Tag: Evander Kane

Jets Sink Sharks 3-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks fell to the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose. Jets goals came from Gabriel Bourque, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers, with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck making a heroic 51 saves in the win. Sharks goals came from Barclay Goodrow and Tomas Hertl with Martin Jones making 16 saves in the loss.

“It’s probably up there with our best game of the season. Disappointing to lose,” said Sharks captain Logan Couture, after a game in which the Sharks grossly outshot the Jets, 53-19.

The game might have gone to overtime with the teams tied 3-3 but for a disallowed goal in the second period.

“At the same time, we had a lot of other opportunities to put the puck in the net and we didn’t,” said Sharks forward Evander Kane, who had 7 shots on goal in the game and scored the disallowed goal.

Winnipeg struck first with a goal at 13:34 of the first period. Kyle Connor took advantage of a bouncing puck that eluded Brent Burns in the Sharks’ zone. He got control of it along the boards and then found Gabriel Bourque coming into the zone. Bourque skated up the middle and beat Jones on the glove side. Connor got the assist.

The Sharks too the first penalty of the game, an interference minor to Logan Couture at 19:06. The Sharks successfully killed the penalty for the rest of the first and the beginning of the second period. The Jets got three shots on goal during the power play.

They followed that up with a goal at 3:18 of the second. A pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic found Jonny Brodzinsky in the neutral zone. He made a pass at the Jets’ blue line, finding Barclay Goodrow in the slot. Goodrow skated to the net and shot the puck by Hellebuyck on the short side. Assists went to Brodzinsky and Vlasic.

The Sharks’ first power play came just over a minute later. They got credit for two shots on goal

Evander Kane put the puck in the net at 7:22 of the second. He started by carrying the puck into the zone and around behind the net. He gave it to a defender, who sent it back around and to the point. the puck came back to Kane behind the net and he got it out in front for Labanc and Hertl to shoot, but Labanc was taken down in the crease and the puck came back to Kane as he emerged form behind the net. He quickly lifted it over the now-prone Hellebuyck and into the net.

The Jets challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was overturned.

Moments later, Blake Wheeler scored off a pass from Mark Scheifele at 7:53. Scheifele and Kyle Connor got the assists.

The Jets had a second power play at 9:41, in which they got one shot on goal.

The Sharks had a second power play starting at 17:11 when Mathieu Perrault was called for tripping Erik Karlsson. The Sharks tallied eight shots on goal and still could not score.

During the second period, the Sharks outshot the Jets 28-9.

The Sharks did finally tie it with a deflection from Tomas Hertl 49 seconds into the third period. Kane took the initial shot with a second assist going to Kevin Labanc.

With three minutes left in the third, the Jets only had 3 shots to the Sharks’ 12. The shot count for the game was 51-18 Sharks.

Nevertheless, the Jets scored next, taking a 3-2 lead at 18:36. Nikolaj Ehlers . Assists went to Jack Roslovic and Bryan Little.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender right after that, but couldn’t get by Hellebuyck again.

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

Jonny Brodzinsky was in the lineup for the first time since October 8, with Dylan Gambrell and Lukas Radil out as healthy scratches.

Fast Start, Kane Hat Trick propel the Sharks past the Hurricanes, 5-2

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By Morris Phillips

SAN JOSE–NHL players don’t like heavy-handed opponents, over-officious officials, multiple-game suspensions or bad vibes.

But NHL players do like hat tricks. Just ask Evander Kane.

Kane saw his start to the 2019-20 season go from frustrating to exhilarating Wednesday as he produced the first, first period hat trick in San Jose history propelling the Sharks to a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. After four losses to start the season, the Sharks have a three-game winning streak, virtually erasing the doom-and-gloom enveloping the Shark Tank, a byproduct of their 0-4 start.

Kane personally ushered out the rough start, by redirecting Brett Burns’ pass into the net with 17 seconds remaining in the opening period. That secured his second-ever, three-goal game and put the Sharks in front, 3-1.

“Establishing our home ice here, especially with some of the days in between games was important. And getting leads early. That’s something we didn’t do when we lost four in a row. And playing with the lead and keeping it,” Kane said when asked about the team’s improvement over the last three games.

Kane missed the first three Sharks’ losses after he was suspended for bumping an official in the team’s final exhibition against the Golden Knights. Video of the incident shows Kane’s anger at the Knights’ Deryk Engelland accidentally morph into a brief push of referee Kiel Murchison as the winger attempted to free himself of Engelland and the intervening referee. By the strict interpretation of the NHL rule regarding contact with officials, Kane was guilty and the incident cost him $112,000 in salary.

“Talk about abuse of an official? How about abuse of a player? It’s an absolute joke,” Kane said.

Things were much more palatable Wednesday as Kane found himself the beneficiary of some nice setups near the goal, the final two on the power play, and the last a near perfect redirection of the puck to beat goalie James Reimer. Ironically, the Hurricanes hadn’t allowed more than three goals in a game all season before allowing Kane three in one period.

“The guys did a great job of getting pucks to the net,” said Kane unselfishly. “Our power play executed. It was nice to get it at home.”

The victory allowed the Sharks to escape the Pacific Division cellar as they leapfrogged the Coyotes and Kings. The Hurricanes failed to reach a 7-1 start for the first time in franchise history, but retained first place in the  Metropolitan Division at 6-2.

The schedule doesn’t ease for the Sharks, who host the first place Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before they open a four-game Eastern swing in Buffalo on Tuesday.

 

Sharks Fall to Predators 5-2 in Nashville

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mercurynews.com photo

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to the Nashville Predators Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville goals came from Roman Josi (2), Kyle Turris, Filip Forsberg and Dante Fabbro. Pekka Rinne made 33 saves for the win. Evander Kane and Brent Burns scored for San Jose, while Martin Jones made 20 saves in the loss. The Sharks are still looking for a win this season after four losses.

The only first period goal went to Nashville, at 6:16. Roman Josi scored after making a neutral zone pass to Colton Sissons, who carried the puck into the zone and then passed it back and into the slot. Josi was there to put it away. Assists went to Sissons and Ryan Ellis.

There was just one power play in the first period, a penalty to the Sharks’ Evander Kane for interference. The Predators outshot the Sharks 9-7 in the first.

In the second period, Josi scored again on a mid-period power play. Brenden Dillon was in the box for slashing Filip Forsberg at 9:40. A pass from the corner found Forsberg wide open in the faceoff circle, but his shot went off the post and bounced into the blue paint, where Marc-Edouard Vlasic swept it away, into the slot. Josi was there to shoot it back in for the goal.

The Sharks got their own power play goal at 15:12. Matt Duchene was called for interference on Kevin Labanc. A quick play off the faceoff moved the puck to Burns at the point. He moved along the blue line as if to pass ahead, then moved the puck back to Logan Couture, who took a shot from the point. Evander Kane tipped it in for his first of the year. Assists went to Couture and Burns.

The Sharks killed two of three penalties in the second period, and Nashville did the same. The Sharks outshot the Predators 18-7 in the period.

The Sharks started the third period with some good chances, but it was Nashville who scored at 2:51. A neutral zone breakdown allowed Kyle Turris and Calle Jarnkrok to go in two on one. Turris took the shot to give Nashvillea 3-1 lead. Rocco Grimaldi got the assist.

Nashville made it 4-1 at 7:24. Matt Duchene followed the puck down the slot and made a quick backhand pass across to Forsberg on the wing. Forsberg took the shot and beat Jones on the stick side as he came across. Assists went to Duchene and Mikael Granlund.

Brent Burns got one back for the Sharks at 15:37. The Sharks drew all of the Nashville defense off to one side with their forecheck. The puck slipped out across the ice, where Burns picked it up and shot it in with a hard wrist shot. Assists went to Lean Bergmann and Dylan Gambrell.

Dante Fabbro made it 5-2 with a shot all the way down the ice, in an empty net at 18:19. An assist went to Ryan Johansen.

The Sharks outshot the Predators 10-9 in the third, 35-25 in the game.

The Sharks next play against the Blackhawks in Chicago on Thursday at 5:30 PM PT.

Sharks Finish Preseason with 5-1 Loss to Vegas

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photo from mercurynews.com: Evander Kane #9 of the San Jose Sharks shoves linesman Kiel Murchison in the third period of the Sharks’ preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on September 29, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kane received a game misconduct for an abuse of officials penalty. The Golden Knights defeated the Sharks 5-1.

By Mary Walsh

The Sharks dropped their final preseason game 5-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday in Las Vegas. Vegas goals came from William Carrier, Jimmy Shuldt, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone and Reilly Smith. Danil Yurtaykin scored the only San Jose goal, during the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 38 shots for the win, while Martin Jones stopped 17 of 21 shots during the first two periods and Aaron Dell made 10 saves on 11 shots for San Jose.

With almost all of the likely NHL lineup in the game, the Sharks managed 12 shots on net in the first period, but could not score. They did kill a penalty half way through the period, after Timo Meier was called for goaltender interference. Vegas had 14 shots and scored once at the end of the period. The Sharks had just gotten the puck out of their zone bu could not get it past the center line before Vegas carried it back in. Tomas Nosek carried the puck down along the boards while Carrier drove the net. Nosek took the shot and it went off of Carrier and in.

Early in the second period, Brenden Dillon was called for holding, putting the Golden Knights on the power play. Jimmy Schuldt scored in the second minute of that penalty. After a quick give and go along the blue line with William Karlsson, Schuldt’s shot from the point went right by Jones. Assists went to Karlsson and Reilly Smith.

A dispute between Evander Kane and Valentin Zykov at 7:31 resulted in matching roughing minors for the players and some 4-on-4 time for the teams. After almost a minute of very fast back and forth play, Jonathan Marchessault scored off the rush, making it 3-0 Vegas. Marchessault had a step on Joe Thornton coming through the neutral zone, and stayed just ahead of a charging Mario Ferraro as they bore down on the Sharks net.

Kane and Zykov went at it again at 10:17, this time receiving fighting majors.

The Sharks had a good shift in the offensive zone with about five minutes left in the period, until a quick pass from Schuldt found Max Pacioretty lurking at the Sharks blue line. Pacioretty took the puck in and made a quick pass to Mark Stone who shot the puck past Jones to make it 4-0.

On a line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane, Danil Yurtaykin scored at 1:10 of the third. Yurtaykin caught the puck behind the net, carried it to the front and put it in with a quick backhand into traffic. Assists went to Kane and Hertl.

A couple of minutes later, Reilly Smith made it 5-1 Vegas with a power play goal. Timo Meier was in the box for slashing Brayden McNabb, and it only took the Vegas power play 13 seconds to score. Assists went to William Karlsson and Marchessault.

The Sharks took 11 more penalties in the period, and Vegas took eight, but the score did not change. Among those penalties were misconducts for Evander Kane, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Max Pacioretty, Brenden Dillon, Deryk Engellund and Kevin Labanc.

Late in the first period, Logan Couture took a puck to the hand but he played through the game.

The Sharks’ lineup Sunday included new faces Lean Bergman, Danil Yurtakin and Jonny Brodzinsky up front. On defense, Dalton Prout and Mario Ferraro were in while Radim Simek and Tim Heed sat out.

The Sharks will be back in Las Vegas on Wednesday to start the regular season at 7:30 PM PT.

Avalanche Tie Series with 4-3 Win Over Sharks

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The Colorado Avalanche edged the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 with a 4-3 win at SAP Center Sunday, tying the second round playoff series at one apiece. Avs’ goals came from Gabriel Landeskog, Tyson Barrie, Matt Nieto and Nathan MacKinnon. Sharks’ goals came from Evander Kane and Brent Burns (2). Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves for Colorado, while Martin Jones made 28 saves on 31 shots for San Jose.

After the game, Sharks forward Evander Kane said: “I thought we did a good job early on, we just let them hang around too long.”

Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson elaborated on the same theme:

I think that we played well, we did a lot of good things out there. Just couldn’t find a way to score goals and got a little frustrated as the game went along and started doing our own thing a little too much. We know that doesn’t work in here and you know we should have learned by now but we didn’t. They capitalized on the chances they got and made us play from behind.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer pointed to the Sharks’ net-front presence as an issue: “I thought it was a pretty even game. I thought we didn’t get to their net enough. We had some real good looks where he made a couple big saves but I thought we could have made it a little tougher on him traffic-wise on our point shots. And I thought we could have done a better job in front of Jonesy, you know, on their point shots.”

Evander Kane started the scoring at 7:57 of the first. Kane was in front of the net and got behind Cale Makar as a blueline shot from Brent Burns came in. With a couple of strong moves, he fended off Makar and put the puck past Grubauer. Assists went to Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl. It was Kane’s second of the playoffs.

Colorado tied it up at 8:21. Tyson Barrie took a shot from the blue line into traffic and it went off of Gabriel Landeskog right on the edge of the blue paint. It was Landeskog’s second of the playoffs. Assists went to Barrie and Nathan MacKinnon.

The Avalanche got a lead on a goal from Tyson Barrie at 16:31. The play could have easily been called an icing, as Marc-Edouard Vlasic was the first to the hash marks, but the officials did not call it and play continued on.

After the game, Vlasic said “I’ll take the high road and wait for the League’s apology tomorrow.”

Barrie’s shot came from above the face-off circle when the puck emerged from a battle by the other side of the net. Jones was coming across from that and could not stop Barrie’s shot. Assists went to Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.

Colorado’s lead expanded at 10:10 of the third. Martin Jones looked like he thought he had the puck frozen under him but it was slowly moving behind him. Brenden Dillon got his stick in there to push it away from the goal line but he hit it a little too hard and it bounced off of Jones back into the net. The goal went to Matt Nieto, his third of the playoffs. Assists went to Matt Calvert and Barrie.

The Sharks had some good luck in the form of Alexander Kerfoot’s broken skate, which left Brent Burns free to move and shoot without Kerfoot getting in his way. Burns did just that and brought the Sharks within one at 15:26. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Marcus Sorensen.

That Sharks momentum was shattered when, moments later, Timo Meier allowed his stick to get into Nathan MacKinnon’s skate and that put the Avalanche on a power play. The Sharks killed off the penalty, but had little time to get the tying goal. With just over a minute to go, they pulled their goaltender for the extra skater. Nathan MacKinnon got control of the puck and put it in the empty net at 18:58. Assists went to Calvert and Philipp Grubauer.

The Sharks did get that third goal, in a 17-second power play at the end of the game. Four skaters battled for puck in the slot, but Tomas Hertl got to it first and tapped it ahead to Burns, who was moving through the outside of the face-off circle. He had a clear shot and he took it. Assists went to Hertl and Kane. That left the Sharks 10 more seconds to tie it with a fourth but they couldn’t get that done.

Melker Karlsson left the game late in the third period after being crushed against the glass by Derick Brassard.

Game 3 will be Tuesday at the Pepsi Center in Denver at 7:00 PM PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Sharks Take Game One 5-2 Over Knights

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in the first game of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday. The Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Martin Jones made 24 saves for the win. Both Vegas goals came from Mark Stone and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves against the Sharks.

The Sharks got the first power play of the game at 13:35. They had a few moments of delayed penalty time with Jones out of the net but that did not last long. The penalty was to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare for tripping Micheal Haley.

The Sharks scored on that power play at 14:42. A Brent Burns blue line special went off John Merrill’s glove or stick, into Joe Pavelski’s face and into the net. For his pains, Pavelski got credit for the goal with the assist going to Burns. Pavelski went directly to the dressing room, did not even stop for the celebration.

In the last two minutes of the first period, Timo Meier had to leave for repairs after being hi-sticked behind the net.

The Sharks outshot the Golden Knights 8-5 in the first, and won 60% of the face-offs. Vegas out-hit the Sharks 25-17.

Pavelski returned for the second period with a lower face shield. Timo Meier, fresh from his facial repairs, also returned and spoke briefly with an official as the period got under way. 20 seconds in, Meier was called for tripping Jonathan Marchessault. The Sharks killed that penalty off.

Evander Kane and Deryk Engelland exchanged blows after a scuffle in front of the net, as did Brenden Dillon and Jonathan Marchessault. Only Dillon and Marchessault were sent to the box, and for just two minutes. While the teams were playing 4 on 4, Tomas Hertl drew a hooking penalty and gave the Sharks a 4 on 3 power play. That turned into a 3 on 3 when Joe Pavelski was knocked down near the crease and Nate Schmidt tripped over him. Pavelski was called for tripping Schmidt.

The Sharks were unfazed by that noise. Erik Karlsson got the puck across the blue line and to Brent Burns, who carried it around a couple of defenders and shot it past Fleury with calm precision. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl. Time of the goal was 6:59.

The Sharks followed up with good pressure around the net, leading to a sneaky goal-line pass from Joe Thornton to Marc-Edouard Vlasic as he skated down from the blue line. Vegas was not ready for that and the shot went right by Fleury on the blocker side at 7:44. Assists went to Thornton and Evander Kane.

Vegas responded with a goal at 8:32. Pacioretty’s shot hit Paul Stasny’s skate to the left of Jones, and bounced across the goal mouth to Mark Stone, who was camped out to Jones’s right. Thus flanked by opponents, Jones could not stop the puck. Assists went to Stasny and Pacioretty.

The Sharks went back on the power play at 8:55 after William Carrier was called for tripping Logan Couture. Tripping was a popular penalty in Wednesday’s game.

The Sharks scored again with 18 seconds left in the second. Erik Karlsson’s blue line shot went between a defender’s legs and then was neatly deflected by Evander Kane over Fleury’s glove.

The Sharks increased their shot advantage in the second, winning that contest 14-5. Their face-off success flagged, though. Vegas won 58% of the second period face-offs. Paul Stasny and William Karlsson defeated nearly all comers in the second.

Nearly six minutes into the third, Jon Merrill pushed Micheal Haley down in the crease, right on top of Fleury. As the puck went the other way for what may have been a good chance, Fleury spent some time thumping on Haley with the help of a team-mate. The whistle stopped play for roughing calls all around. Haley went to the box and Paul Stasny went in Fleury’s place.

As that four-on-four got started, the Sharks played a little like it was three-on-three, holding onto the puck as if killing time more than trying to score. But it was early for that. Not long after the four-on-four expired, the Sharks had a power play that killed more time without scoring. Vegas had a turn on the scoreless power play at 11:44 after Barclay Goodrow went for slashing Shea Theodore.

Vegas got another power play at 15:11 when Kevin Labanc went for hooking Tomas Nosek. Mark Stone cut the Sharks lead in half with a goal at 15:26. His shot made best use of what little traffic there was in front of Jones to get the puck over the glove and into the net. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Max Pacioretty.

Toms Hertl scored into the empty net at 18:11 to stop the late game push from Vegas. Assists went to Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

By the end of the game, the Sharks had rebalanced the face-off results to 50-50. The shot count for the game was 33-26 Sharks.

Game 2 will be in San Jose on Friday at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Avalanche 5-2, Erik Karlsson Returns

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks finished the 2018-19 regular season with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center on Saturday night. The win was Peter DeBoer’s 400th as an NHL Head Coach and Gus Nyquist’s 500th NHL game. Evander Kane scored his 30th of the season bringing the Sharks tally to four players with 30 or more goals this season. The Sharks’ 101 points earned them second place in the Western Conference. It was a good final game of the regular season. Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc, Gus Nyquist and Micheal Haley. Martin Jones made 28 saves in the win, while Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves in the loss. Colorado goals came from Tyson Jost and Nathan MacKinnon.

After the game, Sharks forward Evander Kane said: “It was good to close the season out with a win, and have another 100 point season here. I think it’s nice to have a victory like that and to have everybody feeling good about their games heading into next week.”

Sharks fans got some good news on the injury front Saturday. Erik Karlsson was back in the lineup though Timo Meier was not, after an injury sustained in Thursday’s game against Edmonton. Meier is expected back for the playoffs and Karlsson had the second highest ice time Saturday.

After the game, Pete DeBoer said of Karlsson’s performance Saturday: “We went into the game and we didn’t really have a plan other than we wanted to play him normally until there was either red flags or he started to fatigue or the trainers thought that was enough. Really, he felt good, you know, deep into the third period so that was good.”

Colorado struck first, just 2:56 into the game. A Colorado shot was blocked high in the slot and the puck wandered in a crowd before being controlled again, by Tyson Jost. The shot went past a number of skaters before getting by Jones. Assists went to Samuel Girard and Erik Johnson.

Evander Kane had a nice breakaway chance, which led to an offensive zone face-off for the Sharks. Right off of that face-off, Brent Burns scored with a blast from the blue line. Tomas Hertl got the assist.

A few minutes later, Evander Kane gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 11:15. Kane was in front of the net battling two Colorado defenders when Gus Nyquist got the puck to the net with a spinning pass. Kane shrugged off the two defenders to find the puck and nudge it under Semyon Varlamov. Assists went to Nyquist and Brenden Dillon.

The Sharks were out-shot by the Avalanche 12-10 in the first period, but overwhelmed them in the face-off circle, winning 74% of them. The bulk of those face-offs were taken by Thornton, Goodrow and Hertl.

The Avalanche scored another early goal in the second period, this one at 1:29. Nathan MacKinnon scooted between Sharks defenders while catching a pass from Gabriel Landeskog. He stayed ahead of the Sharks just long enough to get a quick shot off, beating Jones on the glove side. Assists went to Landeskog and Samuel Girard.

Kevin Labanc scored at 6:57, giving the Sharks their lead back. Joe Thornton brought the puck into the zone and then waited for his line-mates to get into position. Labanc received the pass and seemed to be trying to pass it to Sorensen who was almost at the blue paint. Instead, the puck went off of an Avalanche stick and up and over Ian Cole and Sorensen, landing behind Varlamov. Assists went to Thornton and Sorensen.

The shot count tilted slightly in the Sharks’ favor in the second, ending up 12-9 for the Sharks. San Jose maintained their face-off success, still at 73% by the end of the second.

The Sharks did not give up a goal in the first five minutes of the third period. Instead, they scored again at 14:15. Evander Kane retrieved the puck in the corner and sent it away from the boards, where Nyquist picked it up on his way through the face-off circle. He picked the near corner of the net and sent the puck over Varlamov’s shoulder. It was Nyquist’s 22nd of the season. Assists went to Kane and Tomas Hertl.

The Avalanche pulled their goaltender with over three minutes to go. Joe Pavelski put the puck into that empty net with 3:01 left in the game, but it was challenged as off-side. Joonas Donskoi tried to straddle the blue line while the puck crept across but he couldn’t keep his back skate on the ice. The goal was called back.

A little over a minute later, Micheal Haley was able to break away and score in the empty net to make it 5-2. Brent Burns got the assists on that one.

The final shot count was 30-30, and the Sharks won 69% of the face-offs. Barclay Goodrow took 14 of the face-offs and won 86% of them.

The playoff schedule will be announced shortly. The Sharks will start at home next week, against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Sharks Break Bad Streak, Beat Knights 4-3 in OT

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks ended their seven game losing streak Saturday, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime. It was a good preview of the playoffs, possibly even a playoff matchup if the standings remain as they are. Each team got credit for 40 hits. Between hits, a lot of goals were scored too. For San Jose, goals came from Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Brent Burns. Las Vegas goals came from William Karlsson, Cody Eakin and Shea Theodore. Martin Jones made 23 saves in the win while Vegas goaltender Malcolm Subban made 30 saves in the loss.

Vegas scored first at 3:54. The Sharks had just thwarted a nice play by Vegas, turning what could have easily been a goal into a puck behind the net. Unfortunately, Vegas had control of that puck and Jonathan Marchessault made a pass from below the goal line to the slot, where William Karlsson was open with a clear view of Martin Jones. It was Karlsson’s 24th of the season. Assists went to Marchessault and Reilly Smith.

The rest of the period was littered with matching penalties. An interference penalty to Marcus Sorensen was matched by an embellishment penalty to Colin Miller. Joe Thornton’s high-sticking penalty was matched by a roughing penalty to Ryan Reaves. Reaves also got a misconduct on that one.

The Sharks tied the game just under a minute into the second period. Tomas Hertl caught a stray rebound from a Joonas Donskoi shot. Hertl then wove his way around a defender and poked the puck between skaters and shot it past the Malcolm Subban. It was Hertl’s 35th goal of the season. Assists went to Donskoi and Timo Meier.

Just before a fight between Barclay Goodrow and William Carrier (at 3:01), Brenden Dillon was called for cross-checking, so the crowd was presented with the odd sight of a power play coming out of a fight. It did not change the score but took a little explaining.

That power play probably did set the Knights up to score at 5:30, moments after it expired. Cody Eakin was right in front of the blue paint when Deryk Engelland’s shot came in and dropped dead off of Jones’s pads. Eakin was able to gather it up and put it in the net. Assists went to Engelland and Ryan Carpenter.

The Sharks tied it again at 7:22 of the third. Tomas Hertl burst into the Vegas zone trailing one defender and slipping around another on his way to the net. He didn’t get a shot off but drew all the attention his way as he went behind the net and sent the puck forward for one of several Sharks to take a shot. Two couldn’t catch it but Evander Kane was coming in as the trailer and he found the rebound for a quick shot into an empty net. Subban was stuck in traffic to the side of the net, unable to get back for the save.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks their first lead of the night at 11:26 with a slap shot off an offensive zone faceoff. Logan Couture got the assist. It was Vlasic’s third of the season.

That lead only lasted for 38 seconds. Shea Theodore did almost exactly what Vlasic did, taking a shot off an offensive zone faceoff win by William Karlsson. It was Theodore’s 12th of the season.

The end of the third was spent mostly in penalties. First, matching roughing penalties were assigned to Timo Meier and William Carrier at 16:10. At 10:05, almost a minute after the four-on-four ended, Colin Miller was called for hooking.

That power play carried over into the extra period, right up to Brent Burns’s game winner 22 seconds into overtime. That shot came off of Couture’s pass along the blue line. A secondary assist went to Kevin Labanc.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT against the visiting Calgary Flames.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks have the date circled ready to battle the Blackhawks Sunday

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Matt:

#1 The San Jose Sharks’ Marcus Sorenson scored twice on Saturday night as the Sharks and Joe Pavelski scored his 36th goal of the season.

#2 Sorenson was out for the last two game of the Sharks last road trip due to taking a puck in the face, but returned on Friday.

#3 Evander Kane has been getting banged up. In the game against the Boston Bruins on the last road trip, Kane got into a fight with the B’s Zdeno Charo, but Kane is battling.

#4 Erik Karlsson has been suffering with a groin injury. How’s his progress and also talk about Gustav Nyquist and what his acquisition has meant to the team.

#5 The Sharks host the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday and Patrick Kane has been playing lights out and Corey Crawford has been in the nets and some nights standing on his head.

Matt does the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose 4-1, Another Tough Loss to Bruins

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Bruins in Boston Tuesday. Boston goals came from David Krejci, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand. Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves in the win. Logan Couture scored the only Sharks goal, while goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

I thought the first ten minutes of the second, we started to get some legs and grab some momentum. I liked our game. Then, you know, within a minute and a half we’re down 3-1. Couple mistakes, you know, but that’s what a good team does to you. And I think the game ran away from us from there.

Gustav Nyquist made his debut as a Shark since being acquired at the trade deadline. He had one shot on goal in 17:21 of ice time, skating on Joe Thornton’s line.

After the game, DeBoer said of Nyquist: “I liked him. I liked everything about him, he’s a good hockey player, he’s going to help us.” As for the adjustment period, DeBoer is not concerned about that: “No issue with that. This guy’s been well coached and he’s a smart player. I was really impressed with what he did tonight and the potential where he fits for us going forward.”

Five minutes into the second period, Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson fell and went to the dressing room with what appeared to be a lower body injury. He was back on the ice before long. He skated four shifts in the second half of the period but did not return for the third. After the game, there was no specific information available as to the nature or severity of his injury.

Logan Couture gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 12:47 of the first on the team’s first power play. Matt Grzelcyk was called for hooking Melker Karlsson as Karlsson cut to the net. Midway through the power play, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl were below the goal line trying to get the puck away from the Bruins’ defense. The puck bounced behind Hertl and up above the goal line unexpectedly. Zdeno Chara and Couture scrambled for it and it ended up behind Jaroslav Halak.

The Bruins responded with their own power play goal at 14:39. It was a double minor after Timo Meier was called for high-sticking and drawing blood to Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins dd not use all four minutes. They scored just nine seconds in. Brad Marchand made a backhand pass to the blue line for Torey Krug to tap it back down to David Krejci in the faceoff circle. Krejci’s quick shot went right through Martin Jones. Assists went to Krug and Marchand.

At the end of the first period, Boston was outshooting the Sharks 16-8 and had won 68% of the faceoffs.

Charlie McAvoy gave the Bruins the lead at 9:09 of the second. Marchand brought the puck over the line and then passed it before he hit the faceoff circle. McAvoy was the recipient of the pass and he took the shot from the slot. Assists went to Marchand and Danton Heinen.

Boston struck again fewer than 40 seconds later. Jake DeBrusk, part of a three-on-one attack by the Bruins, touched the puck into the net with a backhand while he changed direction. The three had traded four passes and Jones had made a good attempt to keep up with all of them but he was outnumbered. Assists went to Krejci and Marcus Johansson.

Micheal Haley went down awkwardly against the boards in that same span but he went to the bench instead of the room.

Boston did not let up and Brad Marchand scored a short-handed goal at 12:28 of the second. The Sharks were on a power play after Sean Kuraly went to the box for tripping Joe Thornton. The penalty only had a second left when Marchand took the puck from the neutral zone, around Erik Karlsson, and down to the net to score. Assists went to Patrice Bergeron and Brandon Carlo.

The Bruins outshot the Sharks in the second period as well, again 2-1 with a count of 8-4 Bruins. San Jose made some progress in the faceoff department but still trailed Boston there as everywhere else in the game.

Evander Kane and Chara came to blows early in the third period after exchanging hits during play. Kane got the worst of those hits, a shoulder to the head. They went to the box for fighting but nothing was made of Chara’s shoulder in Kane’s face. Rather, Kane got two extra minutes for instigating.

Almost as soon as play resumed, Bruins forward Noel Acciari took a puck to the face from Brent Burns. Before play resumed after that, Evander Kane was excused from the game for misconduct in the box. As soon as the puck dropped, Micheal Haley invited David Backes to fight and they went to the box.

Five minutes had not yet elapsed in the third period. The game came back to some degree of order for the rest of the period. Pete DeBoer pulled Martin Jones for an extra skater with almost four minutes left in the game and a three goal deficit. The Bruins did not score into that empty net, and Jones went back into the net for the final minute.

The Sharks will next play back in San Jose on Friday at 7:30 PM PT against the Colorado Avalanche.