Tag: Chris Tierney

Sharks Thump Preds 5-1

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski and teammates enjoy the jubilation after Pavelski’s goal against the Nashville Predators in game five at SAP Center Saturday night

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks roundly defeated the Nashville Predators by a score of 5-1 on Saturday. Most of the games in this series, including the triple overtime Game 4, have been much closer than that. On Saturday, it certainly seemed that the Sharks had no interest in any more overtime. They kept playing right up to the final horn.

Two goals came from Joe Pavelski, one from Melker Karlsson, one from Logan Couture and one from Patrick Marleau. Joonas Donskoi and Justin Braun each had two assists and Maetin Jones made 24 saves on 25 shots. The lone Nashville goal was scored by Mike Fisher, while Pekka Rinne made 23 saves on 27 shots.

Game 5 of the series is one the Sharks won and the Predators lost against their respective first round opponents. For them to repeat the pattern in the second round allows for tempting parallels. Nashville’s head coach Peter Laviolette was asked about how that first round experience can apply to this second round.

I think any time you’re in playoff hockey, experiences that you gain, good and bad, you learn from them. Just because we did something last round…. we gotta put the work in and make sure that we’re playing the game with the attitude that we need to be successful. So, yeah, we can take things from that but we’ve got to change our mindset here.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer made a few changes to his lineup before the fifth game of their series against the Nashville Predators. He replaced forward Tommy Wingels with Dainius Zubrus, and recomposed the fourth line to include Zubrus, Melker Karlsson and Nick Spaling. Patrick Marleau moved to the second line with Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi, and Joel Ward played with Chris Tierney and Matt Nieto.

Of the changes to the second line, DeBoer said after the game: “I thought it was Patty’s best game of the series and that line was excellent all night. Some changes work, and tonight that change worked.”

DeBoer also explained the other changes to his lines, which hinged somewhat on the performance of Chris Tierney:

I think there was a couple of things. I think the play of Tierney, I think he has been playing well. I felt he could jump into that third line role. Spaling’s naturally a center, that allowed him to get back into position. But we’re not comfortable making that move unless Tierney’s playing well and he has been playing well.

The end result of all this was a 5-1 win, giving the Sharks a 3-2 series lead over the Nashville Predators. The Predators were in this same spot against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. They came back to win games six and seven. After Saturday’s game, Predators head coach Peter Laviolette talked about what a team can learn from that sort of comeback:

The first few minutes of the game looked like a Predators penalty kill, the Sharks spent that much time in the offensive zone. After six inutesm the shots were 7-1 Sharks. By the ten minute mark, the Predators had closed the gap to 8-3 Sharks. The Sharks were shooting a lot in the first period.

That new line scored the first goal. Donskoi got control of the puck in the left corner, and danced around with it a bit, finally heading behind the net. The Predators didn’t quite buy it but they bit enough and started to follow him. He made a quick backhand reverse pass in the direction of Logan Couture, who was below the faceoff circle. Patrick Marleau was also closing on that spot and as the puck came between two defenders, Marleau put it in the net. It was Marleau’s third goal of the post season, and Donskoi’s third assist.

The Predators tied it at 15:40 after Colin Wilson’s pass from behind the net found James Neal on the inside edge of the faceoff circle. Neal had to reach for the puck so his pass was not very hard, but it got to Mike Fisher by the blue paint. Fisher had an open net with Jones high in the crease.

The Sharks took the lead back at 17:21 with a goal from Joe Pavelski. The Sharks circled the net with passes, from Thornton to Burns, to a wide shot collected by Hertl to the left of the net and passed back around the boards to Thornton. They repeated the same cycle a couple of times, with any strays cleaned up by Marc-Edouard Vlasic at the other point. After this routine had time to hypnotize everyone, Thornton changed it up and sent the pass to Pavelski, who was hanging out in the slot. His one timer went home for his seventh goal of the post season, with assists to Thornton and Vlasic.

At the end of the first, the shots were 13-11 Sharks.

35 seconds into the second period, Logan Couture took advantage of a Predators turnover in the neutral zone, and skated in all alone. He made a few quick moves with the puck and, when Rinne came out to meet him a little bt, he went for a back hand that went through the five hole. It was Couture’s fifth goal of the playoffs, with assist to Donskoi and Justin Braun.

The Sharks took the first penalty of the game when Brenden Dillon was called for interference.

Jones stopped a shot from the blue line in the first few seconds. Spaling cleared 30 seconds in, and the Sharks changed penalty killers. Around 1 minute in, the Sharks cleared it again. A few seconds after the next faceoff, the Sharks cleared it again, and a few seconds later, again. Then they knocked it down into the Nashville zone while still in the neutral zone. Almost as soon as the penalty ended, the Sharks were back on the attack in Nashville territory.

The Sharks got their first power play of the game when Roman Josi went to the box for interference on Logan Couture. The penalty came with just 46 seconds left in the period. The Sharks did not need that much time. Joe Pavelski scored just nine seconds into the penalty, off a pass that came from Patrick Marleau behind the net. It was Pavelski’s second of the game.

Ryan Johansen did not like any of that so he tried to bait Paul Martin. Martin did not respond, and eventually Johansen’a antics got him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with just 12.5 seconds left in the period.

The Sharks did not start the third on a power play, because with 2.1 seconds left in the second, Joel Ward received a 4 minute minor for high sticking. So the Predators started most of two minutes with the man advantage almost two minutes into the third. The Sharks killed it off, but near the end of it Logan couture blocked a shot that seemed to sting.

He was back out for his next shift.

The Predators finally caught the Sharks on the shot clock with 5:41 left in the game, when the teams were tied at 23. The Sharks did not let up either, and continued to launch serious attacks on the Nashville net.

With 3:59 left in the game, the teams played four on four for just under a minute before the Sharks had a four on three power play.

Ryan Johansen went off for unsportsmanlike conduct, for two minutes and a ten minute misconduct. Also gone for ten minutes was Mike Ribeiro. Joe Thornton went to the box for two minutes for slashing. 57 seconds into the four on four, Nashville’s Anthony Bitetto went to the box for tripping.

That left just over one minute for the teams to play at even strength. The Sharks scored again with 49.7 seconds remaining in the game. Carter Hutton, now in goal for Nashville, was a little late getting back to his net after playing the puck behind the net. Melker Karlsson took a quick shot as he to the crease. Assists went to Chris Tierney and Justin Braun.

Final score: 5-1 Sharks. Game Six will be in Nashville on Monday at 6:00 PT.

Sharks Win Game 4, Take 3-1 Series Lead

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was kept busy all night by the Sharks here a shot goes wide in the first period at SAP Center on Wednesday night

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center on Wednesday, by a score of 3-2. The win gives San Jose a 3-1 series lead, sometimes called a stranglehold. Despite rumors that there would be changes to the Sharks lineup for Game 4, there were none. Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer did not even alter his line combinations. The lack of change paid off. The team as a whole was sharper and more balanced than it had been on Monday. Even when they gave up two goals early in the third period, they corrected quickly enough to hold on for the win. It was altogether an impressive performance.

The fourth line that struggled in Game 3 pulled themselves together and played very effective minutes. After Wednesday’s game, coach DeBoer talked about the line of Chris Tierney, Tommy Wingels and Nick Spaling:

They were excellent. Again, I think with our group, every time this year that we’ve challenged them to be better, they responded and I think that speaks to the character in the room. And those guys I thought were excellent tonight for us. I didn’t hesitate to put them out with four or five minutes left in the game.

All three Sharks goals were power play goals, scored over four power plays. This was a vast improvement over their 0-5 power play performance Monday. The game winner was scored by Patrick Marleau, with additional goals scored by Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the Sharks. Jonathan Quick also made 26 saves, for the Kings. Los Angeles goals were scored by Trevor Lewis and Luke Schenn.

The Sharks spent most of the first five minutes in the Kings zone, but could not find any good shots. Near the five-minute mark, the Kings went the other way, frst two on one, then when Justin Braun caught up to them, three on two. That led to a prolonged attack in the Sharks’ zone. Martin Jones stopped the three shots that came his way, but when the Sharks finally got the puck out it was by icing it. The Sharks were on their heels for several minutes even after that. Their forays into the Kings’ zone were short and not productive. Slowly, the Sharks started pushing back. They were spending less time trapped in their own zone when the 10 minute mark ticked by. But the shots were still 7-2 Los Angeles.

By the time the period ended, the Sharks had corrected that disparity. They saw a good number of excellent chances pass them by, since no one was in the right spot to take advantage of unexpected, glaring opportunities. The shots were 11-8 San Jose, and 9-2 San Jose for the second half of the period. The teams were even in faceoff wins.

Jeff Carter started the second off with a roughing penalty 30 seconds in, against Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks maintained the attack for a solid 40 seconds and then a crazy bounce sent the puck off the back boards and through the crease, then off a skater and back through the crease, still not going in. This disrupted the play enough for the Kings to clear the zone.

The Sharks retrieved the puck behind their own goal line and resumed the attack. This time the Sharks did not take long. A cross-ice pass from Joel Ward to Brent Burns found him above the left faceoff circle. Quick could not get across in time and Burns’ trademark shot blew by him to give the Sharks the lead. Assist went to Ward and Vlasic.

Before the cheers died down, play had resumed and Jonathan Quick was handling the puck behind his net. Matt Nieto, chasing the puck down, caught Quick in the back of his skates. Both players went down and Nieto went to the box. The Sharks penalty killers started out well and had a short-handed chance half way through the penalty, with Chris Tierney almost skating in front of Quick for a shot before being held up by Kings defenders.

In the final seconds of the penalty kill, Karlsson, Vlasic and Thornton carried play back into the offensive zone and set the Kings spinning for a shift.

Unfortunately, that penalty kill was followed by another less than a minute later. Joel Ward was called for high sticking. The Kings had a good chance about half way through but an overhead clear by Vlasic allowed the Sharks to regroup and change.
The Sharks finished that up with another short handed chanced, and not long after it expired, yet another outrageously improbable missed chance. A Kings skater got tangled up with his goalie and a Shark and all were out of play for several seconds, with the puck sitting in the blue paint. No Sharks skater could get to it, including the one trapped in the body tangle inches away.

The score remained 1-0.

The Sharks drew another power play when Tomas Hertl was tripped next to the Kings net by Rob Scuderi. 39 seconds into the power play, Patrick Marleau sent the puck behind the net to Thornton, who sent it out front for Joe Pavelski. A fast shot as he fell to his knees earned Pavelski his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The game tempo increased after that. The Sharks drove play for a long spell after that. When they did not have th epuck, they wasted little time stripping the Kings of it, or knocking them off of it. Brenden Dillon made Dustin Brown pay for sendng the puck around the boards, and Patrick Marleau added a solid hit or two.

The Kings finally did get some traction in the last three minutes of play, but it did not last for more than a minute. The Sharks were back in the Kings’ zone at 7:30 when Luke Schenn was caught roughing Joe Thornton. The Sharks did not convert on their third power play but the Kings did not take any leisurely skates into the Sharks’ zone either.

The shots for the period were 13-8 San Jose.

The teams picked up where they left off for the third. 1:34 into the period, Jamie McBain caught Joonas Donskoi in the face with a high stick. Five seconds into that penalty, Patrick Marleau stopped the puck with a skate, kicked it to his stick, and put the puck in the net. Assists went to Logan Couture and Brent Burns.

The Kings got on the board just 69 seconds later when Luke Schenn’s shot from the blue line got by Martin Jones. Trevor Lewis was in front of Jones, wrestling with a Sharks defender. As the shot came in, Lewis fell into Jones. Coach DeBoer challenged the goal for goaltender interference but the call stood up. The goal went to Lewis, with assists to Luke Schenn and Kris Versteeg.

The game got a little more interesting at 6:44, when Schenn took a shot through a long line of traffic and beat Jones, closing the gap to one goal. Assists went to Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik.

After that, the Kings tried more of those shots, but Jones seemed to see them better. The Kings kept pushing, they caught up on the shot clock, and as the final minutes ticked away, the game lost none of its intensity. The Sharks spent a lot of time with the puck but they were not getting the shots or the chances they had before. Even with the Kings net empty, the Kings kept the Sharks from taking good shots. The Sharks managed a couple of shots from their own zone but missed the net.

With 18.3 seconds to go, Los Angeles took their time out, then sent six skaters back on the ice for an offensive zone draw. It was to no avail as Game 4 slipped away from the Kings.

Game 5 will be back in Los Angeles at Staples Center on Friday.

Sharks Defeat Coyotes 4-1

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By Mary Walsh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sharks Beat Stars 4-3, Home Win Streak at 3

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By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Sharks facebook page: Sharks Tomas Hertl scores and celebrates the game winner over the Dallas Stars on Saturday

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3 Saturday, in overtime. The Sharks finally came back to win after giving up the first goal, on home ice. The Sharks’ record when giving up the first goal on home ice was 0-18-1 going into Saturday’s game. The Sharks now have a three-game winning streak on home ice. It is possible that the 2015-16 Sharks have found their groove at last. Their power play got perfect results, as did their penalty kill.

Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored two goals Saturday, while Tomas Hertl scored the overtime game winner and Chris Tierney gave the team its first lead by scoring a power play goal in the second period. The Sharks’ two power play goals broke another recent pattern of icing a feeble power play. Joe Thornton earned his 926th assist, tying him with Stan Mikita for 17th place on the NHL’s all-time assists list.

The Sharks and the Stars played an almost perfectly balanced game. In shots, faceoffs, blocked shots, and goals, the Sharks and the Stars stayed neck and neck from start to finish. The teams traded one-goal leads, their shot counts were very close, and where one led in the second period, the other team led in the third. the Sharks led in hits and takeaways, but

The game started with plenty of offense. The teams stayed neck and neck on the shot clock until past the eleven minute mark, when an unfortunate bounce gave the Stars that critical shot: the first goal. Dylan DeMelo was trying to clear the puck out along the boards but instead it bounced out into the slot, where Ales Hemsky waited to put it past Martin Jones. Assists went to Mattias Janmark and Antoine Roussel. It was Dallas’ tenth shot of the game, where the Sharks had nine.

With 3:19 left in the first, the Sharks took the first penalty of the game, a goaltender interference call to Joonas Donskoi. It was an odd incident. Donskoi lost his balance just enough so that the lightest push from a Dallas defender caused him to fall over Antti Niemi. The Sharks killed it off, and by the end of the period the teams were still close in shots, with the Sharks leading 15-13. Many of those shots went off the post, on good chances, but the score was still 1-0 Dallas.

The teams started the second with the same energy as they started the first, keeping the goalies busy and everyone’s feet moving. It was on the Sharks’ 17th shot of the game that Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored on a nice rush from Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton. Hertl caught up to the puck just as it came into the Dallas zone, protect the puck long enough to find Thornton on his way to the slot. Instead of taking a shot, Thornton made a pass to Vlasic, who was coming down the left side. Vlasic wasted no time as the puck came to him and put it under Niemi’s left pad. It was Vlasic’s sixth goal of the season, with assists to Thornton and Hertl.

Near the midpoint of the game, Alex Goligoski was called for interference on Tomas Hertl, giving the Sharks their first power play of the game. The power play was as anemic as it has been lately, including one very confident pass to an empty corner. Seconds before the penalty expired, Matt Nieto skated into the Stars zone, avoiding defenders with some nifty stick handling. He got the puck to Tommy Wingels, who handed it off to Chris Tierney. Tierney did not dawdle and put it over Niemi’s shoulder. It was Tierney’s of the season. Assists went to Wingels and Nieto.

The second period ended with the Sharks leading 2-1 and 30-21 in shots.

One of those leads evaporated in the first minute of the third period. 37 seconds into the period, Tyler Seguin caught the puck in his skates on a failed clear by the Sharks, then beat Martin Jones from the slot. Assist to Jamie Benn.

The Stars kept coming after that, and had the Sharks in such a fluster that they took a too many men on the ice penalty at 1:49. They killed the penalty off, despite a pretty well-orchestrated power play from Dallas. Martin Jones was especially sharp.

The Sharks took another lead at 7:51 of the period. Jamie Benn went to the box for interference on Joe Pavelski. Vlasic, on the second power play unit, put the puck over Niemi’s arm during the second minute of the penalty. Assists went to Dylan DeMelo and Joonas Donskoi.

The goal was challenged by Stars coach Lindy Ruff, for a missed offside call. The goal stood up and 12 seconds after the announcement, Jason Spezza tied it back up with a spin-o-rama off a pass from Jamie Benn. Assists went to Benn and Seguin.

The teams continued tied up until overtime, when the Sharks’ second three-man unit ended the game. Overtime was probably the only time in the game when one team dominated the other, but it only lasted one minute and 12 seconds, so perhaps it did not break pattern. The goal came after Vlasic made a try for a hat trick, shooting into Niemi’s pads from near the goal line. The shot was well-timed and placed, because he was able to collect his own rebound and take it around behind the net for another try. But it was not to be, as Tomas Hertl scored the game-winner, bringing an end to the “score first or lose” home ice curse that has haunted the Sharks since the start of the season. Assists went to Vlasic and Logan Couture.

The Sharks will finish this home stand on Monday, against the visiting Ottawa Senators at 7:30 PT.

Barracuda Shoot Down Stars 5-1

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE-The San Jose Barracuda defeated the visiting Texas Stars by a score of 5-1 Sunday. The game featured Nikolay Goldobin’s first AHL hat trick, and a fine performance from goaltender Al Stalock. Stalock made 21 saves on 22 shots. Jeremy Langlois and Ryan Carpenter each scored a goal, and Gus Young had three assists.

Both teams had played the night before, the Barracuda in Bakersfield and the Stars in Stockton. Even the recent arrivals, Stalock and Tierney, played Saturday with the Sharks. The Barracuda won their Saturday game 5-4 in a shootout. The Stars lost theirs 7-6, also in a shootout. Both teams had reason to be a little weary Sunday, but it did not show. Sunday’s game was fast and entertaining.

The first penalty of the game went to the Barracuda’s Jesse Mycham. The Barracuda killed it off with alacrity.

8:40 into the game, Nikolay Goldobin scored to put the Barracuda up by one. Chris Tierney sent the puck up from behind the goal line, where Goldobin’s arrival was well-timed. With a quick lift, he put the puck over the Texas goaltender’s glove. Assists went to Tierney and Gus Young.

The Barracuda set the pace for the rest of the period. Several shots on net went right into Deslauriers’ clutches, as the Barracuda did not have enough traffic in front of the Texas goaltender.

With just 2:25 left in the first, the Stars caught San Jose off guard and tied the game. Stalock caught Dickinson’s wrap-around shot with his pads but only by diving across the crease. The puck went under him, changed direction somewhere underneath the goalie, and trickled across the goal line. An assist went to Greg Rallo.

San Jose’s Jeremy Langlois took the lead back when he caught a long pass near the faceoff dot in the Stars’ zone, deked his way around Brennan Evans and then beat the goaltender with a backhand from in close. Assists went to Goldobin and Young.

The Stars took a penalty early in the second period, and Brendan Ranford went to the box for delay of game. The Barracuda power play had some good looks but their best chances were for tip-ins that did not work.

As the penalty ended, the Stars went the other way immediately, then got pushed back, only to get a breakaway chance, followed by more o-zone time. The Barracuda were very much on their heels but Stalock kept the puck out.

As the game reached its midpoint, San Jose pulled themselves together. At 10:35, Tierney beat a Texas defender near the faceoff circle and got a pass to Goldobin for a shot. Desrosiers stopped the first shot but Goldobin picked up his rebound and put it around the goaltender to give the Barracuda a 3-1 lead.

The Stars took another penalty, this time to Travis Morin for tripping. San Jose’s power play was less dangerous-looking than it had been, but it was not a liability. After the penalty expired, the Barracuda continued to keep Texas at bay, limiting their shots mostly to the outside and getting the puck out quickly.

By the end of the second period, the score was 3-1 Barracuda, the shot count was 17-14 Barracuda.

San Jose jumped right back in to start the third period. They skated in three on two to extend the lead. Ryan Carpenter carried the puck to the hash marks and passed it to Barclay Goodrow. Goodrow’s shot came back out for Carpenter to pick up and put in the net. Assists went to Goodrow and Trevor Parkes.

A few minutes later, Goldobin escaped the neutral zone and darted unfettered to the Texas net where he wrapped the puck around the goalie and in goal for a hat trick. The goal was unassisted.

The Texas team had a power play opportunity at 9:49 when Alex Gallant went to the box for interference. It was a much better power play than their first and they held the zone relentlessly. They still failed to gain any ground on the four goal deficit.

Final score: 5-1 San Jose. The win puts the Barracuda in the playoff picture for the moment. They are in third place out of seven teams in the Pacific Division.

The Barracuda next play on Wednesday against the Stockton Heat.

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There was plenty of roster activity from the Sharks on Sunday. As the Sharks started a four day break in their schedule, they sent forward Chris Tierney and goaltender Alex Stalock to play with the Barracuda. Matt Tennyson was sent down a couple of days earlier, and officially Stalock’s and Tennyson’s assignments are for “conditioning” purposes. This limits the stay to 14 days. Historically, these assignments were used to bring players back from injury, but there is no strict language in the rules saying that a conditioning assignment cannot be used to keep a player tuned up when he is not playing much with the NHL club. It is likely that both Tennyson and Stalock will be back with the Sharks soon.

Sharks Fall to Senators 4-2

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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.

Sharks Pounce on Panthers for 5-2 Win

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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 Beat Devils 2-1, Start Season 4-0

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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.

Sharks Beat Ducks With Lively 3rd in Home Opener

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Saturday, the San Jose Sharks won their home opener 2-0 against the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks’ best period of the game was their third, and it was a relentless one. It seemed to be just the kind of game head coach Pete DeBoer was looking for from the Sharks:

That’s how we want to play with the lead. You want to keep your foot on the gas. We kept rolling four lines to keep our energy and our legs. The best defense for me in that situation is spending the period in the other team’s end and I think we did a good job of that.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski also talked about that third period push:

We kind of got better as the game went on, right from the start. The second was a little better and the third was definitely our best and it needs to be. I’d say last year that was one of the problems in this rink, we didn’t have strong thirds. So hopefully we can continue with that trend.

Joel Ward was asked about the developing chemistry between himself and his linemates, Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau:

When you get a chance to play with guys like Cootch and Marleau, it makes it a lot more fun, how dynamic they are and how skilled, what they can create on their own is pretty cool to watch. So, as you can see what Patty did tonight was a good example of that. Just try to get in the open areas and I just try to feed off them and know what they want from me, just communicating as best we can, it’s just going to continue to build.

Ward seemed to be communicating quite well with his linemates on Saturday, turning up in the right spot again and again, on both ends of the ice.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones has also made an excellent impression in this two game sample. Martin Jones, after his second game and second win as a Shark, praised the team in front of him:

I thought we did a really good job. I mean, that’s a big, strong team up front and typically they do a really good job, getting in front of the net with bodies and with sticks. I thought we did a really good job boxing out and I was able to see a lot of pucks tonight.

As second games of the season go, this one was impressive: two goals from Patrick Marleau, two points for Joel Ward, and a second win from Martin Jones. The game even had two 31s in net, one at each end. Jones and Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen both wear 31.

With nine minutes left in the first, the shots were 7-3 Anaheim. Sharks had killed one penalty, but had had no power plays. They did, however, have a very good spell right about then, lasting almost three minutes and shifts for as many lines. The third line started it, with some aggressive play in the Ducks’ zone. The top line followed it up and the Sharks seemed to be on a roll and likely to score. When they finally had to defend again, Martin Jones was there to stop the Ducks. The game remained scoreless, but by the end of that little sprint, the shots were almost even, 9-8 Ducks. By the end of the period, the Sharks had a solid 13-9 lead in shots.

They were right back at it to start the second period, spending most of the first two minutes in the Ducks’ zone. After that, however, the Ducks pinned the Sharks for a solid couple of minutes. A breakaway from the third line broke up the Ducks’ momentum and ended with a discussion by the Ducks’ net. The second line picked up where the third left off, and added three shots to the Sharks’ tally in the space of a few seconds. By now, the Ducks were getting a little incensed.

By the middle of the second period, the game was clearly a goaltender battle. Both 31s were snuffing out scoring chances wherever they cropped up. Admittedly, they were few but that was partly due to quick reactions from the goalies.

The other limiting factor for those scoring chances was timing. A couple of shots fell flat for lack of follow-up and bodies in the right places. It was a reminder that this was only the Sharks’ second game of the season.

The game took on a delayed back and forth tempo, with each team trapping the other for a long shift before going the other way. The Ducks seemed to have the edge at the end of the period, catching up in shots and holding the zone just a little longer than the Sharks could.

The period was winding down to a scoreless close, but the Sharks’ second line had other plans. Joel Ward and Logan Couture chased the puck into the corner and kept after it. The announcer had just made the “one minute left” call when Ward got the puck to the net. Couture caught up with it on the other side and took a shot. Just then, Marleau followed up to take the third and fourth shots. He gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead with the fourth one. Assists went to Couture and Ward.

The Sharks ended the second period up by one goal and three shots, 27-24.

In the middle of the third period, the fourth line of Barclay Goodrow, Chris Tierney and Mike Brown had a very good shift, holding the zone with tenacity, getting a couple of shots in, and maintaining their composure when the Ducks finally got the puck out. They finished by slowing Anaheim down enough in the neutral zone for the defense to get organized for a line change.

Around the 13 minute mark, the fourth line held the zone again with aplomb, aided by Tomas Hertl Hertl, who had missed his line change. Eventually, he did manage to switch with Tierney, without the Ducks ever gaining control of the puck. It was an impressive shift by the fourth line and the top defensive pair of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun.

With almost six minutes left, the Sharks had taken twelve shots during the period. The Ducks had taken three.

Shortly after the next faceoff, Marleau scored his second of the game on the team’s 40th shot. It was a lovely wraparound after he carried the puck across the blue line and through the o-zone against two Ducks. The lone assist went to Joel Ward, who apparently made the pass while also playing it safe:

I knew he can do that so I just kind of “here, you take it, you go.” I came back to the bench… I knew we were in our zone a little bit and I just kind of tried to play it safe, I didn’t want to get caught up the ice. Next thing you know hands are up in the air and I was looking for water.

The Sharks got their first power play with 3:07 left in the game. The penalty went to Mike Santorelli for hooking Barclay Goodrow. They did not score but the power play prevented Anaheim from pulling their goalie or coming back in the last minutes.

The final shot count was 44-27 Sharks.

Patrick Marleau led the Sharks in shots with seven. Mike Brown led in hits with eight. Brent Burns had the most time on ice with 24:43. Martin Jones made 27 saves for the shutout.

Frederick Andersen made 42 saves for the Ducks, no small feat. That earned him the third star of the game. The first star was Marleau and the second was Martin Jones.

Jakob Silfverberg led the Ducks in shots with four, and Andrew Cogliano made the most hits for them: four.

The Sharks will hit the road and play Tuesday in Washington against Ward’s old team, the Capitals. The game will start at 4pm PT.

Sharks Development Camp: Prospect Showcase

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By Mary Walsh

Thursday night, San Jose Sharks prospects took the ice at SAP Center for a scrimmage. Team Ricci defeated Team Marchment by a score of 5-2. Goals came at even strength, in 3 on 3 (which followed two even strength periods) and a penalty shot. Nikita Jevpalovs, Dylan Sadowy, Nikolay Goldobin, Barclay Goodrow and Jeremy Langlois all scored goals. While the scrimmage was a welcome entertainment in the middle of the off-season, the bulk of the work was done earlier in the week: a crash-course for young players to help them prepare for training camp in September.

The development camp also gives the team a chance to evaluate players before training camp. Defenseman Gus Young, a Worcester Shark last season and now free agent, was signed as the first member of the San Jose Barracuda Thursday.

After the morning practice, Roy Sommer gave his impressions of some of the Sharks’ recent first round draft picks. Of the Sharks’ 2015 first round pick, Timo Meier he said: “As the camp’s gone on, I think he’s gotten better and better. He’s a power forward, man, he goes hard to the net, big body, looks like he’s hard to stop. I’ll tell you what, he’s got a lot of intangibles. He’s good.”

Sharks fans had a chance to see the Sharks’ 2014 first round pick, Nikolay Goldobin, in last year’s preseason games. Of Goldobin this year, Sommer said:

He’s got offense. You know, when he wants to go, he’s pretty good. I think the big thing with him, he’s got to get a little more consistent. But offensively, he’s got all the tools. He sees the ice real well, just got to play both ends of the ice and get the confidence of the new coaching staff.

Thursday’s event was the third such scrimmage held by the Sharks, but the first under the new coaching staff. After the morning practice, Chris Tierney was asked whether this camp is different from last year. He said:

I think it’s pretty much the same. You know, Roy’s doing a lot of the drills, running that kind of stuff, so him and Tim Burke and Mike Ricci, they’ve been here for a couple of years. They kind of do the same camp, kind of focus on the same areas ever since I’ve been here. So it’s pretty much the same stuff.

Prospect camp attendees fall into two general categories: returning prospects and first timers. Returning prospects have an opportunity to hone leadership skills, helping the younger or less experienced attendees. Tierney, a returning prospect with 43 NHL games under his belt, described some of the ways a more seasoned player helps the new guys:

It’s nice to know what you’re going to do and know how to do the kind of drills. I think a couple of us that kind of want to be leaders here in this camp, going first in drills and taking questions from some of the young guys.

Coach Sommer described more ways that Tierney and other camp veterans help new arrivals during prospect camp:

From the get-go we told the guys that have been around here that have done a couple of these development camps: “be the leaders, be the first one in line, take care of these guys when they’re off the ice and show them downtown San Jose.” And him and Goodrow, the other guys, the Muellers, they’ve done a great job of that. They’ve been really good. I think it’s been one of the better camps we’ve ever had, as far as talent-wise and leadership-wise.

Among first-time camp attendees, there are those with no professional experience and those with quite a bit. Forward Joonas Donskoi, for example, has played for several seasons in the SM-liiga of Finland. He was on the 2015 SM-liiga All-Star team and was named Best Player in the Playoffs. His team won the league title last season. But this is his first time at a camp in North America. Is this like camps he has attended before?

Yeah, sure we have, kind of like these camps in Finland. Of course, been playing five years in Finnish professional league so I think it’s just great to be here. It’s a little bit different, a smaller rink and stuff like that so it’s a lot of things to learn …

One of the reasons I talked to Donskoi was a short drill I saw him doing with Mike Ricci. It was not in front of the net, but it looked like it was meant to be. It was a very quick drill and the precision involved was eye-catching. I asked if there was one particular thing that stood out as a good tip or advice he’s gotten here. There was not one thing, he explained:

A lot of information here. I mean, like Ricci and guys like that, I just appreciate the great career he’s made. He knows the game, so he has good tips for me, especially in front of the net. So I try to take everything out of it. I don’t know what’s the best tip, there’s so many good things at this camp. I really appreciate the information I got here.

On the practical side, how do these players make use of all this information in just a week? Donskoi makes some notes, and then incorporates it into his routine. He will go back to Finland on Saturday and practice what he has learned during the two months before training camp starts. He should bear watching in the season to come.

One additional and late-breaking piece of news came shortly before the prospect scrimmage began: the retirement of veteran Sharks beat writer David Pollak of the Mercury News. Mark Emmons is also leaving the Mercury News, but for another position and not retirement. Pollak will be missed in Sharks Territory. In his farewell blog entry, he promises to write again. May he do so soon and often.

Curtis Pashelka, who split time with Pollak last season, will carry on as the Sharks writer for the Mercury News.