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

NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals podcast with Troy Ewers: Stars even series 1-1 beat Oilers 3-1; Game 3 goes back to Edmonton Monday night

The Dallas Stars center Tyler Suguin (91) takes control of the puck as the Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) anticipates a shot on goal during game 2 of the third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Sat May 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 The Dallas Stars Mason Marchment scored the go ahead goal to help defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 to even the third round of the series 1-1.

#2 Marchment was playing this game 2 as if it were game 7 it was after what Stars head coach Peter DeBoer put in the mindset of the Stars after they played to a 1-1 tie in the first period which DeBoer said was tentative. He suggested that the Stars play this game as if were a game 7.

#3 The Stars did rise to the occasion and scored two goals in the third period including the Marchment go ahead goal as the Stars won it by the two goals that were scored in the third period 3-1.

#4 Troy the Oilers were able to score only one goal that was in the first period scored by Cody Ceci and basically were shutdown offensively by the Stars for the rest of the game some of the credit for that goes to the Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger who stopped 28 of 29 shots.

#5 Troy series tied 1-1 as game 3 will go back to Scotiabank Arena in Edmonton on Monday night for a 5:30pm PT puck drop. Crucial game for the Oilers they need to step up their offense and crash the net and work past Oettinger. The Stars who are on the road for this one could have their hands full with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to defend against. Either way this is expected to be a close tight hockey game.

Troy Ewers is a NHL podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Mary Lisa: Oilers take game 1 on McDavid’s double OT goal; Beat Stars 3-2 in series opener in Dallas

Edmonton Oilers center Conner McDavid (center left) thanks teammate defenseman Evan Bouchard for the assist as McDavid scored the game winning goal in the second overtime in game 1 of the third round of the Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Fri May 24, 2024 ( The Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars were battling in game 1 on Thursday like it was the 7th game of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. No one was giving in a game that went double overtime that saw the Oilers Conner McDavid score 32 seconds in the second overtime.

#2 McDavid on the goal took a redirected pass from Evan Bouchard and shot it past the Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for the winner.

#3 McDavid said after the game regarding scoring the game winner, “It was nice to score in overtime. A big goal, great play by [Bouchard] as usual,” said McDavid. “You’ve got to win tight games. We’re down to the final four teams.

#4 McDavid said you don’t get to the Final Four without being a great team. The Oilers had their close series with the Vancouver Canucks in order to get to this third round against the Stars. The Stars who are no slouch just couldn’t finish in game 1.

#5 Oilers and Stars match up again tonight for game 2 at the American Airlines Center for a 5:00pm PT face off. It’s almost expected that this will be another game where the neither the Oilers or Stars will give in an inch on the ice.

Join Mary Lisa for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Len Shapiro: Oilers-Stars open Western Conference third round in Dallas on Thursday

The Edmonton Oilers Ryan Nugent Hopkins (center left) scores a goal against the Vancouver Canucks goaltender Artur Silovs (31) as the Canucks Filip Hronek (17) and the Oilers Zach Hyman (18) and Leon Draisaitl (29) look on during game 7 of the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference playoffs at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Mon May 20, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Len:

#1. Tough night for the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night as they were eliminated by the visiting Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena in Vancouver in game 7 of the second round of the Western Conference playoffs 3-2.

#2 The Oilers Ryan Nugent Hopkins scored a goal and got an assist to win in game 7 of the playoffs. Nugent-Hopkins said that it was something you dream about as a kid and said that he played with neighborhood kids and now he enjoys playing with his teammates on the Oilers.

#3 Nugent-Hopkins said it was also great to get a win in Vancouver as he’s from the Vancouver area of Burnaby British Columbia.

#4 Len, talk about Zach Hyman who scored an NHL post season leading 11 goals. Also Leon Draisaitl got an assist and has a point streak of 12 games for opening points in the post season.

#5 Edmonton opens up the best of four out of seven against the Dallas Stars in Dallas on Thursday night in game 1. Dallas is a tough customer and the Oilers are one of the best talk about who you like this third round of the Western Conference playoffs?

Join Len Shapiro does the NHL Stanley Cup post season podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 5 podcast with Len Shapiro: Stars can put it away tonight in Dallas; Stars leads series 3-1

Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) talks with center Wyatt Johnson (53) during the second period of game 4 of the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena in Denver on Mon May 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Let’s take a recap of the last game between Dallas and Colorado of the series in Colorado.

#2 For Wyatt Johnston it was a pretty good Monday night scoring twice, it was his 21st birthday.

#3 Johnston scored a short handed goal and a goal on the power play.

#4 Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger stopped 24 Colorado shots. Oettinger allowed just one goal for the win. Talk about valuable Oettinger is for the Stars to help them pull within one game of winning round 2.

#5 Stars and Avalanche face off tonight at 5:00pm PT in Dallas. Crucial game for the Aves to try and stay alive in the series and the Stars can end it tonight. How do you see this one?

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks Lose To Dallas Stars 6-3, Now On 8 Game Losing Streak

Dallas Stars center Joe Pavelski (16) takes the puck against the San Jose Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta (84) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Mar 26, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, March 26th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – In the “Tank” the San Jose Sharks host the Dallas Stars in a weekday throwdown. The Sharks continued their losing streak extending it to eight straight loses 6-3 at SAP Center.

Last game the Sharks blew a four goal lead to the Chicago Blackhawks to lose 5-4. Thomas Bordeleau (2g, 0a) potted his fifth and sixth goals of the season in the first period, the first time in his career notching two goals in a period. Fabian Zetterlund (2g, 1a) matched his career-high with a three-point effort and his first goal in the game came at 0:16 seconds of the opening second period, besting William Eklund (0:17, Nov. 16, 2023 vs. STL) for the fastest goal scored by a Shark to start a regulation period this year. Klim Kostin (0g, 1a) has registered six points (2g, 4a) in his first eight games with San Jose, including a point in (1g, 2a) in three of his past four games played. William Eklund (0g, 1a) has points (2g, 4a) in six consecutive games on home ice. 

 The first period was a period of missed opportunities for San Jose. A couple big passes that led to breakaways, but no goals for the Sharks. For the Stars it was the exact opposite. Esa Lindell got a slashing call and the missed opportunity for the Sharks of getting a power play goal was capitalized by Wyatt Johnston on a breakaway shorthanded goal, 1-0 Stars.

Johnston in his last game at SAP was a hat trick and now with another goal here, he has 27 total on the season. The Stars weren’t done in the first period, Mason Marchment scored a goal that happened so fast, fans and even some players didn’t even notice the goal occurred at first. After a very quick review it was an easy call that it was a goal, 2-0 Stars, and there was no real energy in the building going into intermission. 

Huge period for both teams, as it was a hot period from the puck drop to the buzzer signaling intermission. 14 seconds into the period, Jason Robertson scored his 25th goal of the season and the third straight goal for the Stars this game, 3-0 Stars.

10 seconds later Alexander Barbanov scored the first goal for SJ, 3-1. A Sam Steel holding call for Dallas then led to a power play goal for San Jose courtesy of William Eklund and it was 8 seconds into the power play. 3-2 and the arena woke up. The period stayed on fire as Luke Kunin and Ty Dellandrea got into a fight and they were throwing hands the old school way and this electrified the crowd for more.

Stars captain Jamie Benn scored, continuing his five game goal streak and gave Dallas the most dangerous lead in hockey, a two goal lead, 4-2 Stars. The fight wasn’t over for the Sharks this period as Kostin kept the game close with a laser wrist shot for a goal, 4-3. The fans were still electric, but Johnston scored another goal, his second of the night and the Stars headed into the third with a 5-3 lead. 

There was only one goal in the third and it was from Robertson, who scored on a power play goal and that was basically the end of the game. A game that had hopes for the Sharks, but before you know it, it was over, 6-3 Dallas. 

Now an 8 game losing streak, San Jose Sharks next game against the Minnesota Wild in the Twin Cities on Thursday, March 28th.