NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025: Caps Ovechkin 3 goals away to catch the Great One: Canadiens push to make post season since 2021 win 3rd straight game; Senators Ullmark saves 31 shots in 3-1 win over Lightning; plus more news

Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and the Boston Bruins defenceman Ian Mitchell (14) push each other as linesman Jonathan Deschamps (80) intervenes in the first period at the Belle Centre in Montreal on Thu Apr 3, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025

#1 It’s been a long time coming for the Montreal Canadiens as their push for a Stanley Cup Playoff birth continues. The last time the Habs were in the post season was in 2021. The Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 for their third straight win at the Belle Centre on Thursday night. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki scored a goal a piece and an assist. Sam Montembeault had 18 saves. The win gives Montreal a two point lead over the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

#2  Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots for the Ottawa Senators and put an end to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s four game win streak. The Senators came up with a 3-1 win on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel tried to score on a short handed break away but Ullmark stopped the shot at 5:58 in the third period to keep the score at the time to 2-1.

#3  Cale Makar had himself an evening for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his 30th goal and picking up two assists in a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Thursday. Makar became the ninth defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since the Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green had 31 in 2008-09.

#4  The red hot St Louis Blues tied a franchise record with their 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Enterprise Center on Thursday night. Robert Thomas scored at 2:12 in the overtime stanza for the winning goal. The win ties the Blues with the Stanley Cup Champions Blues who won 11 in a row between Jan 23-Feb 19 2019.

#5 The Dallas Stars Wyatt Johnson got a goal in his sixth game in a row and the Stars won their seventh game in a row with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. In the NHL Johnson’s streak is the longest active run. The Stars Jake Oettinger saved 28 shots in the win.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks try to rebound after rough first half against Flames Sunday

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Jan 27, 2025. Askarov is out for three weeks due to a lower body injury (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Maybe the Four Nation Face Off came at a right time for the San Jose Sharks the Sharks were in the middle of a four game funk that saw them in their last game get absolutely hammered in San Jose on Sat Feb 8 to the Dallas Stars 8-3.

#2 One of the things the Sharks have had problems with is allowing their opponents to get the early lead and the game against the Stars was not an exception allowing three goals in the first period.

#3 Their third periods have been troublesome too in that same game against the Stars the Sharks allowed three goals against and were whipped by the Stars in a five goal advantage.

#4 Goaltending is a concern for San Jose as top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov is out three weeks with a lower body injury while playing for the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday. He faced 14 shots in the first period of the game but had to come out and did not return. How critical is Askarov’s loss going to be with two months left of the season?

#5 The Sharks return to action opening up a seven game road trip starting this Sunday in Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome against a Flames team that is fifth in the Pacific Division having lost five of their last ten games and lost three in a row. The Sharks need to snap their four game skid and will have a real test starting this seven game road trip.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks take on Stars tonight in effort to end three game skid

San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) puts a stop on the Vancouver Canucks left wing Drew O’Connor (left) in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Feb 6, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Vancouver Canucks Drew O’Connor scored on a penalty shot 33 seconds into the overtime stanza as the Canucks got by the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Thursday night. O’Connor got to make the penalty shot after the Sharks Macklin Celebrini got called for a hooking penalty.

#2 The Canucks Dakota Joshua scored at 8:04 on a power play to get the Canucks on the scoreboard with the lead 1-0.

#3 The Sharks were behind 1-0 in the third period when Tyler Toffoli tied up the game at 1-1 with his 20th goal of the season at 18:32.

#4 Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko was looking for his second shutout in a row but will settle for the win and 33 saves. The Sharks Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 Vancouver shots.

#5 Dallas Stars are second in the central division this is a team that is on a roll with a 38-18-1 with 69 points only behind the mighty Winnipeg Jets. They’re in San Jose tonight how do you see the Sharks chances?

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

Sharks Fell Short Again in OT Loss Against the Canucks

Drew O’Connor shot on goal on Vitek Vanecek during overtime at SAP Center in San Jose on Feb 6 (Vancouver Canucks Archive.)

After a painful loss against the Habs, the Sharks have to find a way to get back on track… It did not come Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

By: Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE –– Thursday night action at the tank and once again the Sharks hosted a Canadian neighbor, the Vancouver Canucks the Sharks wound up losing by another one goal game this time 2-1. Last time at the Tank, the Sharks lost against the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-3 score, with the Habs scoring the goal that gave them the victory in the final minutes of the third, leaving no time for the Sharks to recover last Tuesday night.

The Canucks won their last game against the Avalanche going through a long stretch of winless games since Jan 18, when the Canucks played the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks added another loss and have gone winless since Jan 14, when the Teal played Detroit.

During the first two periods of the game, the game remained scoreless. Worth mentioning that the first 40 minutes of the game were full of penalties

Both teams were very balanced and even throughout the match. It is worth noting that San Jose was more aggressive during the second period, showing heart and attitude.
Vancouver was under pressure, but Vitek Vanecek had a great performance after being absent from the team since Dec 14.

The action began to be seen in the third period with a goal at 14:40 with a goal by the visitors at 14:40 when Dakota Joshua, with a tip-in shot on a PowerPlay, took the lead 1-0 assisted by Pius Suter and Tyler Myers.

The game looked like it wasn’t going to end 1-0, and just as it looked, it ended up being that way, with Tyler Toffoli scoring with 1.28 left in regulation to give San Jose some life and a chance.

The chance for the long-awaited victory fell short, and this time, the star, Macklin Celebrini, was marked with a penalty for hooking against Drew O’Connor. O’Connor scored an unassisted scored his second goal for Vancouver, and the game winner to call it a night.

With this loss, San Jose is on the verge of going a full month with no victories. The Sharks will host a final game at home against Dallas, with the possible homecoming of former Sharks of Cody Ceci and Mikael Grandlund before the 4 Nations break.

Stars Snap Utah HC Eight Game Points Streak In 3-2 Victory 

Utah Hockey Club’s Ian Cole (28) take a shot at the net in the first period against the Dallas Stars at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Mon Dec 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah came within a goal late in the game, but could not overcome second period difficulties.

The Utah Hockey Club welcomed the Dallas Stars to Delta Center on Monday for their second faceoff in Salt Lake City this month, the first ending in Utah’s only regulation loss over the past 12 games during which they posted a record of 8-1-3, earning 19 points and re-emerging in the Wild Card hunt.

Dallas winger Colin Blackwell kicked off the scoring eleven minutes into the game with his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Oskar Back. Utah responded less than two minutes later as defenseman Ian Cole ripped a fierce shot from the blue line which was tipped in by Kevin Stenlund for his sixth of the season, with an additional assist given to Michael Carcone.

The Stars owned the second period as center Roope Hintz netted his 15th goal of the season followed by winger Jamie Benn with his 7th.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the third period, Utah center Barrett Hayton, while being pushed down to the ice by Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen, tipped in a shot by Nick Schmaltz to get Utah back to within one, but that’s where the game ended up 3-2.

After the game, Hayton, whose goals in back-to-back games have given him 100 career points, commented on the loss. “I think that second period is a learning lesson, obviously. We knew coming into this game, it’s a four point game, a division game. Obviously those matchups are huge. I thought we did a great job in the first period. We were urgent, we were intense, we were on the ball, playing the right way, and you just can’t afford those lapses against good teams. That was what our second period was. It’s gonna be something we have to take as a learning experience right now. We’re all pissed off about it and disappointed and frustrated in ourselves, and yeah, that’s a big game, and sucks for it to go that way.”

Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny, when asked whether the second period decided the outcome, said, “I agree, I think we had 12, 15 or eight minutes where we were not aggressive enough defensively, which led to them possessing the puck a lot, and we could not change from there. But I think we were successful when we are aggressive defensively, when we play with pace and we cut possession, which leads to our own offense and being able to have good chances and having energy out there. So when we stopped doing that, the game turned around.”

Utah concludes its three-game homestand at 7:30pm MST on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche before embarking upon a four-game trip to Seattle, Edmonton, Calgary, and Dallas.

Utah HC Falls To Division Rival Dallas Stars 2-1 

The Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) makes a save against the Utah Hockey Club’s center Jack McBain (22) in the second period at the Delta Center on Mon Dec 2, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Following a 6-0 rout of the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, Utah’s offense faltered at home against Dallas losing 2-1 at the Delta Center on Monday.

The Utah Hockey Club returned home from a successful one-game road trip in Las Vegas where rookie backup goaltender Jaxson Stauber recorded 29 saves in a 6-0 blowout of the Golden Knights in his Utah debut. The shutout is the first in Utah franchise history. The win gave André Tourigny his 99th career victory as a head coach.

On Monday night, Utah welcomed the Dallas Stars to Salt Lake City for a one-game homestand. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was recognized during the contest for competing in his 500th NHL game. Sergachev would not get on the scoresheet in his milestone effort in which his two minor penalties would not factor into any Dallas goals.

The same could not be said for Utah captain Clayton Keller who was whistled for holding against Mavrik Bourque at 5:46 of the second period, resulting in a power play goal for Dallas winger Evgenii Dadonov, his seventh of the season, assisted by Matt Duchene and Miro Heiskanen. With less than a minute remaining in the middle frame, Dallas winger Jamie Benn made it 2-0 on his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Sam Steel.

Utah forward Nick Schmaltz would finally cut the Dallas lead in half at 6:57 of the third period with his third goal of the season, assisted by Matias Maccelli and Nick Bjugstad, but that would turn out to be Utah’s lone score of the night. Despite Utah outshooting the Stars 35-21 with numerous Grade-A chances, Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith outdueled Karel Vejmelka for the win.

Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny, who was unable to register his 100th coaching win at home, complemented tonight’s opponent. “Dallas is, by any metrics you can find, a really tough team to get anything sustained against them in terms of O-zone time. They put a lot of pressure on you. They create a lot of O-zone time themselves. You look at their bread and butter, you look at what we did against them; I’m really proud of the guys. They fought, they played hard, they were focused. Obviously, we generated (offense) as well. If you look at our three games we played against Dallas last year, you put all the scoring chances we had together; I think that’s about the number (of chances) we had tonight. I’m not saying we had a million tonight. Last year we had seven, eight, nine per game. They were 2-1 games, but we didn’t have a lot of offense sustained. Today, we had a lot of offense sustained, a lot of shots from the slot, a lot of passes through the slot, a lot of opportunities to break the game down. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish. In those kinds of games, you need it because normally you don’t have quantity. So you need to bury your chances.”

Tourigny addressed the grind of the next series of games following the strange scheduling of home-away-home games over the past four nights. “We’ll have a day off tomorrow. We must not forget we’re starting…(a stretch of) five games in eight days. And we’re going across the country. Need to make sure, as a coach, that you’re not putting yourself ahead of the team and that you give all the opportunity to your players to have all the energy possible. As an organization, I think we do a good job managing those things. Our departure will be on Thursday for the game on Saturday, so that we have time to arrive in Buffalo and have a practice there. Then an afternoon game. Then we play (the next night) in Philly, and then we come back, we’ll arrive late and 36 hours later, we play against Minnesota here in our building. And then we’re going back on the road the very next day. All of that to say, energy’s really important. Tomorrow will be a day off. We’ll have a good practice on Wednesday, we’ll travel on Thursday, good practice on Friday.”

Utah’s next home game is against the Minnesota Wild at 7:30pm MST on Tuesday, December 10.

Sharks Lose 5-2 to Dallas, Give Up 2 Empty Net Goals

San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) deflects a shot by the Dallas Stars center Logan Stankoven (11) as defenseman Mario Ferrero (38) looks on in the first period at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wed Nov 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated by the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Wednesday. Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz and Evgenii Dadonov scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger made 21 saves for the win. Mikael Granlund and Jake Walman scored for the Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves in the loss.

After the game, Jake Walman described the Sharks game as being close despite small problems: “For the most part we’re doing the right things but it’s just those little parts in the game. We got to hold each other accountable.” William Eklund also sounded like he thinks the team is close to finding a new level: “Turnovers cost us a little bit, some mistakes cost us a little bit today. We still find a way to keep it tight, keep it close.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said:

“We shoot ourselves in the foot in goals that we give up that are completely preventable. Until we learn how to play in the National Hockey League against really good second period teams, which are most teams that know how to transition in the second period, we’re going to be fighting this uphill battle in games.”

Jason Robertson opened the scoring at 15:33 of the first period. Mathew Dumba made a pass from the blue line and found Robertson as he entered the slot. Robertson spun and shot, beating Blackwood on the short side. Assists went to Dumba and Thomas Harley.

Mikael Granlund tied the game at 18:44. Short-handed, he broke away and skated almost to the blue paint before taking his shot. An assist went to William Eklund.

Dallas outshot San Jose 14-9 in the first period. The Sharks took three penalties and had one power play. They had two shots on their power play and gave up seven shots while short-handed.

Wyatt Johnston made it 2-1 for Dallas 56 seconds into the second period. Johnston and Roope Hintz skated into the Sharks zone two on one. Hintz put the puck behind the Sharks defender for Johnston to gather up and shoot in. Assists went to Hintz and Jason Robertson.

Jamie Benn made it 3-1 at 10:56 of the second. Benn was lurking beside the Sharks net while Sharks chased Logan Stankoven behind the net. Stankoven got the puck out to Benn for a shot.

The shots were much closer in the second period, 8-6 Dallas. The Sharks took no penalties in the second and they had one power play. They had one shot on goal during that power play.

Jake Walman made it 3-2 at 13:25 of the third period. Granlund carried the puck into the zone, then made a pass from the boards that caught Walman as he skated in. Walman took his shot from just inside the faceoff circle. Granlund and Cody Ceci got the assists.

With the Sharks net empty, Roope Hintz scored to make it 4-2. Johnston and Robertson got assists. Two Sharks collided with an official in the corner and went down, helping Johnston take control of the puck for that play.

Evgenii Dadonov also scored and empty net goal to make it 5-2. An assist went to Oskar Bäck.

With a little more than two minutes left, Granlund was called off the ice after he took a hit to the head from Ilya Lyubushkin. No penalty was called but the Sharks were without Granlund for the final minutes. There were no updates about his condition right after the game.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in St. Louis against the Blues at 5:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Eklund, Celebrini injury updates; What’s missing during SJ’s losing streak

San Jose Sharks William Eklund skates against the St Louis Blues on Sat Apr 6, 2024 at SAP Center in San Jose. Eklund did not play against the Winnipeg Jets on Fri Oct 18, 2024 due to an upper body injury. (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, the San Jose Shark William Eklund didn’t play against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday due to a upper body injury. Eklund a part of the offense his injury impacts the Sharks line up.

#2 Macklin Celebrini missed his fourth game in a row due to a lower body injury. Celebrini has been on retroactive injury reserve dating back to Oct 10. Celebrini the Sharks No.1 draft pick is expected back any day now.

#3 Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said before Friday’s game that his benching Will Smith was just part of the plan and that it had nothing to do with Smith’s performance. Smith is the Sharks No.4 pick out of the 2024 NHL draft. Smith was a healthy scratch again on Friday night against the Jets.

#4 Sharks forwards Danil Gushchin and Givani Smith both sat out Thursday’s game in Chicago. Gushchin and Smith both played on Friday night in Winnipeg.

#5 The Sharks have now lost all five of their first five games to start the season. The Sharks closet games were against the St Louis Blues and Dallas Stars both one goal loses. Mary what seems to be the problem a lack of finesse on offense, not enough aggressiveness in crashing the net, not enough defense at the blue line and too much time on their end of the ice by the opposition.

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

Sharks Fall 3-2 to Dallas in Shootout; SJ drops third game in a row

The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) stops a shot by the Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston (53) in the first period at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Tue Oct 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated 3-2 in a shootout by the Dallas Stars Tuesday at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Matt Duchene, Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger made 25 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli and Ty Dellandrea scored for the Sharks. MacKenzie Blackwood made 36 saves in the loss.

The Sharks’ penalty kill was perfect Tuesday but their power play was disappointing. Of the third period five-on-three power play, Tyler Toffoli said: “Obviously it wasn’t very good and we had other opportunities on the power play after as well and we didn’t capitalize and probably one of the reasons we lost the game.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky also discussed that two man advantage that failed: “It just looked like it was a little disconnected and obviously in a five-on-three in that type of game we’ve got to be ready to go. And I thought we were just a little disconnected.”

In a scoreless first period, the Stars outshot the Sharks by just one shot, 10-9. The Sharks took the only penalty, a double minor against Barclay Goodrow.

Tyler Toffoli scored the first goal of the game at 6:24 of the second period. He took advantage of a turnover at the Sharks’ blue line and broke out the other way.

Matt Duchene tied the game at 12:03, tipping a shot from Mason Marchment. An additional assist went to Logan Stankoven.

Just over three minutes later, Ty Dellandrea gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead. Dellamdrea intercepted a pass in the Sharks’ zone, then passed the puck forward to Nico Sturm at the Stars’ blue line. Sturm carried it in and took a shot. Oettinger stopped that but Dellandrea was following up and caught the rebound to score.

Roope Hintz tied it back up two minutes after that. Wyatt Johnston passed the puck across the ice to Jason Robertson, who sent it back to Hintz in the slot for the shot. Blackwood could not keep up with all that back and forth.

The Stars outshot the Sharks 15-5 in the second period. The Sharks again took the only penalty, a minor against Jan Rutta. The third period was scoreless as the first but the Stars took three penalties, including some five-on-three time for the Sharks. The shots were 12-11 Stars.

During overtime, the Sharks again took a penalty, and had two shots to the Stars’ one.

In the shootout, Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston scored for the Stars. Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks.

The Sharks next play on Thursday against the Blackhawks in Chicago at 6:30 PM PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals podcast with Mary Lisa: Oilers can knock off Stars in elimination game 6 Sunday

Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) scores on the Dallas Stars Ty Dellandrea (10), goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) and Chris Tanev (3) in the first period in game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals at the American Airlines Arena on Fri May 31, 2024 (AP News photo)

On NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Edmonton Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two power play goals to lead the Oilers to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Friday night in game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals. The Oilers now take a 3-2 lead in the best of seven series.

#2 The Oilers Evan Bouchard had two assists and goaltender Stuart Skinner save 19 shots and allowed just one goal against the Stars.

#3 Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal on a wrist shot from the high slot that hit the post at 1:06 of the second period to make it 2-0.

#4 Tough night for Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger who stopped 23 shots but allowed three goals. The Stars were the favored team going into game 5 having home ice and that was reversed by some skillful scoring from Nugent-Hopkins.

#5 The series goes back to Edmonton for game six and the Oilers could wrap it up with their fourth win and eliminate the Stars.

Join Mary Lisa for the NHL Stanley Cup post season podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com