game road losing streak scoring four power play goals beating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Mullet Arena in Tempe.

#5 Talk about the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night coming back from three goals down to beat the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose 7-6. This was the second game that the Stars had defeated the Sharks by one goal 3-2 in Dallas on Sat Mar 2.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Devils Bratt hopes for some snow at Winter Classic games; Is there a NY Rangers goalie controversy?; plus more news

New Jersey Devils’ Jesper Bratt (63) skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 11, 2023. Bratt hopes for some snow during the NHL Stadium Series Winter Classic on Sat Feb 17, 2024 at MetLife Stadium at East Rutherford in New Jersey (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker, File)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Edmonton Oilers had their 16 game win streak snapped as they were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 at the T Mobile Center at the Fortress. The Knights were a tough customer.

#2 The New Jersey Devils Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier were hoping for some snow for the Winter Classic games on Feb 17th and 18th as the Devils will be hosting the Philadelphia Flyers. Bratt said that he grew up watching the NHL outdoor games and said that snow at the Stadium Series would be cool to have, “I mean, I grew up watching some of the Winter Classic games and obviously when it was snowing out, it made it a little more real.”

#3 New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick got the call for his third straight game and it had the media asking Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette if there is a goalie controversy as Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin will now be the back up, “‘Shesty’ is our guy here,” Laviolette said “We’re going to work in the next few days to get him some practice time, get him some reps.”

#4 Len, refrigeration truck showed up at Met Life Stadium in preparation for the Stadium Series Winter Classic to prepare the ice rink for the two games on Feb 17th and 18th a first in the outdoor series for back to back games. Andrew Higgins, NHL senior manager, facilities operations and hockey operations said, “I think this will be a little extra challenging, just kind of ramping ourselves up a second day and getting ready for that second game before we get ready to tear out.”

#5 Len, I’ll let you tell us how you see tonight’s doubleheader between the Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers underway in the first game and in game two it’s the Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks at 6:30pm PT.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts 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 Mary Lisa: Sharks looking for some home cooking; SJ on three game skid host Ducks tonight

The Chicago Blackhawks Jarred Tinordi (25) and the San Jose Sharks Scott Sabourin (49) get down to some brass tacks at the United Center in Chicago on Tue Jan 16, 2024 in second period (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks are on a three game losing steak and took a tough 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game on Tuesday at the United Center.

#2 The Blackhawks Boris Katchouk scored in the ninth round of the shootout and the Sharks Filip Zadina put on a shot on the Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek who made a save to prevent the Sharks to get a shootout goal.

#3 Mrazek said that he was surprised that the shootout went nine rounds it did show Mrazek that there was no quit with the Sharks at least in this game where they wanted badly to get this win.

#4 The host the Anaheim Ducks tonight and they take a three game losing streak into SAP Center. The Ducks have also been struggling they have lost seven of their last ten games. Face off is 7:30pm PT.

#5 Mary, I have to ask you about long time sports publication Sports Illustrated who for many years did spectacular photography of NHL hockey has folded. It was announced that SI has laid off most of their editors and writers and staff. SI was the standard in sports publication with it’s weekly publications. Arena
Group pays for the rights to print SI and didn’t pay owner Authentic Brands Group the $3.75 million payment. Arena Group pays $15 million a year to ABG.

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

Sharks Fall to Blackhawks 2-1 in Shootout; San Jose suffers third straight loss

The San Jose Sharks Filip Zedina (18) puts the puck on net only to stopped by Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) in the second period at the United Center in Chicago on Tue Jan 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Cole Guttman, Rem Pitlick and Boris Katchouk scored for Chicago. Ryan Carpenter and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose. Petr Mrazek made 37 saves for the win. Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves in the loss.

The Sharks had a lot of chances and shots in Tuesday’s game. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn talked about the frustrating loss:

“I thought we played well, I thought we had a lot of grade-A’s, I thought we played well, we played hard. We’ve been having a tough time scoring goals here over the last few days. But if we play like that the pucks’ll eventuually end up going in.”

Cole Guttman scored on the power play with a shot between the legs at 10:41 of the first period. The puck bounced off of Ferraro’s skate to end up in the net. Assists went to Ryan Donato and Kevin Korchinski.

Ryan Carpenter tied the game with a snap shot at 5:13 of the third period. Justi Bailey created the play by winning a puck battle and getting the puck to Carpenter. Assists went to Justin Bailey and Mike Hoffman.

Rem Pitlick and Boris Katchouk scored for Chicago and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose in a nine-round shootout.

The Sharks out-shot the Blackhawks 38-25 and won 50.9% of the faceoffs. The Sharks power play had three shots in two power plays and gave up one short-handed shot. Their penalty kill gave up one goal and eight shots in four penalties.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Anaheim Ducks.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Canadiens overcome deficit defeat CBJ’s 4-2; Rangers two goal third period defeats Wings 3-2; plus more news

The Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia (right) scores on the Columbus Blue Jackets Elvis goaltender Merzlikins (left) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson in third period in Columbus on Wed Nov 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the Montreal Canadiens got the hot hand and scored twice in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win in Columbus. The Habs Joel Armia got the go ahead goal at 17:03 to make it 3-2 for what would be later the game winning goal.

#2 The New York Rangers erased a 2-1 lead against the Detroit Red Wings scoring two goals in the third period to catch the Rangers and get the win 3-2. The Rangers Jimmy Vesey got a rebound and shot a backhanded goal at 4:15 against the Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso for the winner.

#3 The Los Angeles Kings five game win streak came to an end on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals losing it 2-1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Capitals got goals from Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha and Caps goaltender Charlie Lindgren stopped 37 shots.

#4 The Vancouver Canucks dealt Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Beauvillier had eight points on the season for the Canucks. Beauvillier was dealt to Chciago for a fifth round draft pick going to Vancouver.

#5 The Minnesota Wild acquired defenseman Zach Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seventh round draft pick, the Lightning traded Calen Anderson to the San Jose Sharks for Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth round draft pick.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Sens Stutzle opens up on offense against Leafs; Wild get Bogosian from Lightning; plus more news

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek goes after Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stutzle who puts the puck on net against the Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len talk about the Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle scored a goal and picked up three assists. The Senators scored three unanswered goals in 3:11 defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at Scotiabank in Toronto.

#2 In a trade on Wednesday the Minnesota Wild got Zach Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seven round draft pick in 2025, and Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks for Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth round draft pick.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche Ross Colton forward was fined $5000 which is the maximum under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for cross checking New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier on Tuesday night. The penalty came at 10:44 in the second period and Colton was hit with a major penalty and a game misconduct.

#4 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is finding his way around goal creases, Bedard has three goals and five assists and has been a force with Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev on the same line. How crucial is Bedard for the Blackhawks.

#5 The San Jose Sharks picked up their first win of the season after losing 11 straight games. The Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 39 Flyers shots to save the night. The Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 after getting blasted by the Vancouver Canucks 10-1 and Pittsburgh Penguins 10-2. The Sharks defense looked far more improved against the Flyers can you talk about the improvements?

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Six NHL teams play a role in playoffs; Bedard sweepstakes continues tonight; plus more

Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews will surely get a curtain call tonight as he plays his last NHL game of his career at the United Center in Chicago (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Tonight’s the night Len as six NHL teams play a role how other teams could vie for a shot at clinching the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars.

#2 Len, the Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews will play his final NHL game tonight at the United Center in Chicago against the Philadelphia Flyers. Towes is at the the end of his eight year $84 million contract and will turn 35 later this month.

#3 The Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin will be a game time decision tonight due to an upper body injury. Ovechkin missed the last three games and is looking to play in this final regular season of the season. The Capitals host the New Jersey Devils tonight.

#4 Len how unbelievable is it that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made post season for the last 16 consecutive season but this season will be the first time in those 16 years that they failed to make post season.

#5 The Connor Bedard sweepstakes is coming down to the wire. Bedard with the Regina Pats and a projected No.1 draft pick might be decided tonight. The Columbus Blue Jackets with the worse percentage in the NHL at .356 two teams are runners up w the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks both with a .358 percentage.

Join Len through the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs for analysis and the NHL podcast Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice